It was around 7.45am when the first small boat appeared. The sun was rising above Gravelines, a coastal town that lies at the mouth of the River Aa between Calais and Dunkirk. It was the first calm day in more than a week.
Three military reservists, in khaki uniforms and black vests bearing the word “Gendarme” – officers salaried by the UK – had been standing on the riverbank a couple of hundred metres from where the waterway opens onto the English Channel. They were alerted to the vessel by a passing jogger.
