Continuity mistake: The position of the needle and thread lying on Peter's body differ in the wide shot and following close-up. (01:59:10)
Continuity mistake: As Killick trims the wax on the candle, in the close-up his hand is wet. However, in the next wide shot as he says, "He's been at it again..." his hand is dry. (00:54:20)
Continuity mistake: When Stephen removes the bullet, the rope's knot on the pillow, to the right of Stephen's head, appears, disappears and reappears. (01:31:55)
Continuity mistake: There are two tight close-ups of the words "hold fast," which are tattooed on Joe Plaice's fingers; When "Engaged enemy frigate at six bells," is said as Joe speaks, and as Stephen performs the brain surgery on Joe. The letters noticeably differ in the two shots, particularly the l, d, f, and t.
Continuity mistake: While Jack and the rest speak about Lord Nelson, the plate of bread on the table is visible when the wide shots face Stephen. The following two close-ups show the plate of bread on the table, as Stephen looks at the weevils and the bread is positioned very differently in these shots. As Jack slams his hand down on the table, the bread is positioned as in the previous wide shots. (00:32:45 - 00:34:25)
Continuity mistake: On Galapagos, as Stephen is being carried to the tent, after Jack utters the excuse of needing to stretch his legs, Mowett's position differs greatly in the two consecutive wide shots. (01:29:55)
Continuity mistake: While Stephen performs Blakeney's amputation, the string on the hinge of Stephen's eyeglasses changes in consecutive shots. (00:21:45)
Continuity mistake: After Killick sets down the platter of the 'Galapagos Islands', Jack says, "Gentlemen, I give you our destination." In the following close-up of the platter, the stack of china is to the left of the candelabra, yet, in the next shot, as Killick hands the spoon to Jack, the candelabra is farther back and the stack of china is towards the right. (00:59:00)
Continuity mistake: While performing brain surgery on Joe Plaice, Stephen, whose sleeves are rolled up to his elbows, reaches for a spoon with his freckled hand. In the following close-up it is blatantly apparent that it is not Paul Bettany's hand lifting the spoon, not to mention the bit of sleeve (not rolled up) that is visible at the bottom of the screen at the wrist. Then in the overhead shot the table with the instruments is visible, which includes the two boxes and silver spoon. In the next close-up the dark brown box's position and the spoon's position differ (before he picks up the spoon). (00:23:50)
Continuity mistake: 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. (01:34:25)
Continuity mistake: As Higgins studies the medical diagrams while sitting next to Stephen, when he turns the page he gasps and covers his mouth. The diagrams on the page in the close-up differ from the ones in the wide shot as Higgins still has his hand over is mouth. (01:27:50)
Continuity mistake: In the tent before and during the removal of Stephen's bullet, the ropes at the top of the tent behind Jack differ in the close-ups and wide shots. (01:30:40)
Continuity mistake: After Will's death, Joe looks through Will's belongings. As the shot faces Joe he unrolls the parchment and in the next close-up of the parchment, not only do the edges of it differ from the previous and following shots, the way he holds it differs as well. (00:53:55)
Continuity mistake: 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. (01:32:50)
Continuity mistake: When Jack and Stephen play their musical instruments, the cloth under Jack's chin changes position in the close-up. (00:26:55)
Continuity mistake: After Stephen asks, "What is the weather gauge?" the table in front of Jack is visible in the following shots. As Jack extols the virtues of the Surprise the position of the nautical dividers in the instrument box differ once Jack is done. When Jack points to the shoals in the close-up, the map's position under another pair of nautical dividers, the log, ink well stand, etc., is different than the previous shots of the table. (00:18:30 - 00:19:55)
Continuity mistake: The blood on Jack's shirt constantly changes during the final battle with the Acheron.
Continuity mistake: After fighting aboard Acheron, when Jack sorts through some rubble with his sword and as he is stabbed, the items on the ground differ in consecutive shots. (01:57:10)
Continuity mistake: When Blakeney and Padeen run into Stephen's tent, Blakeney says, "So I've made a few notes, if you want to see them," and he hands Stephen the diary. The way Blakeney holds the diary, as he hands it to Stephen, differs in the shot facing him and the next one facing Stephen, note the clasp on the diary. (01:34:15)
Continuity mistake: When Lofty asks if the Acheron is like a pirate ship, in the wide shot Davies, who holds a pipe, grabs him up. In the next close-up, the pipe Davies holds is positioned completely differently in his hand. (00:43:35)
Chosen answer: The flag is a signal flag, and is probably meant to signal that the ship is a whaler or engaged in fishing operations. Such flags were part of an international code, which, with some modification, is still in use today. (The flag is similar to the modern-day "Foxtrot".)