Area author releases book on hunting of Loch Ness monster
WILTON, N.Y. » Saratoga County author Joseph W. Zarzynski recently released a new book about the golden age of monster hunting at Loch Ness, Scotland.
Titled “Lochend—Monster Hunting on the Run,” the book was released on Dec. 13.
The cryptozoologist-turnedmaritime-archaeologist chronicles the late 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, when sophisticated technology was first employed trying to solve the Nessie enigma. That equipment was developed because
Cold War tensions necessitated advanced remote sensing to probe the deepest oceans.
The 200-page book likewise tells the story of a littleknown athletic accomplishment. In 1984, Zarzynski, a self-described “average” marathoner (26.2 miles) and ultramarathoner (over 26.2 miles), completed a 28.5-mile solo run along Loch Ness. He is believed to be the first person to have accomplished running the full length of the legendary waterway. The author uses his overland jaunt to tell anecdotes about the heyday
of pursuing Nessie.
Included in the book are stories, too, about other mysteries of Loch Ness including strange stone circles found on the waterway’s bottomlands, a fullscale prop of a movie monster that sank in the loch, a giant fiberglass net sunk in the loch to snare a water beastie, and a rare World War II bomber discovered during a Nessie search.
Moreover, Zarzynski provides a primer into other denizens of the deep — Morag, Seileag and Champ.
Zarzynski hopes readers will
enjoy this real-life adventure set during the high watermark of seeking Nessie.
A Wilton resident, Zarzynski taught social studies for 31 years (1974-2005) in the Saratoga Springs City School District. His career has also included years as a cryptozoologist (monster hunter), underwater archaeologist, author, newspaper columnist and documentary scriptwriter.
The author has a history degree from Ithaca College, a social sciences degree from Bing
hamton Univ. and a degree in archaeology and heritage from the University of Leicester, UK.
From 1974 to 1991, Zarzynski conducted numerous cryptozoological expeditions at Loch Ness, Scotland and at “North America’s Loch Ness” Lake Champlain.
In 1985, as a correspondent for General Aviation News, Zarzynski reported on the recovery of a sunken World War II British Wellington bomber from Loch Ness. That dramatic project inspired the cryptozoologist to become an underwater archaeologist.
From 1987 to 2011, the Endicott, NY native was executive director of Bateaux Below. For a quarter of a century, the notfor-profit team studied Lake George shipwrecks, primarily French & Indian War vessels. In 1990, Zarzynski directed the group that used a Klein side scan sonar to discover Lake George’s 1758 Land Tortoise radeau shipwreck, labeled North America’s oldest intact warship.” In 1998, the British warship was designated a National Historic Landmark, the sixth shipwreck in American waters with that prestigious recognition.
Zarzynski is the author or co-author of seven books, four on shipwrecks and three on underwater mysteries. His previous book, Ghost Fleet Awakened—Lake George’s Sunken Bateaux of 1758 (SUNY Press), about the history and archaeological study of Lake George bateau-class shipwrecks, was published in 2019.
“Lochend—Monster Hunting on the Run” is now available for $21.95 from Amazon.com at https://www.amazon. com/Lochend-MonsterHunting-Run-Joseph-Zarzynski/dp/1667810502/ ref=pd_ybh_a_1?_encodi ng=UTF8&psc=1&refRID =S66EZPQ20CXKHK9TW 33E as well as Barnes and Noble (online) and other book distributors.