Cruising the West coast of Scotland, I am told by those who know, requires a degree of fortitude in order to tolerate the continuous attentions of the midges that regard that part of the world as home and yachties as a legitimate part of their food chain.
In the Caribbean the "no-see-ums" perform a similar role to good effect.
Here on the French Riviera the pests are both larger and, whilst sounding similar, much noisier. We call them Wally Rockets although messrs Yamaha etc probably have a more marketing-oriented name for their water-borne motorbikes.
So here's the question - how do you repel the buggers ?
Torpedoes are the obvious solution but an extensive trawl of E-bay shows that they're pretty hard to come by and the DS is none to enthusiastic about having her nice owners' cabin filled up with the necessary tubes and firing mechanisms.
I have dismissed the AK47 and RPG as being a bit too ostentatious and likely to attract the unwanted attentions of the Gendarmerie Maritime. There would be forms to fill in no doubt.
So there's a modest prize on offer for anyone who can come up with an effective repellant - answers, as usual, on the back of a ten pound note.