Update

KNYSNA NEWS - If you believe in aliens, then your ears undoubtedly perked up at rumours of a "UFO" in Knysna last week. However, this was not a matter of pie in the sky, but rather in the waters below, when the roof of a boat was spotted in the Heads last Friday with a desperate swimmer in tow, trying to retrieve the missing part of his boat.

According to a National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) statement, locals had spotted what seemed to be an unidentified floating object ("UFO") in the lagoon on Friday 25 September, and reported it to the NSRI Station 12 in Knysna. 

"Eyewitnesses reported an object described as maybe being the wing of an aeroplane, or the upturned hull of a boat, adrift in the Knysna Heads in strong 25-knot westerly winds," said Station 12 commander Jerome Simonis. The station's duty crews responded, and launched the newest inductee to their fleet, the sea rescue JetRIB Katharine.

Sadly for local conspiracy theorists and alien believers, the "UFO" bobbing about in Knysna's waters was eventually identified by NSRI crewmen as nothing more than the roof of a boat. "On arrival on the scene we found a local man who had swum out to what was identified as the roof of his day cruiser boat," Simonis explained.

"The man was taken on board our sea rescue JetRIB and a towline was established to hold the roof from drifting any further." Thereafter the station's rescue craft Jaytee IV was used to tow the roof to shore, where it was secured next to the NSRI station to be recovered by the owner.

"It appears the crew on board the local man's day cruiser boat alerted him that the roof of his boat had blown away in strong winds and was drifting towards the Heads.

He had arrived on the shore and he swam out to the roof and attached a towline to attempt to swim the roof to shore, but in the strong winds the large roof was being blown further out towards the Heads, when NSRI were alerted by eyewitnesses."

Previous article: A UFO in Knysna?

'We bring you the latest Knysna, Garden Route news'