The Flying Dutchman 1680 Albert Pinkham Ryder
The Flying Dutchman, a vessel from Amsterdam, is known as perhaps the most famous of all ghost ships of all. This sea-fairing legend began in 1680 when (The dates of this legend vary depending on the sources, therefore the actual date of this tale is unconfirmed by this author).
the Dutch captain, Hendrik van der Decken, set sail towards the Cape of Good Hope on the southern tip of Africa. Van der Decken was known as a harsh and disturbed seaman who would not have a soul tell him his business, nor how to run his ship. As the ship neared the cape a violent storm struck. A harsh gale whipped down upon the seas.
Huge waves battered the ship threatening to sink it. The terrified crew feared for their lives and begged the captain to turn away, but the deranged Hendrik sailed on into the stormy cape, which was known to be unpredictable among mariner's.
Captain van der Decken's precarious and stubborn actions were believed to bring down a curse upon himself and his crew when he went into a dark rage and began swearing at the winds and sea. He refused to retreat from the storm. Then he cursed God and swore he would succeed in rounding the cape no matter what happened, even until judgment day.
So above the sound of crashing waves and screams of those on board, the ship continued on, rounding the cape but never made it to its destination. They sailed on into oblivion, and as legend would have it, their cursed souls were doomed to sail the seas forever, battling the tempest without rest. The ship had vanished. Its captain and crew never to be seen again, at least not in the form of flesh and blood. And so the legend began.
(Other tales tell of a plague that struck and no man was saved nor allowed near any port, hence they were doomed forever)
Omens Of Doom
After the Flying Dutchman disappeared, many tales sprang up from the fathoms of the deep, as told by many sea captains and sailors who swore they saw the gloomy ship near the Cape of Good Hope just before tragedy struck. Some ships were said to be wrecked in thick fog after seeing the Dutchman. Omens of doom? Possibly, or active imaginations of unrested sailors too long at sea. The spectral ship was said to be witnessed many times in the past and present day.
One British ship sighted the Dutchman in 1835 in the Cape during a violent storm. The ship was witnessed by the entire crew, then simply vanished before their eyes. Another sighting happened in 1881, once more, near the Cape, and the following day a sailor on their ship died violently. Later in 1939 and 1942, several witness swore the ghostly ship sailed before their eyes then the next moment vanished from sight.
Is this tale true? Nobody can say for sure. And although the names of the captains and the stories may vary, the legend of the Flying Dutchman lives on. So if you are a superstitious sea-fairer, beware of a lone ship on the high seas at twilight. It's luminous light may beckon you to come closer. And if you do chance a sighting of this ghostly ship far in the horizon, alter your course for the opposite direction or you may meet with a similar fate as those aboard the cursed ghost ship, the Flying Dutchman.
Copyright© Sylvia Zimmer 2008
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