Hey Swanny,
This is a pretty cool ship. If you ever get a chance to get on board you'll love poking around on it. Just remember it was built to accomodate cameras and equipment so the interior is a little more hollywood than historical.
The 18thc. British Navy crew I'm part of has had the opportunity to play on this boat quite a bit when it was docked here in Florida and its amazing to think that this thing has made some incredible journeys since its use in the movie. I hope they did some considerable repairs since it left because it was in pretty bad shape when it left here. It was never built to last as long as it has, because as you said the intent was to burn it.
I'm glad to see her still in ship shape. Thanks
Mike
"Imagination is the dye that colors our lives"
Marcus Aurellius
A good friend will come and bail you out of jail...but, a true friend will be sitting next to you saying, "Damn...that was fun!"