There are two popular misconceptions about shipwrecks in Cornwall.

The first is that most wrecks were caused by wreckers' shining misleading lights from the cliffs, in the hope of bringing vessels laden with bounty onto the rocks. This was never required, as nature, with it's strong winds, heavy seas and sharp rocks, was a deadly combination ensuring a constant stream of wrecked vessels.

The second misconception is that the wreckers' deliberately killed survivors of shipwrecks to ensure they could carry off the hapless ships' cargoes.

Though there were inevitable occasions when violence was used, far more wreckers' were have likely to have drowned than the possibility of sailors being murdered. The combination of poor wages and valuable cargoes was too much to resist, with wreckers' often taken to the same treacherous seas that had caused the original occupants to abandon ship.

Shipwrecks were, however, thought to be fair game across all sections of society with sometimes hundreds of people following a troubled ship along the coast in anticipation of a rich harvest.

This is perhaps best summed up by the localised version of the saying "it's an ill wind that blows no good to Cornwall". Hundreds, perhaps thousands of wrecks, have occurred around the Cornish coast

Cornish Shipwrecks: Volume 2 - The North Coast

Clive Carter

Tapliner Publishing Company

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Books by Tapliner Publishing Company

See the best price to sell, buy or rent books by the Tapliner Publishing Company publisher. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Cornish Shipwrecks: Volume 2 - The North Coast