The Maltese adage says "Fuq tlieta toqgħod il-borma", that a bowl stands on three points; perhaps the Rotin family chose to put three signatures under their contribution to give it more weight (Marsascala Marina - A Bad Idea, January 5).

The article lacks knowledge of facts, is discriminatory and biased.

I begin by stating that the government's policy today is rather of privatisation of marinas than actually building them, so the government whether present or future does not come into it. Whatever the situation is, it has its pros and cons. Nothing is all bad or all good.

We, boating people in Marsascala, are not interested in an expensive marina but in sufficient shelter for our boats so that we can enjoy them throughout the year, eliminate the annual wrecks and have organised moorings as the 21st century demands. Marsascala is the only bay where moorings are not controlled by anybody or any authority. It is a jungle of abuse as it is still free of payment and a free-for-all. I am sure that nobody expects a service for nothing but we, big-boat owners, pay a hefty sum of money to practise our hobby, while the swimmers and fishing enthusiasts pay nothing except the usual taxes which are paid by everybody, and their pastime should not be promoted as was done by the Rotins; we should be on equal footing.

Mentioning small boats and traditional ones is pitiful, because the former litter every metre of the quays without any payment for mooring or even registration, while the latter are disappearing as they are very expensive to produce, giving place to fibreglass. We are now in the year 2008 and unfortunately we all have to suffer the punishment of progress, somehow.

The litter in the sea and on the quays does not come from boats but from irresponsible visitors and locals availing themselves of take-aways. The little fuel used by small boats with inboard fuel caps are surely not the culprits and bigger boats till up from other places and facilities.

My suggestion is that some sort of sheltering embankments be built by utilising the stone from demolished houses, hotels and factories nearby rather than dumping it into the sea as expensive waste. Doesn't the word recycling apply here? Wasteserv should provide the answer.

These embankments should be at strategic points to provide inner shelters and need not require the strength of an outer breakwater which takes the full force of the waves. These points are: (i) the slipway at Salini Street, (ii) the small jetty extension near the arches, (iii) extending the jetty in front of AL Kafe, (iv) extending the outer arm of the main slipway in front of the church and (v) possibly an extension to the inner breakwater. The first four need not be very expensive and should provide enough shelter to the inner harbour and then we can have the moorings arranged and controlled. If the system should fail then let us have the marina if its breakwaters provide the necessary shelter, the sooner the better, to stop the annual wrecks.

I appeal to all those who support my idea to come forward, join the local boating association, Għaqda Baħħara u Sajjieda Dillettanti and press for their claims at a general meeting of the committee; it is no use grumbling without taking action.