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:
Vanderdecken’s Mistake
In the year 1729, a Dutch ship called the Flying Dutchman1, captained by the infamous Vanderdecken, set sail towards the Cape of Good Hope, Africa’s southernmost tip which has long been associated with difficult sailing 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.
Omen 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. [Continue Reading →]
