Mehalah Author:Sabine Baring-Gould Between Mersea and the Blackwater were several flat hol ms or islands, some under water at high-tides, others only just standing above it, and between these, the winding waterways formed a labyrinth which made pursuit difficult. The traffic was carried on with an audacity and openness unparalleled elsewhere. Al though there was a coastguard stat... more »ion at the month of the estuary, on Mersea 'Hard,' yet goods were run even in open day, under the very eyes of the revenue men. Each public-house on the island, and on the mainland near a creek, obtained its entire supply of wine and spirits from contraband vessels.« less