The flying Dutchman: the legend of the Ghost ship. Photo

Among all sea of myths and legends, perhaps one of the most famous is the legend of the flying Dutchman.

Many people reported that they had seen the ship of captain van der Decken since then, as it sank in 1641. For his insolence and blasphemy, the captain, nicknamed the flying Dutchman and its crew are doomed to sail the seas till doomsday.

“The flying Dutchman” works of Howard Pyle

The ship van der Decken have made a trading voyage from Holland to East India. After holds were filled to the brim with silk, spices and other precious goods, the ship went back to Amsterdam. Skirting the southern coast of Africa, the captain thought that would do well near the Cape of Good Hope to arrange a place where you can moor and rest before the storm of raging waves.

The Cape Of Good Hope
The fateful flight and a curse

When the ship began to round the Cape, the captain was deep in thought. Suddenly there came a terrible gust of wind threatening to overturn the ship. The sailors called the captain to turn back, but van der Decken flatly refused. Some believe that he became crazy, others that he was drunk, but in any case, the captain ordered the team to move forward. He lit his pipe and smoked, watching the beating on Board a huge wave. Werther tore the sails, and the water penetrated into the hold, but the captain stubbornly pursued its course, spewing blasphemous curses.

Portrait of captain van der Decken

Pushed to the limit, there was a mutiny. No doubt shot by the captain of the instigator of the rebellion and threw his body into the raging waters. At the moment when the corpse touched the water, a voice was heard, asking whether van der Decken to wait out the night in the Bay. But the daring sailor replied, “I’ll Be damned if swerve out of the way, even if I have to hang out here until the day of judgment! “

“The flying Dutchman” painted by albert Pinkham Ryder

And then the voice spoke again: “Yes destined you forever to swim in the ocean with a team of dead men, bringing death to everyone who saw your Ghost ship, and never stick you to any port and will not know not a second of rest. Bile will be your wine and a red-hot iron your meat.” Hearing the verdict, captain, not batting an eye, he exclaimed: “so be it!”
Ghost ship

Ever since captain van der Decken nicknamed the flying Dutchman and floats on his ship. The old seamen say who met his ship astray, noprivacy on the reefs and hidden underwater rocks. There is a belief that if you stare into the waves surging through the Cape of Good Hope, we can see the captain led his crew of skeletons. But beware, according to legend, anyone who will notice the Dutchman, will die a horrible death.

The legend of the flying Dutchman became known in 1843 by the eponymous Opera by Wagner. But the reason this legend alive to this day, inspiring many authors (Wagner and Coleridge to the creators of the cartoon “Sponge Bob”) lies in the fact that many are convinced that they saw a ghostly ship.

The last scene of Wagner’s “the flying Dutchman” (1843)

One of the most famous encounters occurred on 11 July 1881. With the Flying Dutchman faced George Prince of Wales (the future king George V) and his brother Prince albert Victor, sailing near the coast of Australia. After Prince George wrote in his diary:

“On July 11. At 4 am we met the Flying Dutchman. A strange red light surrounded the Ghost ship, with its masts, rigging and sails. The boat was two hundred yards behind and on the left side, where she saw the officer of the watch. Stern ensign was immediately directed to the tank, but on arriving there, he saw the slightest trace of any ship, just clean calm sea to the horizon. In total, the schooner saw thirteen people, and 10:45 a.m. seaman, first reported the appearance of the Flying Dutchman fell from the mainmast to the forecastle and rasshiblas to death.”

Modern scholars are of the opinion that the ship of the Dutchman is nothing more than a Mirage, the reflection of the rays of light from the ocean water.

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