HMS Victory's 1805 Fore Topsail. The only remaining large relic from the Battle of Trafalgar apart from HMS Victory itself on display in No 4 boathouse during IFOS 98. This was the second largest sail of the ship and bears 90 odd holes from the battle. Measuring 80ft at its base, 54ft at its head and 54ft high, giving 3618 square feet of windage. Weighing an estimated 370kg, it would have taken around 1,200 man hours for experienced sail makers to stitch.

The sail was manufactured in the sail loft at Chatham in 1803. It remained on HMS Victory until the ship returned for repairs after the Battle of Trafalgar in 1806, then was taken back to the sail loft in Chatham. For the next 85 years the history of the sail is somewhat obscure. It was displayed at an exhibition in 1891 and then onboard HMS Victory for the centenary of Trafalgar in 1905. It was later discovered in a sail loft at Victory barracks, now HMS Nelson in 1960 covered by gym mats. It was returned to the ship for display in a glass cabinet on the Orlop in 1962, then left the ship for good in 1993, when it was found that the sail was deteriorating rapidly and needed urgent conservation work.

Now housed in environmentally-controlled conditions in Storehouse 10, within the Historic Dockyard, the sail has undergone an enormous amount of work which has ensured its long-term survival. The sail was initially mapped and photographed and initial conservation was carried out at the Carpet Conservation Workshop in Salisbury before it was displayed to the public at the International Festival of the Sea in 1998.