Continuity: As Stephen holds the diary, in the shot facing him he begins to flip the page with his right hand, yet, in the next close-up of the diary he flips the page with his left hand. The actual pages he flips and the way he holds the diary differs in this and following shots as well.

Continuity: As Higgins removes the piece of cloth from the bullet and compares it to the shirt, the blood on his hands and the way he holds the shirt differs in the close-up and wide shots.

Continuity: When Captain Aubrey's head is bleeding after being hit during the first battle with the Acheron, we see the wound just above his eye. However, when we see him next, the wound is farther down his hairline.

Deliberate "mistake": When Jack is peering through the magnifying glass at the chart, we see 'Hidden Reef' and 'Dangerous Shoals', but in the previous shot those two things are shown way to the left of where he is looking.

Continuity: The order is given to closereef the topsail. But moments earlier, you see seaman doing just that, working on the last reef.

Factual error: When the ships go around Cape Horn you see it in the distance. But the rock you see is not Cape Horn. Cape Horn is a 400 metre high rock face.

Revealing: When the Surprise is disguised as a whaler, it burns smoke from the front end of the ship to make it look as though it is making whale oil. When it is chased by the French ship the smoke blows back over the ship. As they are sailing ships the wind is behind them which means the smoke should blow forward.

Factual error: The version of the Lord's Prayer in the burial at sea scene is a more modern version, not from the Book of Common Prayer which would have been used at the time.

Factual error: Bonden is the Coxswain, a petty officer. At one point, the captain addresses him as 'Mr' Bonden, a term of address reserved for warrant officers. In a similar vein, Higgins, the Surgeon's Mate, is listed on the cast as a warrant officer. Surgeon's Mates were petty officers.

Revealing: During the scenes when Jack and Stephen are playing their instruments, it can be concluded that they are not genuinely playing. This is most noticeable in their last scene, when strumming. You will notice that they will be strumming when no music is audible.