With reference to the letter by Kenneth Cocks, First Single-Handed Canoe Crossing (June 30), while the Malta Canoe Federation recognises Joseph Schembri's single-handed canoe crossing from Sicily to Malta in 1981, the time of 14 hours 32 minutes and the crossing are technically unofficial because the Malta Canoe Federation did not exist at that time. However, as I said it is still recognised as the first Sicily-Malta crossing.

As to the record for the crossing itself, the attempt by Mario Musico, an Italian canoeist, in a time of 12 hours in a top-class racing kayak some 10 years later is also unofficial as departure timings could not be verified and he landed at St Georges Bay instead of Valletta, having struggled with an hour of thick fog for the first hour of his paddle in Pozzallo. This still remains the "unofficial" Sicily-Malta record time to beat.

In all cases, crossings have to date been supported and it is only the unsupported crossing records that remain to be set.

However, contrary to Mr Cocks' letter, I feel I must point out that Nicki Borg Costanzi did in fact set two new "official" records and valuable firsts for any Maltese athlete.

Given that there is a well-documented tidal current of 0.25-0.5 Knots in a prevailing southerly direction, the crossings Sicily-Malta and Malta-Sicily are technically different. This has a profound effect on a human powered craft such as a canoe, rowing boat or even swimming. In fact Malta-Sicily is technically like paddling upstream, against the prevailing tidal current flow.

Therefore, not only is Ms Borg-Costanzi the first woman, and dare I say Maltese woman, to make the crossing by canoe between the two islands, but by taking on the significantly harder Malta-Sicily crossing her record stands alone on its own merit and at the very least equal to Mr Schembri's record breaking paddle in 1981.