WILTON — Wilton resident Joseph W. Zarzynski has released a new book, “Lochend—Monster Hunting on the Run,” about the golden age of monster hunting at Loch Ness, Scotland.
The cryptozoologist-turned-maritime-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 little-known 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. 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 full-scale 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.
Zarzynski taught social studies for 31 years (1974-2005) in the Saratoga Springs City School District. The Wilton resident’s career has also included years as a cryptozoologist (monster hunter), underwater archaeologist, author, newspaper columnist, and documentary scriptwriter.
Zarzynski is 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—Monste r Hunting on the Run” is available at Northshire Bookstore Saratoga.
