Methods in Madness with Adrian Shine: Mistaken Monsters Part 2

Join us as we continue our journey of intrigue and discovery with Adrian Shine, a seasoned Loch Ness investigator. Adrian is renowned for his dedication to uncovering the truth, he’ll present a series of four blogs exploring some of the most common cases of mistaken identity in the search for Nessie.

Part 2: Mistaken Monsters – Adrian Shine Sets the Record Straight

So far, we have looked at monsters which are water. All objects moving through water create ‘displacement wakes’. It might be an ocean liner or a duck, but the wake pattern is the same. This consists of two ‘arms’ of the bow and stern waves diverging in a V form at an angle of virtually 39o. These are quite distinct from the foaming ‘wash’ caused by a boat’s propeller. Each arm of the wake consists of many waves. The waves are many and short at slow speeds and fewer but longer as speed increases. From the vessel itself, this is very evident, as it is from ahead or astern of the vessel.

From the side and from lower viewing angles however, the waves within the wake arms appear as the classic multi-humped ‘sea serpent’ type of Loch Ness Monster. The waves can travel for miles and persist long after the vessel causing them is out of sight. Sometimes, depending upon the viewing angle, only a portion of the wake appears, making a very convincing serpentine ‘animal’. On very calm water, even ducks, swans and small animals can make wakes apparently out of all proportion to their size, which adds a head and neck to the humps illusion.

The interaction between wakes of more than one vessel or of wakes meeting from a single vessel that has turned can cause very varied effects, including one described as ‘the standing wave’. It is most often seen off Urquhart Castle where multiple cruise boats turn around to view the castle, causing particularly complex and spectacular effects. As the wakes intersect, some combine to make higher waves and can appear to remain almost stationary as more and more waves interact replenishing the energy.

It has been thought that ship’s wakes can be reflected from the loch’s steep shores to meet in the middle and make standing waves. This is theoretically possible, but we have found no shore steep enough to reflect the waves without them breaking and losing too much energy.

Until our next instalment from Adrian, visit The Loch Ness Centre to journey through 500 million years of legend and discovery. Explore more examples of mistaken identities, famous hoaxes, and the enduring mystery of Loch Ness!

Have you ever spotted something unusual on the loch? We’d love to hear about it! Share your observations with us using this link. Who knows—you might just have the next big discovery!

Images are copyright of M. Shine

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