Not Nessie-cerally so! Paddle boarders pour cold water on claims of first Loch Ness Monster sighting of 2022 near Urquhart Castle
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Two Inverness men believe they were mistaken for the Loch Ness Monster while out paddle boarding last week.
On Tuesday, the Inverness Courier reported on how veteran Nessie spotter Eoin O’Faodhagain captured webcam footage of two dark shapes moving in parallel upon the loch’s surface.
The hospital clerk’s sighting at 3.26 pm on March 23 was logged on Gary Campbell’s Official Loch Ness Monster Sightings Register as the first of 2022, but has now been removed.
Mr O’Faodhagain (56), from County Donegal in Ireland, described wake-like movement from two objects moving in parallel to each other on the calm surface at a distance of about 150 yards.
The two black shapes were visible for one minute and 44 seconds, then disappeared, before one shape reappeared for another minute and a half in the same line across the loch.
However, offshore catering manager Richie Cameron (45) and his friend Stephen Noble (45), an industrial cleaner, have since poured cold water on the claim.
The pair, who run the Extreme Paddle Boarding Scotland social media site, insist their own location and timings on the loch that day matched perfectly and point to them being the “mysterious objects” in the footage.
The duo had even joked about being mistaken for Nessie on the day.
Mr Cameron said: “With regards to the reporting of a Nessie sighting, I think it was me and my friend paddle boarding.
"I hate to discredit any Nessie sighting as there is plenty of evidence that there is something mysterious in the loch.
“But we were off Urquhart Castle for a few hours that day. The conditions were fantastic so we took our opportunity to make the most of it.
“We have a facebook page called Extreme Paddle Boarding Scotland and we have posted lots of photos on the page from that day, so they are there for anyone to see.
“Everything matches, dates and times.
“It is definitely us, two objects parallel with each other, appearing and disappearing.
“You can see from the photos on the page we are close at times and far apart at other times, just as the objects were described.
“I actually said to my friend that we would probably be mistaken for Nessie on the Loch Ness webcam!”
When contacted by the Courier, Mr O’Faodhagain was adamant his footage could not have been paddle boarders.
