Thanks for the replies.

I appreciate it is not a serious problem, but I posted the question in case there was something obvious I had missed.  It's odd that Scott's program defaults to "New" and mine doesn't. 

I use the pen tool because;

 it provides a easy combination of fixed points and Bezier points which makes it easier to fit selections with a mixture of smooth curves and sharp angles;

the points can be adjusted which again helps to get accurate selections.

Regards

Mitch