Grant and Alzanne at Clifton, Cape

What was reported

After midnight on 7 March 1992 Grant, arriving home late in Clifton, saw an object hanging over the mountains near Llandudno, first took it for an aircraft, then called Alzanne. From their window they watched it for over half an hour: a revolving saucer shape with a red light on top, green below and a white centre light that flashed past three or four times, with beams that seemed to come down through a halo or a hole in the sky. It hovered with slight movements. They phoned authorities and radio stations but were mocked, and a promised helicopter and photographer at the port turned out to be a joke. Fog rose to cover it and by sunrise it was gone. The Cape Times headlined the story with their drawing. Grant gave up smoking and drinking afterwards.

What Hind made of it

Hind never makes a positive identification but reiterates that in early March 1992 bright planets and stars, with autokinesis, fooled a number of sincere people; Jupiter was brilliant around 7 March.

Explanation offered
Autokinesis on a bright star or planet; Jupiter rising in the east at sunset; Arcturus low in the sky; Vesta at opposition 8 March; witnesses themselves ruled out the planes, helicopters, parachutists and hang-gliders of the local training area

In their words

• It looked as if there was a hole in the sky with a halo.

• a lot of people thought we were crazy and didn't take our calls seriously

• When staring at a bright star, it often appears to change shape and give off bright colours.

Cross references

• Cape Times, 7 March 1992
• Weekend Argus, 14 March 1992
• Case No 65
• Radio station and waterfront independent radio calls

Connected

• LITS over Cape Town: Interview with Arlene of ScarboroughCase fileSame window

  6 March 1992 21:00-21:30 at Scarborough and 7 March after 01:00 at Clifton: about four hours and 30 km apart, in different directions (western sea horizon vs SSW mountains). Arlene only called hers a UAP after reading the Cape Times account of Grant's.

• Hundreds report object hovering over Table Mountain (Weekend Argus)Case fileSame window

  Clifton 7 March, Table Mountain 13 March 1992. Cape Times front page 7 March, Radio Good Hope swamped 13 March, Weekend Argus 14 March: a press-amplified wave. Hind groups them and blames planets and autokinesis.

• Sean Rhategan of Cape Town: silver disc with portholes over Camps BayCase fileSame place

  Camps Bay 1988 and Clifton 1992, 1.6 km apart on the Atlantic seaboard; both night objects, otherwise unalike (fast silent porthole disc vs static hovering coloured lights).

• Transformer in the Sky: prelude over Constantia NekCase fileSame place

  Twelve Apostles/Llandudno skyline; 1969 daylight glint vs 1992 night light over the mountains near Llandudno.

• More Strange Lights in the Sky: a) Cape TownCase fileSame behaviour

  White light with red and green lights and a downward beam, i.e. aircraft navigation colours: Grant 1992 (silent, static over 30 min), Wintle 1996 (continuous roar, 10 min overhead, then slow drift north; AFB Ysterplaat and its helicopter squadron lie 5 km north).

Source

Cynthia Hind, UFO Afrinews No 7 (January 1993), spread 06-08

Nearby

Stories within 60 km

• The monoplane that flew all over the Union 1914 · 3 km
• The lights above Table Mountain 2015 · 4 km
• The Castle's regulars 1729 · 5 km
• Van Hunks and the Devil 1909 · 6 km
• The transformer on Newlands Ravine 1969 · 6 km