[jason210]

Asw mentioned, Empire Total War, Napoleon Total War and East India Company all have decent sailing ship war games. The only problem with those is that none offer a simulation - the controls are like left, right, stop, go & go faster; and it all happens too quickly.

Napoleon TW offered the most immersion if you change the camera in the preferences script to unlock the developers camera which then allows you to move right in on the ship and move around and inside the decks.

There's definitely a gap in the market for a proper battle sailing simulator though, kind of along the Hornblower / Master and Commander lines, where you are not restricted by boundaries as in total war, and where you can actually dock in historic ports and so on. Would be so cool!