The ship in a bottle is one of the classic items of nautical décor, as much fun and mystery as it is remarkable craftsmanship. Now you can enjoy an adorable ship in a bottle for yourself or give one as a gift to friends, family, clients or co-workers. 

 Features:

  • Solid wood base with ship nameplate HMS Surprise Proudly Displayed
  • Arrives fully assembled with all sails mounted --- This is not a ship in a bottle kit!
  • Real glass bottle with a classic style
  • Handcrafted wooden hull and masts
  • Cork stopper and melted wax with an anchor impression seal the bottle
  • Dimensions: 11" L x 4" W x 5" H
  • Buy Over $30 In Nautical Decor - and get free shipping on all Nautical Decor Items
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History Of HMS Surprise

     There were actually five ships of this class built. Two were captured by the British, L'Unité and La Tourterelle. The records from this First Empire period of French history are sparse and provide no information on her actions before she was taken. The most commonly known and historically recorded Surprise is the ex L'Unité, famous during her own time for the exploits and actions involving the Hermione.  She is also famous today because of the writings of Patrick O'Brian and his "Master and Commander" series books which chronicle the adventures of Captain Aubrey and the surgeon Maturin. It is the fictionalized Surprise, based on this real ship, that comes to life in the books and quickly has become a favourite of naval history affeciandos. She has been made popular by the movie Master and Commander: Far Side of the World, of which the screenplay based on several of Patrick O'Brian's books. 

   The current HMS Surprise is a modern tall ship, built at Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, Canada as Rose in 1970 to a Phil Bolger design based on the original 18th-century British Admiralty drawings. She is based on HMS Rose, a 20 gun sixth-rate frigate built in 1757 In 2001, she was sold to the 20th Century Fox film studio to be used in the making of the film Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, in which she portrayed the Royal Navy frigate Surprise with a story based on several of the books by Patrick O'Brian. After the film was complete, the ship was leased and then purchased by the Maritime Museum of San Diego which has restored her to sailing condition as of September 2007. The ship has officially been re-registered as HMS Surprise in honor of her role in the film. She sails several times a year, often with the museum's other tall ships, the schooner Californian and the 1863 barque Star of India.In 2010, she portrayed HMS Providence in the Disney adventure film Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.

Here is the history of the original:

    She was constructed in Le Havre as L'Unité in 1794: a 24 gun corvette, armed with 8lb long guns. She was captured in the Mediterranean (April 1796, from Bona, modern day Annaba in Algeria, a neutral) by the British frigate Inconstant and taken in as Surprise (there was already a L'Unité). Her lines were taken off and she was re-armed and classed as a 28 gun ship. The Surprise actually carried 24 32lb carronades on her main deck, 8 32lb carronades on her quarter deck and 4 6lb long guns on her foredeck. It was difficult to rate her and she was regarded as a fifth rate till 1798 and then re-classed as a sixth rate. 

    She sailed to Jamaica in July 1796 under the command of Captain Edward Hamilton. The big moment in her lifetime was the extraordinarily audacious cutting out of the frigate Hermione on the 24th. of October 1799. The Hermione crew had mutinied, killing their commander, Captain Pigot, and their officers. The ship was then surrendered to the Spanish who were allied with the French. She was in the harbor at Puerto Cabello (in what is now Venezuela), defended by shore batteries mounting about 200 guns. The boats of the Surprise, led in person by Captain Hamilton, were detected and fired upon by the patrolling gunboats, but they proceeded, boarded the Hermione, whose crew were at quarters, cleared the deck and sailed her out. Their losses were 12 wounded; the Spanish suffered a loss of 119 killed and 97 wounded. Captain Hamilton was knighted for his conduct and the Hermione was restored to the navy.

     The Surprise sailed back to England where she was sold at Deptford in February of 1802.

11" Master & Commander HMS Surprise Ship In A Bottle

  • Product Code: 11"HMS Surprise Ship In A Bottle
  • Reward Points: 250
  • Availability: Out Of Stock
  • $24.99

  • Price in reward points: 2500

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Tags: Ship in a bottle, HMS Surprise, model ship, model ship in a bottle, HMS Surprise model, 11" Ship in a Bottle, Master and Commander