To the His Majesty’s Board of Customs in London, the coastline of south-west Britain was a lawless frontier. In the 18th century, import tariffs on tea, gin, tobacco, and French silk were as high as 120%, transforming ordinary Cornish fishermen into logistical masterminds.

The revenue cutters patrolling the English Channel possessed superior cannons, but the locals possessed intimate knowledge of every submerged reef and tidal surge between Falmouth and Plymouth.

Barrels of brandy were roped together with sinking stones and buoyant timber toggles, submerged at precise bearings off the harbour breakwater. When the coastguard cutter weighed anchor, the cargo was quietly retrieved at low slack water.

Baxter adds that while the coastguards were looking for lanterns on the cliffs, the gulls were already gorging on the leftover salted mackerel used to camouflage the scent of the barrels.