A boater says he spotted a submarine periscope during a fishing trip off Hollywood, Fla.

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Ryan Danoff of Fort Lauderdale told the South Florida Sun Sentinel he and two friends were about 4 miles offshore in his 31-foot boat, Fishy Business, when they spotted what looked like a mast against the horizon. But when they looked more closely they could see no vessel and, when Danoff moved toward it, he realized it was a periscope.

"It was crazy," he said. "If it was just myself out there I wouldn't believe what I saw."

As the Fishy Business approached, the periscope started moving away, Danoff said, and then vanished underwater. A mass of bubbles came to the surface as if the submarine had just blown its ballast, and the three fishermen saw no other sign of it.

Danoff reported the sighting to the Coast Guard and has heard nothing back. Petty Officer Barry Bena said the matter is still under investigation.

"It's kind of uncommon, but it's a definite possibility," Bena said when asked if a U.S. Navy submarine could have come in for a close look at the beach.