The dictionary definition of wrecking does little to illustrate the gruelling labour and danger involved; neither does it truly portray the conditions. Wrecking, salvaging and lifesaving – concomitant activities – were particularly dangerous when they took place at the height of a gale, often in the hours of morning before dawn. Curtains of wind and rain lashed at the wreckers, obstructing vision and making footholds on the cliff face perilous. Cold and wet hands grasped at the rocks for balance as they tried to reach for the slippery hands of survivors or for the bodies of those who died or for the cargo as it slammed ashore. Hearing, too, was impaired by the howl of the gale and the cacophony of sounds coming from the sea; indeed, the wind drowned out the calls of survivors and of fellow wreckers. Backs ached with the strain of hauling bodies and cargo ashore; hogsheads full of wine or brandy (456 pounds in weight) or tobacco (almost 1000 pounds) were water-logged, making them even heavier. Backs were further compromised by the exertion it took to haul the goods from the heavy and dangerous surf, and up steep and craggy cliffs out of the reach of the sea. Some wreckers, salvors and lifesavers were not so lucky, and were swept off the cliffs, dragged under by the violence of the sea, to be pounded against the rocks along with the shattered and broken remains of the ship.

Such scenes played out every winter along Cornwall's coast, although most often wrecking and salving were much less labour-intensive, occurring well after the ship was wrecked, as the cargo and remains of the vessel washed ashore over miles of coastline. In that case, it was only a matter of walking along the shore, picking up items deposited on the beach by the gale or a high tide. Likewise, goods lost from smuggling ventures would also wash ashore, to be collected by those fortunate enough to be first on the scene. These authentic wrecking scenes belie the more popular, but inaccurate, image of deliberate wrecking; they also belie what has become a more prominent, land-based view of Cornish history.

In 1930 Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch emphasised the remoteness of Cornwall; its almost island status, its foreign ways, and the slow development of its road system.