Toy boats at Mistra Bay

I read with great interest the letter from Mr Damien Ebejer (The Sunday Times, July 2) about the toy boats at Mistra Bay. I call them "nuisance boats" which are ruining one of the loveliest and peaceful beaches that you have left in Malta.

I personally came across them last year. The first time I ap-proached the owners I was given abuse. The second time I quietly went round and jotted down all the numbers of the cars which were carrying the boats. The police did not want to know.

I sent the numbers to a minister who passed them on to somebody in the know: I was more or less asked to go to court and give evidence. I refused to do this, not on my holiday anyway, and it did result in the fact that we did not see the boats again and a sign went up at the beach saying that Mistra Bay was to be used only for swimming.

A friend of mine was there earlier this year and she too was bothered with these boats but as the weather was not hot enough for swimming I told her to leave it be - they'll go away when the season starts.

Mistra Bay attracts a various selection of people. Tourists go year after year because of the magic of its beauty and tranquility. Families come because the lack of kiosks gives the parents a bit of peace. The occasional ice cream vendor is a welcome sight.

Then there are people who bring disabled children or adults to have a swim or a day out in peace because again, the real Mistra Bay crowd is polite, understanding and compassionate.

You can imagine when the noisy and unruly grown-up boys arrive with their boats that threaten everybody's safe swim in the sea and the idle chat that is going on - tempers are bound to fray and, as Mr Ebejer wrote, one of these days it will not stop at that.

I believe that there is no law against these nuisance boats and their proud owners and I do admit that if one has a toy or built a toy one wants to use it - but for goodness' sake, not on a small beach. They should have a list of the places they can go. There are plenty of areas on the Maltese coast which are not used for swimming.

Please look after Mistra Bay. It is one of the few natural gems you've got left.