LINDSAY SELBY: Lack of Interest in Loch Ness?

There have been less and less sightings of the Loch Ness creature over the last few years as can be seen from this article:

Achtung Nessie! Loch anglers in Dores drama

By Claire Doughty Published: 17 August, 2006

A STUNNED German schoolboy spotted Nessie last week and shouted to his dad: "Look, a U-boat!" Ryan Macdonald's father, Gordon, who also got a monster fright, declared: "I used to think Nessie was a joke, but now I am not sure." Gordon and his eight-year old son and Gordon's pal, Tony Mulgrew, caught sight of the legendary beast during a fishing trip near Dores. Joiner Gordon, of Drakies, Inverness, told the Highland News: "We were near the Dores Inn when we saw this object." Whatever it was rose out of the water by about a few metres. It was there for five or six seconds."

Ryan said it was looked like a U-boat coming out of the water. We weren't scared, we just couldn't believe it. "He's now desperate to tell his friends back in Germany where he stays with his mum, but he is worried they won't believe him. "I was totally sceptical about From Page 1 stories of the Loch Ness monster in the past, but to see something that big was just unbelievable."It was about three quarters of the way across the loch, I wanted to take a picture, but it was too far away." Gordon added: "It was massive. The wash that was created from this thing was as though a boat had passed at high speed, but there was definitely no boat in the area." Tony Mulgrew said: "It is hard to say what it was exactly, but I have fished up at the loch 300 to 400 times and I have never seen anything like that. "There was something strange. There was an upsurge of water and a lot of froth came off the object. Whatever it was was going towards Drumnadrochit."

The father and son's Nessie sighting is only the second this year. The news has come as a relief to Gary Campbell of the Official Loch Ness Monster Fan Club who was worried that global warming had made the loveable beast reluctant to surface. He said: "It is great news. It is such a relief there has been another sighting of Nessie. This is only the second this year. "Just a few weeks ago we were saying that she has been put off coming to the surface because of global warming and the increased temperatures, but I am glad that she has proved us wrong." However, Willie Cameron, director of Loch Ness Marketing, was more down to earth about the alleged sighting. He told the Highland News: "There has been a boat going up and down the loch at tremendous speeds. You won't necessarily see that it is a boat from so far away, you will just see a solid mass. "It could have been either the ferry or this speed boat which both create a tremendous wash. "I am not saying that that is what they saw, I am just being open-minded." He added: "There haven't been many recorded sightings this year. It can be disappointing getting an explanation as people come here and they want to see something."My late father was one of the people who have had one of the best sightings, so I am not saying it doesn't exist because I would be calling my father a hoaxer. I am just explaining what it might have been."

Source:
http://www.north-star-news.co.uk/news/fullstory.php/aid/352/Achtung_Nessie_Loch_anglers_in_Dores_drama.html

Could this be the reason:

White witch curses latest Nessie hunt

Amateur scientist’s plan to search Loch Ness ‘equivalent to grave-robbing’Published: 22/03/2008 A witch last night cursed a Nessie-hunter’s bid to find the legendary beast, by casting a spell to sink his monster-seeking boats. Amateur scientist Gordon Holmes has installed sophisticated electronic equipment in two radio-controlled model boats in a bid to find the beast, but the move has angered Kevin Carlyon, the High Priest of British White Witches and self-professed “High Priest of Loch Ness and Protector of Nessie”. He described the latest “monster hunt” as sad and laughable, but is concerned it may open the door for more Nessie-hunters.

The white witch said: “I have several plans of how to scupper the latest hunt. “The first will be to send a wish for a large wave or visualise an iceberg in the loch to sink the ‘toy boats’, to using modern-day science in the form of high-powered radio-controlled radio equipment to send the boat to a different destination. “I’m not being a killjoy or wishing to ruin the tourist trade around the loch but I do believe there is a creature the-re, but not a solid one. I feel it is a spirit from a bygone age. What these people are doing is equivalent to grave-robbing. Nessie deserves respect, not exploitation.”

Kevin claims he has previously had success in scuppering the search by Swedish Nessie-hunter Jan Sunberg on his GUST expedition in 2001. Since then sightings have dropped rapidly each year. The latest hunt for Nessie is being spearheaded by a tiny navy of radio-controlled boats. Amateur scientist Gordon Holmes, of Yorkshire, has installed electronic equipment in two vessels. He hopes his use of the 2ft-long remote-controlled boats will finally prove the existence of the monster. Mr Holmes plans to return in the summer with the craft to carry out further searches.

Read more:
http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/551471#ixzz0bdKZmhlj

Well, I am a bit sceptical about the 'curses' but maybe it is because people are less willing to say they have seen something or simply that the creature is not surfacing as much. Perhaps Robert Rines was right and Nessie has died out?

There are less people around the loch watching for appearances these days and possibly interest has waned in the virtual world of online watching via webcam and satellite. Whatever the reason, we hear less and less about sightings since 2000. Maybe this new decade will herald a resurgence of interest. I hope so. As I am no longer able to travel up to the loch myself it would be nice to know someone is there, watching.