Rammed by trawlers

SIR – In the autumn of 1970 I was delivering an RAF yacht to Gibraltar. Some 100 miles off Ushant a French trawler appeared. It made six attempts to ram us, and then just as suddenly headed away over the horizon.

Six weeks before, the Salcombe yacht Nicolette had been rammed and sunk with the loss of three lives. It transpired that it had been hit by a French trawler. The Telegraph decided send its French-speaking reporter, the late Guy Rais, to investigate. He discovered a deep dislike for British yachtsmen and fishermen.

Apparently nothing changes, despite the comradeship of the EU.

St Austell, Cornwall