Flying 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.
"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 seen piloting 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.