To give a taste of the upcoming SAIL2000, the Rijksmuseum has dusted off over 1,000 obsessively detailed models of sailing ships, dry-docks and other Dutch Navy paraphernalia from the 18th and 19th-century which have not seen the light of day since 1889. Together they reflect tales of innovation, heroism, espionage and trade from a time when the navy was dealing with both pesky pirates around Indonesia and those bloody Brits across the channel.
