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Skipper reckons Loch Ness Monster is an eel after spotting creature on sonar


By Andrew Dixon

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Sonar Image taken by Jacobite Cruise boat skipper Rod Michie...see story Mike Merritt...pic Peter Jolly
Sonar Image taken by Jacobite Cruise boat skipper Rod Michie...see story Mike Merritt...pic Peter Jolly

Another startling image of a large creature inhabiting the depths of Loch Ness has been captured on sonar.

It follows recent revelations of the “most compelling” evidence of the existence of a Loch Ness Monster after an unusual recording more than 500ft below its cold surface.

The stories have made headlines around the world.

But now another contact with a large creature in another part of the loch has been produced.

It was captured by retired skipper Rod Michie (77), who worked on Loch Ness for more than 30 years.

It follows two images seen off Invermoriston by skipper Ronald Mackenzie aboard his Spirit of Loch Ness tourist boat just above the 607ft loch bottom.

Rod Michie of Jacobite Cruises who picked up a sonar reading at Loch Ness...pic Peter Jolly
Rod Michie of Jacobite Cruises who picked up a sonar reading at Loch Ness...pic Peter Jolly

Mr Michie’s image was recorded on the Jacobite Queen in June 2015 off Urquhart Castle – said to be a favourite haunt of Nessie – at around 750ft.

“I used to see surprising things visually or by sonar, but every time there was a logical explanation,” said Mr Michie, who worked for rival company Jacobite Cruises.

“But this contact was different. It really is unexplained.

“I also know Ronald Mackenzie well and he is a genuine guy. There is something unexplained down there. My guess is that it is big eel – 20-30ft long.

“The equipment is improving all the time and that is most likely to solve the mystery of Nessie. I saw things over the years that I did not want to make a lot of for fear of ridicule, but this sighting in 2015 was very similar to Ronald’s.”

Mr Michie has wondered if his image was possibly the lost model of Nessie, which was used during the filming of 1970’s The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes.

That was finally located in 2016 by leading sonar expert Craig Wallace, who has said he is willing to come to Loch Ness with sophisticated sonar equipment to try and find what is inhabiting the depths.

Mr Wallace, marine robotics senior application specialist with Kongsberg Maritime AS, has surveyed Loch Ness half-a-dozen times.

He has described the latest images as “very curious” and “100 per cent genuine”.

Nessie expert Steve Feltham, who has set a world record for the longest vigil of looking for the Loch Ness Monster, says Mr Mackenzie’s sonar images are the “most compelling” evidence of the existence of the legendary creature.

“These latest images help put together the most compelling case for a big creature swimming around Loch Ness,” he said.

Related: Is Nessie about to be discovered? Bookie changes view

'Something massive' leaves Loch Ness sceptic lost for words

Sonar image leaves experts stunned


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