The Doom Watch

Statement to the Society for Psychical Research (SPR):

On July 21^st, 1984, I had started my shift at 3am, doing a lookout known among the crew as the doom watch. Almost all of the rest of the men were, by then, fast asleep at that hour.

We were at that time making our way across the South Pacific - passing then through Polynesia - on a large naval aircraft carrier. The ocean here of course contains only small islands that form scattered archipelagos. During the summer it can be balmy even at this time in the morning.

I had fallen asleep the previous evening at around 8, and so had gotten enough rest to feel reasonably awake still. My role on board the ship was to turnaround the planes and helicopters when they landed - to refuel them, check for any mechanical issues.

To be one of the only souls wondering around in the dark on a such a large vessel can be an eerie experience. My thoughts often turned to my wife and family back at home; to be so far away from them, for so long...

It was during such a moment of absent-mindedness that I suddenly became aware of a warm mug in my right hand - which had appeared from nowhere. As I looked at it I noticed that I could see my breath in front of my face - and I felt that the temperature had dropped suddenly. I was also now wearing a thick jacket that I had not put on that day.

Puzzled by this, I took out my binoculars and surveyed the scene around me and was alarmed to see what appeared to be the small, jagged coastline of some island right in front of the ship, which from my knowledge of the maps of the area should not have been there.

We were heading straight towards it, so I raised the alarm without hesitation, ordering the ship to re-direct its course. The captain on duty - Captain Lance - came out onto the deck. I had started to explain the situation when I noticed that that the air had become warm again, and that I was no longer wearing the extra jacket.

I then tried to point out the small and jagged land that I had seen - or thought I'd seen - but it was now nowhere to be found. The captain suggested that I had been suffering from a lack of sleep, and relieved me of my duty.

On November 13^th, that same year, I was onboard the same ship, once again doing a watch starting at 3am, still in the Pacific but this time much further north, not far from the islands of Japan.

It was cold that evening, and as I stood on the deck with a drink in my hand, trying to warm myself - I suddenly experienced an uncanny sense of having been there before. I realized that I was stood in the same spot on the ship, wearing the same jacket - and once again was absorbed in thoughts of life back at home - then I remembered the rocky coastline I had seen before.

I took out my binoculars and saw it right there ahead of us - and once again I raised the alarm straight away. This time, as we re-directed our course, the island did not disappear, and we safely navigated around it.

One of the others mentioned that there had been some volcanic activity in this region, and it seems probable that the piece of land had been formed quite recently - just a couple of months ago - from the molten lava cooled by the ocean - creating a new - and as yet unnamed - island.