The Flying Dutchman

The Flying Dutchman

It was 1641 when Captain Hendrik van der Decken swore he would round the Cape of Good Hope if it took him till doomsday. At his current rate, it probably will. The captain’s ship, known as The Flying Dutchman, has been seen frequently around the area, a phantom ship often so close the witnesses would swear it was on a crash course for their ship, only to see it vanish before them. It is always viewed as a bad omen to see the ship. Such a sighting was witnessed by the future King George V of England in 1881. He wrote: “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”. Later that morning, the sailor who originally spotted the vessel fell to his death.