The Legend of the Flying Dutchman

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By Ginny P7

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The Flying Dutchman, according to folklore, is a ghost ship that can never

go home, doomed to sail the oceans forever.


The Flying Dutchman is usually spotted from far away,

sometimes glowing with ghostly light.


It is said that if hailed by another ship, its crew will try to

send messages to land or to people long dead.


In ocean lore,

the sight of this phantom ship

is a portent of doom.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flying_Dutchman

IndexIndexIndexIndexIndexIndexIndexIndex• Origins

• 2 Possible

explanations

– 2.1 Mirage

– 2.2 Looming

• 3 Adaptations

– 3.1 Modern

adaptations

• 4 References

• 5 External links

OriginOriginOriginOriginOriginOriginOriginOrigin• Versions of the story are numerous in nautical folklore and related to medieval legends such as Captain Falkenburg, who was cursed to ply the North Sea until Judgment Day, playing dice with the Devil for his own soul.

• The first reference in print to the ship itself appears in Chapter VI of George Barrington's Voyage to Botany Bay (1795):

• I had often heard of the superstition of sailors respecting apparitions, but had never given much credit to the report; it seems that some years since a Dutch man of war was lost off the Cape of Good Hope, and every soul on board perished; her consort weathered the gale, and arrived soon after at the Cape. Having refitted, and returning to Europe, they were assailed by a violent tempest nearly in the same latitude. In the night watch some of the people saw, or imagined they saw, a vessel standing for them under a press of sail, as though she would run them down:

Origin cont/2Origin cont/2Origin cont/2Origin cont/2Origin cont/2Origin cont/2Origin cont/2Origin cont/2one in particular affirmed it was the ship that had foundered in the former gale, and that it must certainly be her, or the apparition of her; but on its clearing up, the object, a dark thick cloud, disappeared. Nothing could do away the idea of this phenomenon on the minds of the sailors;

and, on their relating the circumstances when they arrived in port, the story spread like wild-fire, and the supposed phantom was called the Flying Dutchman.

From the Dutch the English seamen got the infatuation, and thereare very few Indiamen, but what has some one on board, who pretends to have seen the apparition.[1]

According to some sources[citation needed], the 17th century Dutch captain Bernard Fokke is the model for the captain of the ghost ship. Fokke was renowned for the speed of his trips from Holland to Java and suspected of being in league with the devil. However, the first version in print, in Blackwood's Magazine for May 1821, puts the scene as the Cape of Good Hope:

Origin cont/2Origin cont/2Origin cont/2Origin cont/2Origin cont/2Origin cont/2Origin cont/2Origin cont/2She was an Amsterdam vessel and sailed from port seventy years ago. Her master’s name was Van derDecken.

He was a staunch seaman, and would have his own way in spite of the devil.

For all that, never a sailor under him had reason to complain; though how it is on board with them nobody knows.

The story is this: that in doubling the Cape they were a long day trying to weather the Table Bay. However, the wind headed them, and went against them more and more, and Van der Decken walked the deck, swearing at the wind.

Just after sunset a vessel spoke him, asking him if he did not mean to go into the bay that night.

Van der Decken replied: ‘May I be eternally damned if I do, though I should beat about here till the day of judgment.

And to be sure, he never did go into that bay, for it is believed that he continues to beat about in these seas still, and will do so long enough.

This vessel is never seen but with foul weather along with her.[2]

Origin cont/3Origin cont/3Origin cont/3Origin cont/3Origin cont/3Origin cont/3Origin cont/3Origin cont/3There have been many reported sightings in the 19th and 20th centuries. One was by Prince George of Wales (later King George V of the United Kingdom).

During his late adolescence, in 1880, with his elder brother Prince Albert Victor of Wales (sons of the future King Edward VII), he was on a three-year voyage with their tutor Dalton aboard the 4,000-tonne corvette Bacchante. Off Australia, between Melbourne and Sydney, Dalton records:

"At 4 a.m. the Flying Dutchman crossed our bows.

A strange red light as of a phantom ship all aglow, in the midst of which light the masts, spars, and sails of a brig 200 yards distant stood out in strong relief as she came up on the port bow, where also the officer of the watch from the bridge clearly saw her, as did the quarterdeck midshipman, who was sent forward at once to the forecastle;

but on arriving there was no vestige nor any sign whatever of any material ship was to be seen either near or right away to the horizon, the night being clear and the sea calm.

Thirteen persons altogether saw her

...At 10.45 a.m. the ordinary seaman who had this morning reported the Flying Dutchman fell from the foretopmast crosstrees on to the topgallant forecastle and was smashed to atoms."[3]

22222222 Possible explanationsPossible explanationsPossible explanationsPossible explanationsPossible explanationsPossible explanationsPossible explanationsPossible explanationsMirage

Probably the most credible explanation might be a superior mirage or Fata Morgana seen at sea. [4]

The news soon spread through the vessel that a phantom-ship with a ghostly crew was sailing in the air over a phantom-ocean, and that it was a bad omen, and meant that not one of them should ever see land again.

The captain was told the wonderful tale, and coming on deck, he explained to the sailors that this strange appearance was caused by the reflection of some ship that was sailing on the water below this image, but at such a distance they could not see it.

There were certain conditions of the atmosphere, he said, when the sun's rays could form a perfect picture in the air of objects on the earth, like the images one sees in glass or water, but they were not generally upright, as in the case of this ship, but reversed—turned bottom upwards.

This appearance in the air is called a mirage. He told a sailor to go up to the foretop and look beyond the phantom-ship.

22222222 Possible explanationsPossible explanationsPossible explanationsPossible explanationsPossible explanationsPossible explanationsPossible explanationsPossible explanationsMirage 2/cont

The man obeyed, and reported that he could see on the water, below the ship in the air, one precisely like it. Just then another ship was seen in the air, only this one was a steamship, and was bottom-upwards, as the captain had said these mirages generally appeared. Soon after, the steamship itself came in sight.

The sailors were now convinced, and never afterwards believed in phantom-ships.

The captain should have used the word refraction and not reflection while explaining the phenomenon to his crew. Folklore associates the Flying Dutchman with the North Sea. Its icy water is one of the best places to see a superior mirage.

A superior mirage (Fata Morgana) of a ship might take different faces. Even if a boat does not seem to fly, it looks ghostly, unusual, deserted and ever changing appearance. Sometimes Fata Morgana makes a ship float inside waves, other times an inverted ship sails above its "real" companion. Sometimes it is hard to say what is real and what is not.

If a real ship is behind the horizon Fata Morgana would bring it up, and then everything seen by the observer is a mirage. If a real ship is above the horizon, its image will still be distorted by Fata Morgana.

Scientists have offered a more recent explanation. An effect known as looming occurs when rays of light are bent across different refractive indices. This could make a ship just off the horizon appear hoisted in the air.[5]

AdaptationsAdaptationsAdaptationsAdaptationsAdaptationsAdaptationsAdaptationsAdaptationsThis story was adapted in the English melodrama The Flying Dutchman (1826) by Edward Fitzball and the novel The Phantom Ship (1839) by Frederick Marryat. This in turn was later adapted as Het Vliegend Schip (The Flying Ship) by the Dutch clergyman, A.H.C. Römer. In Marryat's version, Terneuzen, in the Netherlands, is described as the home of the captain, who is called Van der Decken (of the decks).

Edgar Allan Poe makes a likely allusion to the Flying Dutchman in Chapter 10 of his novel The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket (1838). Pym and his fellow Grampus crew members encounter a Dutch brig in the South Seas. It initially appears that one of the brig's crew is leaning over the bow, smiling and nodding toward the Grampus with great interest. Upon drawing closer, Pym realizes that the "smiling man" is in fact a corpse whose back is being pecked by a seagull. Pym further observes some twenty-five or thirty corpses scattered on board.

Italian author Emilio Salgari depicts the Flying Dutchman in one of the tales of his compilation Le novelle marinaresche diMastro Catrame (1894).[citation needed]

AdaptationsAdaptationsAdaptationsAdaptationsAdaptationsAdaptationsAdaptationsAdaptationsThis story was also adapted in the Richard Wagner's opera, The Flying Dutchman (1843) is adapted from an episode in Heinrich Heine's satirical novel The Memoirs of Mister von Schnabelewopski (Aus den Memoirendes Herrn von Schnabelewopski) (1833) in which a character attends a theatrical performance of The Flying Dutchman.

This imaginary play appears to be a pastiche by Heine of Fitzball's play, which Heine may have seen in London. However, unlike Fitzball's play, which has the Cape of Good Hope location, in Heine's account the imaginary play is transferred to the North Sea off Scotland. Wagner's opera was similarly planned to take place off the coast of Scotland, although during the final rehearsals he transferred the action to another part of the North Sea, off Norway.

•Another adaptation was The Flying Dutchman on Tappan Sea by Washington Irving (1855), in which the captain is named Ramhout van Dam.

Other info: Other info: Other info: Other info: Other info: Other info: Other info: Other info: Flying DutchmanFlying Dutchman• The most famous of the phantom vessels, supposedly seem in stormy weather

off the Cape of Good Hope but now and then reported in other latitudes.

• The term 'Flying Dutchman' actually refers to the captain, not his ship. Legend has it that this maniacal Dutch sea captain was struggling to round the Cape of Good Hope in the teeth of a terrible gale that threatened to sink his ship and all aboard. The sailors warned him to turn around, the passengers pleaded, but the captain, either mad or drunk, refused to change course. Instead, he pressed on, singing loud and obscene songs, before going below to his cabin to drink beer and smoke his pipe. Monstrous waves pummeled the sides of the ship, howling winds bent the masts and tore at the sails, but still the captain held his course, challenging the wrath of God Almighty by swearing a blasphemous oath.

• Finally, there was a mutiny on board; the crew and passengers attempted to take control of the ship, but the captain, roused from his drunken stupor, killed the leader of the rebellion and threw him overboard. The moment the body hit the water, the clouds parted, and a shadowy figure materialized on the quarterdeck.

• "You're a very stubborn man," the shadow said, and the captain answered him with an cussword. "I never asked for a peaceful passage," the captain went on. "I never asked for anything. So clear off before I shoot you, too.“

• But the figure didn't move. Drawing his pistol, the captain tried to fire, but the gun exploded in his hand. Now the figure spoke again, and told the captain he was accursed.

Other info: Other info: Other info: Other info: Other info: Other info: Other info: Other info: Flying Dutchman cont/2Flying Dutchman cont/2• "As a result of your actions you are condemned to sail the oceans for

eternity with a ghostly crew of dead men, bringing death to all who sight your spectral ship, and to never make port or know a moment's peace," the shadow said. "Furthermore, gall shall be your drink, and red hot iron your meat." The captain, reckless to the last, cried, "Amen to that!"

• And so, for centuries from then on, the Flying Dutchman was seenpiloting his spectral vessel, its canvas spread, its masts creaking in a fearful wind. Sometimes, it was said, he led other ships astray, onto rocky shoals and hidden reefs. Also he was said to be responsible for turning sailors' food supplies sour. His ship, looking innocent enough, would sometimes draw alongside another vessel and send letters aboard. But if the letters were opened and read, the ship would founder. Those who saw the captain himself claimed that he was bareheaded and repentant, clasping the wheel on the quarterdeck,pleading the heavens for mercy at last. In the rigging of his ship, some said, they could see a crew of skeletons, grinning miserably as they put on ever more sail.

• The tale of the Flying Dutchman has been elaborated by many writers, but it is more than a piece of fiction. The phantom ship has been seen many times — and there have been reports even in the 20th century, including the crew of a German submarine boat during World War II.

Other info: Other info: Other info: Other info: Other info: Other info: Other info: Other info: Flying Dutchman cont/3Flying Dutchman cont/3• One of the first recorded sightings was by the captain and crew of a

British ship in 1835. They recorded that they saw the phantom ship approaching in the blanket of a terrible storm. It came so close that the British crew feared the two ships might run into each other, but then the ghost ship suddenly vanished.

• On 11 July 1881, the Royal Navy ship H.M.S. Bacchante was rounding the tip of Africa, when they sighted The Flying Dutchman. The midshipman, a prince who later became King George V, recorded that the lookout man and the officer of the watch had seen the Flying Dutchman:

• "A strange red light as of a phantom ship all aglow, in the midst of which light the mast, spars and sails of a brig 200 yards distant stood out in strong relief.“

• It was a misfortune that the lookout saw the Flying Dutchman, for soon after on the same trip, he accidentally fell from a mast and died. Fortunately for the English royal family, the young midshipman survived the curse.

Other info: Other info: Other info: Other info: Other info: Other info: Other info: Other info: Flying Dutchman Flying Dutchman cont/4cont/4

As recently as March, 1939, the ghost ship was seen off the coast of South Africa by dozens of bathers who supplied detailed descriptions of the ship, although most had probably never seen a 17th century merchant vessel. The British South Africa Annual of 1939 included the story, derived from newspaper reports:

"With uncanny volition, the ship sailed steadily on as the Glencairnbeach folk stood about keenly discussing the whys and wherefores of the vessel. Just as the excitement reached its climax, however, the mystery ship vanished into thin air as strangely as it had come.“

Other info: Other info: Other info: Other info: Other info: Other info: Other info: Other info: Flying Dutchman Flying Dutchman cont/5cont/5

The last recorded sighting was in 1942 off the coast of Cape Town. Four witnesses saw the Dutchman sail into Table Bay... and vanish.

Many authorities have argued that the story of the Flying Dutchman has its origin in a real event, though there is very little agreement about what the event was.

Further confusion is brought into the matter by the fact that are many versions of the tale — in which the ship's skipper is variously named Vanderdecken, Van Demien, Van Straaten, Van der Decken, or Van something else.

Other info: Other info: Other info: Other info: Other info: Other info: Other info: Other info: Flying Dutchman cont/6Flying Dutchman cont/6

• Another version of the legend that allegedly originated the whole affair is said to have happened in 1641, when a Dutch ship sank off the coast of the Cape of Good Hope. The story goes that, as the ship approached the tip of Africa, the captain thought that he should make a proposition to the Dutch East India Company (his employers) to start a settlement at the Cape on the tip of Africa, thereby providing a welcome repose to ships at sea.

• He was so deep in thought that he did not notice the dark clouds looming and only when he heard the lookout scream out in terror, did he realize that they had sailed straight into a fierce storm. The captain and his crew battled for hours to get out of the storm and at one stage it looked like they would make it. Then they heard a terrible crunch — the ship had crashed into treacherous rocks and started to sink. As the ship plunged downwards, Captain Van der Decken (or whatever) knew that death was approaching. He was not ready to die and screamed out a curse: "I WILL round this Cape even if I have to keep sailing until doomsday!"

Other info: Other info: Other info: Other info: Other info: Other info: Other info: Other info: Flying Dutchman cont/6Flying Dutchman cont/6

• And, like in every version of the tale, this one also claims that even today whenever a storm brews off the Cape of Good Hope, if you look into the eye of the storm, you will be able to see the ship and it's captain — The Flying Dutchman. Don't look too carefully, for the old folk claim that whoever sights the ship will die a terrible death.

• On yet another version, this one placed in the year 1729 (others say 1680), the captain this time swears at the Devil, who then condemns him to sail the spectral seas forever. The Devil left him just one small hope; that only through the love of a woman could he be released from his curse.

• So the unfortunate Dutch captain returns to land every seven years in a hopeless search for salvation, because the Dutchman can only find eternal peace in the arms of a faithful woman. Wagner's opera, "Der fliegende Hollander," is loosely based on this version of the legend.

• Related books:Ghost Ships, Gales and Forgotten Tales.Lost at Sea: Ghost Ships and Other Mysteries.Mysteries of the Deep.Scary Sea Stories.

• http://www.occultopedia.com/f/flying_dutchman.htm

Another Another Another Another Another Another Another Another Flying Dutchman legendFlying Dutchman legendThis is the legend of the Flying Dutchman, a ship that was doomed to sail around the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa forever.

• The legend of The Flying Dutchman is said to have started in 1641 when a Dutch ship sank off the coast of the Cape of Good Hope:Captain van der Decken was pleased. The trip to the Far East had been highly successful and at last, they were on their way home to Holland. As the ship approached the tip of Africa, the captain thought that he should make a suggestion to the Dutch East India Company (his employers) to start a settlement at the Cape on the tip of Africa, thereby providing a welcome respite to ships at sea.He was so deep in thought that he failed to notice the dark clouds looming and only when he heard the lookout scream out in terror, did he realise that they had sailed straight into a fierce storm. The captain and his crew battled for hours to get out of the storm and at one stage it looked like they would make it. Then they heard a sickening crunch - the ship had hit treacherous rocks and began to sink. As the ship plunged downwards, Captain VandeDecken knew that death was approaching. He was not ready to die and screamed out a curse: "I WILL round this Cape even if I have to keep sailing until doomsday!“

Another Another Another Another Another Another Another Another Flying Dutchman legendFlying Dutchman legend• So, even today whenever a storm brews off the Cape of Good

Hope, if you look into the eye of the storm, you will be able to see the ship and its captain - The Flying Dutchman. Don't look too carefully, for the old folk claim that whoever sights the ship will die a terrible death.Many people have claimed to have seen The Flying Dutchman, including the crew of a German submarine boat during World War II and holidaymakers.On 11 July 1881, the Royal Navy ship, the Bacchante was rounding the tip of Africa, when they were confronted with the sight of The Flying Dutchman. The midshipman, a prince who later became King George V, recorded that the lookout man and the officer of the watch had seen the Flying Dutchman and he used these words to describe the ship:"A strange red light as of a phantom ship all aglow, in the midst of which light the mast, spars and sails of a brig 200 yards distant stood out in strong relief."It's pity that the lookout saw the Flying Dutchman, for soon after on the same trip, he accidentally fell from a mast and died. Fortunately for the English royal family, the young midshipman survived the curse.

• http://www.essortment.com/all/dutchmanflying_rrqy.htm

Ghost ShipGhost ShipGhost ShipGhost ShipGhost ShipGhost ShipGhost ShipGhost Ship

• The legend of The Flying Dutchman is said to have started in 1641 when a Dutch ship sank off the coast of the Cape of Good Hope:

• In the year 1729, a Dutch ship called the Flying Dutchman 1, captained by the infamous Vanderdecken, set sail towards the Cape of Good Hope, Africa’s southernmost tip which has long been associated with difficultsailing conditions and shipwrecks. Vanderdecken was a violent and disturbed captain who feared nothing and refused to back away from any situation. As the ship approached the Cape a violent storm broke out. The fierce winds, gigantic waves and terrible lightening threatened to sink the Flying Dutchman, but the twisted and fearless captain had a threat of his own. There and then, Vanderdecken swore an oath to the Devil that he would round the Cape even if it took him until Doomsday (the day that the world will come to an end). This foolish act brought a terrible curse down upon the captain, his crew and his ship. From that moment forth they were forced to roam the mighty seas for all eternity as a ghost ship.

Ghost ShipGhost ShipGhost ShipGhost ShipGhost ShipGhost ShipGhost ShipGhost ShipOmen of Disaster

From that fateful day to the present, many sailors claim to have seen the Flying Dutchman haunting the seas. It is believed that anyone who sees the ship will have misfortune fall upon them. So powerful is this belief that King George V of England himself, as a young prince during his naval days, purported to have encountered it, although a prince is not someone who immediately springs to mind when considering unfortunate people. www.bbc.co.uk

One method used by mariners to ward off the curse of the Flying Dutchman was to nail horseshoes to the masts of their ships, as this was supposed to bring good luck.

Ghost ShipGhost ShipGhost ShipGhost ShipGhost ShipGhost ShipGhost ShipGhost ShipThe Flying Dutchman – an Explanation

Many people would be sceptical of the existence of a ‘ghost ship’ and quite rightly so. No conclusive evidence for any type of ghost has ever been gathered and most scientists refuse to believe that they exist at all. To this end they have come up with an explanation for the supposed sightings and even those people who do believe in ghosts would have to admit that it is quite a good one.

The theory goes that the ghost ship is nothing more than an optical illusion. Apparently modern day mariners are used to the sight of hazy-looking ships appearing over the horizon; they are simply mirages caused by the refraction of light rays. Although the existence of the Flying Dutchman and Captain Vanderdecken is known, it is likely that the stories of a phantom ship were started by superstitious sailors who saw exactly this kind of mirage.

Nevertheless, no definitive proof exists either way so it would be advisable for anyone going on a cruise to steer clear of glowing ships with billowing sails, hovering several feet above the water.

Provided by: www.bbc.co.ukhttp://gcaptain.com/maritime/blog/ghost-ship-flying-dutchman?621

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The Legend of the Flying Dutchman

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