In the days of sailing ships, the waters off Britain’s south-western coast could be some of the most treacherous in the world with tidal currents, submerged rocks, storms and murky depths. Thousands of ships were lost there over the centuries. From the remote Isles of Scilly, four generations of the Gibson family documented these shipwrecks in photographs, creating a unique archive of an era when seafaring could mean risking one’s life.

This magnificent book is the largest ever created on the subject, with over 100 exceptional images presented as never before alongside text by historian and diver Carl Douglas and marine archaeologist Björn Hagberg. The result is a work that conveys mankind’s struggle against the elements.