I recommend anything by CS Forester, who created the fictional sea captain, Horatio Hornblower. Great stories and writing!
For REAL contemporary British sea adventure in the days of sail, read anything by Captain Frederick Marryat: "The King's Own", "Mr. Midshipman Easy", "Masterman Ready". My personal favorite is "Mr. Midshipman Easy". . . . no question there but that Capt. Marryat is a dyed in the wool conservative of the old school! Jack Easy's father is a liberal, and he is shown up for the fool he is (and dies a horrible death but not much lamented). Capt. Marryat sailed with the REAL model for Hornblower - Lord Cochrane and survived 50 sea battles. When he describes a battle it's for real!