Would I be correct by saying it's possible that older records like that would be highly inaccurate? How many 1920's ships could have measured a cat 4-5 hurricane and sailed home to tell about it? How many captains in the 1920's would exaggerate wind speed to prove they "braved the bigger storm"?

Hmm...my tone seems to be coming off in a bad way and really I don't want anyone getting any negative vibes from this. It's a serious subject, especially when we start to base forecast at least partially on what I feel could be seriously flawed data.