Recently UFOs, know renamed UAP (Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena) have become mainstream and are not regarded as fringe pseudoscientific beliefs. They are discussed in the U.S. Congress, and the U.S. Air Force has released videos of them. Many wonder if they are technology developed by adversaries of the U.S., or by aliens. The most likely answer is that they are some yet unknown natural pehnomena.
They have also been reported as underwater craft. (see Navy Officer Says Underwater UFOs Are Legitimate Threats. The Evidence Is Hard to Ignore, Popular Mechanics, Aug. 2025)
We have mentioned UFOs in previous posts (See this one about Sarmiento de Gamboa's lights, and this one with https://patagoniamonsters.blogspot.com/2025/10/fitzroy-in-patagonia-lights-in-sky.html).
Today's post mentions an event that took place in Ancud (see map marking the spot), and reported in 1908. It involved a naval officer, Agustí Prat von Seitz (1882-1951) who was the first officer of the "Huemul", a small auxiliary ship built in 1889 (1, and 2).
Prat and crew members saw lights, 1 meter in diameter (3 ft.) moving across the sea at a speed of 7 to 15 miles per hour (11 to 24 km+h). No date is given, but it was published in 1908, and had taken place "a few years" before that date.
Francisco J. Cavada wrote, in 1914 (Chiloé y los Chilotes. Santiago: Impr. Universitaria. See p. 92), about the Caleuche, the mythical phantom ship, and mentioned a strange incident, in which the crew of a patrol boat of the Chilean navy saw some strange lights in the sea near Ancud, Chiloé.
"Here is the letter that the second-in-command of the Huemul patrol boat of our Navy, Don Agustín Prat, wrote a few years ago to a friend, Don Fernando Setit.
"
" At 3:45 a.m. on Sunday the 8th of this month, after a strong north wind had blown, and with the sea calm, under a stormy sky, I was informed by the helmsman on watch, Captain Thomson, that two large, white lights (like a lantern each) were approaching our ship, giving off flames at intervals, and that they appeared to be from a tug coming alongside seeking assistance. Since I was delayed a little, the sailor ran again to warn me, saying that he had found them, that they were approaching very quickly, and that their size, while large, was unusual; so he no longer believed it was a tugboat, as he could clearly see that they were coming as if suspended in the air at a height of no less than a meter, and without any vessel being visible.
Seriously worried and fearing some misfortune, I was about to go up on deck when I noticed a great light coming through the skylight of my cabin, illuminating it to such an extent that it seemed to be on fire. I jumped onto the deck, reaching the port side, where I found the helmsman Thomson and the stoker Antonio Rojas, from the engine room, who were pointing, filled with astonishment, at how a large white light, with a flame of a little over a meter in surface area, was advancing, suspended at a more or less similar distance from the water. Surprised, I ran to find a pair of binoculars to get a better look, returning when the light had already moved away from the side, clearly appearing to my eyes, not one but two, which separated abruptly at times only to reconstitute themselves into a larger, solitary one, this one always advancing at a speed no less than seven miles at its minimum and fifteen at its maximum. Thus they headed towards the coal yards of "Punta Arenas" (Ancud) owned by the Government and remained on that side of the beach for a long time, resuming their dizzying march for about an hour, before disappearing completely in the direction of Punta Ahui and probably beyond.
This was also seen by the ship’s carpenter, Gregorio Carmona, who came on watch at 4:00, and by the stoker Rojas, from the engine room.
Once day broke, nothing more was seen, so the observation was suspended."
The 'La Revista Católica de Santiago', in an article signed by Arturo Fontecilla L., after transcribing the preceding letter, states that it consulted several sailors and notable naturalists about the matter, and concluded that the famous Caleuche is not a physical phenomenon, but a crude superstition. However, it avoids any explanation regarding the cause of the phenomenon referred to by the aforementioned second-in-command."
Vicuña Cifuentes, in 1915 (Estudios de Folklore chileno. Mitos y supersticiones recogidos de la tradición oral chilena, con referencias comparativas a los de otros países latinos. page 30) mentions the incident saying that Prat had said he had seen "Two large lights moving at a height of 1 meter above the surface of the water at a speed that ranged from seven to fifteen miles per hour.... He cites the source as: Prat (Agustín). Carta, inserta en el art. ¿El Caleuche es un fenómeno físico o una superstición? , de Arturo Fontecilla L. Bevista Católica, núm. 179. Santiago de Chile, 1909.
Could the lights have been of seismic origin? The great Valparaiso earthquake of Aug., 16, 1906 with a magnitude of 8.2 or the tremors that took place at that time could have provoked this type of event.
The sighting took place on a "Sunday 8th", this is a list of all Sundays that fell on an 8th day of any month between 1900 and 1907: April 8, 1900, July 8, 1900, September 8, 1901, February 8, 1903, May 8, 1904, January 8, 1905, October 8, 1905, April 8, 1906, July 8, 1906, December 8, 1907.
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