- The long cold days of perching uncomfortably
on the banks of Loch Ness straining for a view of the mythical monster
are over.
-
- The internet has come to the rescue of
those determined to catch a glimpse of Nessie without catching pneumonia.
-
- From Monday the chances of a decent sighting
of the Loch Ness monster will improve significantly as four video cameras
are trained over the inky waters where Nessie is believed to reside.
-
- Monster-watchers across the world, who
cannot afford the pilgrimage on a regular basis, will undoubtedly rejoice
in the live images of the loch that will be broadcast on to the world wide
web.
-
- A simple internet connection will allow
anyone access to the panoramic views of the loch.
-
- The president of the Official Loch Ness
Monster Fan Club, Gary Campbell, welcomed the development.
-
- He said: "This is a major breakthrough
for Nessie fans worldwide. Most of our members are overseas and this will
allow them to visit the web site and look for Nessie. If they do spot something
out there on the water they can grab a picture from their screens."
-
- The cameras have been installed by Mikko
Takala, a technical wizard and Nessie-hunter, who lives near Loch Ness.
-
- He has arranged for the views of the
loch to be broadcast by a digital radio signal to the Loch Ness Monster
Exhibition Centre in Drumnadrochit.
-
- The images will then be fed on to the
web. They will be updated every two minutes.
-
- Mr Takala said: "The equipment we
are using is the best available today. It will ensure that the clearest
possible pictures of the loch and of course Nessie, are available worldwide."
-
- The situation of the cameras has been
carefully thought out and they have been positioned at an area where most
monster sightings have been made.
-
- One will point directly over Urquhart
Castle, the deepest area of the loch where Nessie's Cave, a 30ft deep hole,
is said to lie.
-
- The hole was discovered by a boat skipper,
George Edwards, who tracked it in 1990 using sonar, although its origins
still remain a mystery.
-
- Mr Campbell said: "This is the area
where an award winning photo of Nessie was taken by a local man, Richard
White, in 1997, and we are hoping that, with the Nessiecam trained over
the loch continually, we will soon have definite proof of what Nessie really
is."
-
- The Loch Ness Monster Exhibition Centre
has agreed to fund the venture.
-
- The manager of the Drumnadrochit centre,
Robert Bremner, said: "Many Nessie lovers can not make it to Scotland
to see Nessie in the flesh, so hopefully this will allow the loch to be
taken to them where ever they are."
-
- Nessie was first spotted by St Columba
in 565AD and the latest sighting was on 23 November last year, one of a
total of 11 sightings in 1998.
-
- The Nessie on the Net website is visited
by about 40,000 web surfers each week, but the images on the page will
not be live until Monday.
-
- It can be viewed on http://www.lochness.co.uk/livecam.
-
- A second company, Loch Ness Marketing,
of Drumnadrochit, is also planning to beam live pictures of the loch on
to the internet, using one camera.
|
