11 11:05 PM EDT Whirlpool Spotted Off California Coast

A giant, mysterious whirlpool was spotted off the coast of Southern California Thursday. Some people say the cause of it is just nature being nature, but others believe it's from out of this world, according to CBS 2 News.

Mike Runion, a passenger on a sight-seeing tour, caught the whirlpool on video while flying along San Diego's coastline. He spotted the site just off of Black's Beach.

"The first thing that came to mind is (that) this thing is enormous. I'm thinking huge, city block huge," Runion told CBS 2.

The spinning whirlpool was sucking up foam, dirt and debris through its monster center.

"It was spinning so fast, I mean you could just see the light reflecting off the disturbance in the water and the foam was thick," he said.

Some scientists say that they've never seen anything like it. Others believe they have the answer in the "strange" light that Mike saw in the whirlpool.

Could that light be coming from a flying saucer that crashed to earth?

Rob Baldwin, with the San Diego UFO Society seems to think so.

"It may be that it's going down, or coming up out of the water from the bottom, and it would have this circular effect as a result of energy coming from the craft," Baldwin said. "The energy that these craft have is phenomenal."

But leading scientists have a more down to earth theory.

"It seems to be more of a just a natural phenomenon," one scientist told CBS 2.

One theory, according to the report, is that the spinning motion is a giant eddy, possibly caused by two currents competing against each other.

-- (fyi@fyi.fyi), May 12, 2001

Answers

This must be a hoax. A guy on a sight-seeing tour - off of Black's Beach - who has his eyes on the water must be delusional.

{Note to Lars: that Singapore traveler would be perfectly camouflaged there}.

-- flora (***@__._), May 12, 2001.

Isn't that a nude beach? =)

-- (cin@cin.cin), May 12, 2001.

Do you suppose it was Giant Eddy I saw walking his dog on the nude beach north of La Jolla, wearing nothing but shoes? It was near those cliffs where bits of rusted car parts are still still hanging midway down, leftover from locals driving cars off the cliffs. Cool place.

-- Pretty Average (birdwatcher@handmethebinocs.quick), May 12, 2001.