@fmurphy1970 – you wrote “It’s one thing being an armchair cryptozoologist…”

I have spoken at length with two people who have separately interviewed the witnesses, and a third who lives in Foyers and shops there, but I don’t claim to be a cryptozoologist of any ilk – armchair, couch, field or garden. I hope you enjoy your visit.

And yes the reported sighting is in the exact same spot Tim filmed a six foot object swimming across the Loch in April 1960. How do we know it was so large? Tim had the film examined by JARIC (look it up!) who calculated the distance, size, and speed. It’s amazing stuff. Have a look at the interview Tim did in 1980 for Arthur C. Clarke’s Mysterious World program.

Enjoy.

Of course – nothing is cheap, but how about this beauty:

Kodak EasyShare Z981 14MP Digital Camera with Schneider-Kreuznach Variogon 26x Wide Angle Optical Image Stabilized Zoom Lens and 3.0 Inch LCD…

Only 252 bucks, NEW IN THE BOX, as they say! 14 Megapixels! 26 Power Zoom! 3 Inch LCD, plus Digital Viewfinder! All the bells and whistles!

That’s what I shoot with… and my very stable Tripod cost me under 90 bucks more. I recommend any Cryptomundian pick up one of these $350 setups, put it together, get familiar with its operation, and then collect the extended tripod legs into a monopod and stand it in a corner near the door, ready and waiting for the next opportunity to CAPTURE A CRYPTID!!

I mean, this is NOT rocket surgery!

I do believe that there are something to cryptids, but I also believe that the majority of the reports are nothing. I don’t think they’re usually hoaxes, but oftentimes, you can make a mistake.

As for the Loch Ness Monster, I turned a disbeliever some time back after observing footage of wake trails. For a long time, I always thought that the wake trail explanation was ridiculous – a wake trail looks nothing like a long sea serpent and seems to dissipate very quickly. But a friend showed me footage from, of all places, Loch Ness itself. What happens is that the wake from the boat creates two ripples, looking like waves, that head away from one another. If, for whatever reason, the two ripples are reflected off hard surfaces at the edge of the water, they may meet each other with considerable strength in the middle. Think like a ripple spreading outwards from the middle of your bathtub, bouncing off the walls and meeting together again, pushing the water upwards.

The effect? Looks kind of like a sine curve, undulating up and down.

My friend’s footage was shot facing towards the sun. So as the water goes up, it creates a shadow, whereas the rest of the flat lake was sparkling blue. And I have to say, it looked extremely similar to a thick dark-colored band undulating through the water, like some sort of curving snake.

The wake must have been created by a very heavy or very fast moving boat. And this effect was created quite a bit after the boat had passed.

If I had seen this personally, I wouldn’t quite know what it was. I’m not sure I would’ve automatically thought it was a giant serpent, but I certainly wouldn’t have thought it was just the wake of a boat. I would’ve seen a thick black streak skipping through the water, about 20 yards long, and would’ve at least been extremely confused.

My friend pointed out that many of these stories about serpentine lake monsters originate from long, narrow lakes with deep, relatively still waters, often with high rock walls or cliffs along the sides. Such stories are common in northern Europe, such as Scandinavia, where the fjords fit that description quite nicely. And once the story becomes embedded in local myth, then people start becoming willing to believe. It can be hard to judge size and distance on the water, and a strange bird or large fish can be confused with something else. And in some cases, there are legitimate “monsters” – large fish like sturgeon or pike that can grow to a surprising size and can look even bigger from a distance.

So, my two cents. Long, I know, I apologize. But while I still think there’s cryptids out there, I admit I’m disinclined to believe Nessie stories.

Take it easy there Mr. Sensitive