My major goal for this trip was to visit the National Maritime Museum and obtain (1) the plans for the H.M.S. Falcon, and (2) find her log books for the years 1774-1776.

Sadly, the plans department is in another town, so it wasn't possible to obtain the plans, or to even see them. Strike one.

However, I managed to find the call numbers for the Falcon's logs; the book from 1774 to 1776 was ADM/L/F/219 (bound with the logs of the H.M.S. Fubbs, 1715-1723). I scheduled a document retrieval, which occurs every two hours.

When the appointed time came, I signed for a package, wrapped in a khaki waterproof canvas and tied with a white cotton ribbon. Eagerly I untied it, gingerly I opened it. With growing anticipation I leafed through the sections of the Fubbs' logs, and reached... the end of the book.

I scanned through it more carefully. Fubbs. Fubbs. Fubbs. Fubbs. Fubbs. No Falcon. I asked the lady at the desk if the Falcon's logs had been removed. She called someone in the manuscripts section. He came out, opened the book, leafed through it confidently to show me where the Falcon's logs started... and came up empty as well.

He frowned, went to get some catalogs, and checked to see where the Falcon's logs were supposed to be: ADM/L/F/219. He checked the book: ADM/L/F/219. He checked the catalog again (it hadn't changed). "I don't know," he finally admitted. "It may have got misfiled somewhere, or been entered into the catalogue incorrectly. And unfortunately there are thousands of these logbooks, all tied up like this one was, so it's not really possible to go looking for it."

So, zero for two. I'll order the plans, but it would have been really nice to be able to read those logs.