I write as a past vice-chairman of the Port of Falmouth Sailing Association and a competitor in Falmouth Weeks spread over nearly 50 years. I am very concerned by the dispute between the organisers and the Falmouth working boat sailors, who now seem likely to boycott Falmouth Week.

The organisers of recent Falmouth Weeks have made great improvements to the quality of the racing for the competitors by moving the courses into Carrick Roads, where the waters are wider and the wind more constant. However, this has diminished Falmouth Week as a spectacle and the townspeople and visitors have been denied the sight of the yachts and, particularly, the working boats racing up the harbour. Falmouth harbour is narrow and the winds there are fluky and I have known many a good race in the roads spoilt by the last leg up the river. If the working boat sailors are happy to forego the quality of their racing then surely the ideal compromise is to allow them to do so. They could continue to be a delight to those of us who like to watch them.

Perhaps what disturbs me even more is when the safety argument is brought to bear. Racing has taken place in Falmouth harbour for over a 100 years and there is no history of serious accidents. The water within the moorings has long been out of bounds for racing. The greatest concentration of vessels occurs around the racing starts, which is why most of the starting has been moved to the wider waters downstream. The fleets are well spread by the time they finish, so I see no reason to discourage finishing on club lines. There are risks attached to all things, but surely those involved in sailing in Falmouth harbour are small and acceptable to consenting adults, particularly if most of the Falmouth Week racing takes place elsewhere.

I do hope the powers that be can find a solution to this problem; otherwise Falmouth Week will be the poorer.

Andrew Pool, Flushing