But for about five centimetres this letter would not be written. On August 3, I was diving at Wied iż-Żurrieq.

As I was just under the surface, at 10.15am I felt a glancing blow on my head. Surfacing, I realised I had been hit by a Blue Grotto tourist boat.

The boat owner realised he had hit something, slowed down and stopped about 20 metres away. He looked at me and made no effort to see if I was injured or otherwise. Why should he? I would hinder him in embarking the next load  of tourists.

My diving colleagues reckoned that the propeller had missed me by about five centimetres. Having lived and visited here many times, I am aware that there should be no speed boating within 200 metres of the shore and when navigating close to swimmers a careful lookout should be kept at the bow.

This boat owner had no one in the bow acting as a lookout and he assumed swimmers would keep out of his way. He seemed to be unaware that one of the key rules of the sea is that power gives way to non-powered vessels, which includes swimmers.

The boat owner is lucky he is not facing charges of grievous bodily harm or even manslaughter. It is time the police made spot checks on the boat owners at Wied iż-Żurrieq and charge them as and when they do not comply with the relevant maritime legislation and safety rules.