Rob Bell explores the extraordinary tea clipper, Cutty Sark - a ship that endured drunken captains and murderous crews, inspired a whiskey, and survived the coming of the steam age, only to face her greatest ordeal - a devastating fire that ripped through her hull one night in 2007. Impossibly, the wooden ship survived the blaze. But how? One of the most glamorous ships of her day, Cutty Sark made her name racking precious cargoes of tea from Shanghai to London. Rob clambers aboard to experience first-hand the beauty and superior design of this perfect sailing ship. He delves into the ship's tragic past - her vagabond years of 'tramping', mistreated by her captains and deserted by her crews. He uncovers the Cutty Sark's unlikely link to Prohibition, and a famous brand of whiskey. And he discovers how, on the night of that terrible fire, the ship was saved by a remarkable piece of good luck.

Rob Bell investigates the sinking of the Mary Rose, Henry VIII's great warship which went down nearly five centuries ago, killing more than four hundred men. Over the years a host of theories have emerged to explain the disaster, including accounts blaming enemy fire, the ship's builders, an unruly crew, an inexperienced captain and even King Henry VIII himself. But who was really responsible? Rob gathers evidence from the marine archaeologists who excavated this extraordinary shipwreck and learns what secrets they discovered on the seabed. He also delves into the Admiralty's archives to uncover the Mary Rose's forgotten past as the very first flagship of the Royal Navy. And he comes face to face with the skeletons of crew members who died at their posts. Along the way he tries his hand firing the pioneering guns used by the Mary Rose's crew and he examines these Tudor sailors' personal possessions - found amongst an astonishing haul of over 19,000 objects recovered from the wreck-site. Ultimately, he learns that the Mary Rose is far more than just an intriguing mystery, it is also a unique Tudor time capsule offering an unprecedented insight into our ancestor's lives, not to mention a miracle of preservation, discovered and raising during the most complex underwater dig ever attempted.

Rob uncovers the extraordinary story behind what was once the longest passenger ship in the world - the SS Great Britain. Designed by Victorian engineering genius, Isambard Kingdom Brunel, this vast vessel rewrote the ship-building rulebook, pioneering innovations still found on almost all modern ships. Rob learns how the origins of the SS Great Britain lay in Brunel's off-the-cuff boast to extend his famous Great Western Railway 'from Bristol to New York'. Yet the renowned inventor soon had his work cut out to convince both the public and his financial backers that his revolutionary combination of an iron hull and a screw propeller would work. Climbing to the very top her rigging, Rob learns how the ship's early years were plagued by disaster - from running aground on the coast of Ireland, to nearly capsizing in a violent storm. The Great Britain finally met with success thanks to the Australian gold rush - today, 250,000 Australians can trace their direct ancestors to passengers on Brunel's legendary steam ship. From the gilded grandeur of the first-class dining room, to the cramped bunks of the third class sleeping quarters, Rob discovers what life was like on board for the thousands who set sail on this record-breaking ship. After years of service, however, the Great Britain was abandoned off the coast of the Falkland Islands. Rob discovers that it wasn't until 1970 that she underwent an astonishing resurrection - towed back to Bristol on a giant raft, where she was finally restored to her former glory.

Rob discovers the incredible story of HMS Victory - Admiral Nelson's personal flagship at the Battle of Trafalgar. When Victory was built over forty years previously, she was the largest warship in the world with firepower equivalent to a whole army on land. Yet Rob discovers that this titan of the seas was very nearly scrapped long before the battle that would ultimately seal her place in history. Climbing on board this vast ship, Rob discovers the extraordinary feats of engineering behind Victory's construction - from the 6000 oaks felled for her planking, to the 27 miles of rope used for her rigging. Yet if Victory was exceptional, then so too was her most famous captain, Nelson - a celebrity renowned as much for a scandalous ménage-à-trois as for his dazzling military leadership. At Trafalgar, Nelson used Victory's formidable power to spearhead a brutal new style of naval combat - yet came to pay the ultimate price at the hour of his greatest triumph. Finally, Rob explores Victory's extraordinary survival into the modern era. Today, her dedicated crew of 17 naval officers bear witness to the fact that this great ship isn't simply a monument to Britain's maritime past, but also the world's oldest, fully commissioned warship.

Rob Bell delves into the fascinating history of HMS Belfast, the cruiser that played a critical role in some of the most dramatic battles of World War 2, and whose daring deeds helped defeat the Nazis.

Ro's investigation begins in Whitby, where James Cook, future explorer and captain of HM Bark Endeavour, grew up as the son of a farm labourer.

The Titanic bristled with the latest technology and was said to be unsinkable. So how did her maiden voyage become the most famous maritime disaster in history?

The Mayflower, the ship that carried the English Puritans now known as the Pilgrims to America in 1620, overcame almost impossible odds to establish the New World colony that eventually became the United States of America.

Discovery propelled Scott and Shackleton to become the world's most famous explorers.

The Queen Mary began as a floating gentlemen's club, and became a WWII legend even Hitler feared.

The Ark Royal was World War II's most famous aircraft carrier. Her survival in the face of Nazi Luftwaffe bombing raids and U-boat attacks was a testament to her ingenious design and courageous crew.