Nature always wins on coast

Chris Lewcock’s appraisal of the proposed Hastings marina (September 5) reflects sound understanding.

My expertise in matters nautical comes from ‘The Navy Lark’, yet I’m puzzled by the lack of a parking-bay for a dredger to tackle long-shore drift across the harbour mouth!

While the new breakwater may well protect Rock-a-Nore from tidal undercutting, it will almost certainly move long-shore shingle drift problems further along the coast!

Never forget that relative sea-levels are determined by tectonic plate movements (Rock-a-Nore was once the sea-bed; we live in an active fault zone) and for millenia (ie: long before paranoid man-made global warming twaddle!) our English Channel has remained one of Britain’s stormiest coasts with waves and frosts destroying our fragile chalk cliffs... and will do so long after man has paddled off in Noah’s Ark moored at Hastings station!

It is a historical certainty we will one day suffer another naturally destructive 1703 hurricane across Sussex, another ‘10 years of devastating’ 13th century storms’ long-shore drift blocking off Hastings’ and Rye’s natural harbours, destroying Old Winchelsea and leaving Pevensey Castle and Small Hythe Royal dockyard land-locked!

As King Cnut proved, nature always wins, so more fool us for building on flood plains and coastal belts!

However, as we are stuck with politicians intent on boosting GDP with yet more unneeded people (contrary to their baleful ‘man-made’ prophecies of doom!), then let’s build the new marina at Bulverhythe, as long ago suggested, and preserve the geologically unique Old Town for Hastings’ tourism – well, it beats real work!