Eternally doomed to sail the seas….

The Legend of The Flying Dutchman is said to have started in 1641 when a Dutch ship sank during its voyage home to Holland, just off the coast of the Cape of Good Hope on the tip of Africa.
Captain Van Der Decken – meaning ‘of the decks’, was extremely pleased as the trip to the Far East had been an excellent success and he and his crew were finally homebound.
As the ship approached the tip of Africa, Captain Van Der Decken was considering making a suggestion to his employers, the Dutch East India Company, for he and his crew to start a settlement at the Cape to provide a welcome refuge to ships at sea in the future.

The Captain was so deep in these thoughts, he failed to see the dark clouds looming ahead and it was only the look-outs screams of terror that shook him from these thoughts and only then did the Captain realize that they had sailed straight into a fierce storm.

The Captain and his crew battled the storm for several tiresome hours; eventually they believed they were going to make it through, until they heard a sickening crunch.
The ship had sailed straight into rocks and began to sink, The Captain knew that death was fast approaching both him and his loyal crew but he was not yet ready for such an untimely death and screamed out ‘I WILL round this Cape even if I have to keep sailing until Doomsday’.

But was that the way it happened?

Other Legends contain The Ships same trial of battling the rough seas in gales but tell of a drunken, power mad or just down-right insane captain, ignoring his Crew’s pleas to turn the ship around and change course and continuing into peril singing obscene songs loudly only to disappear into his cabin shortly after to smoke his pipe and drink more ale, swearing the legendary oath as he went. Eventually of course this leads to mutiny and the Crew attempted to take over the helm, fearing for their lives. The drunken Captain is said to have then shot the leader of the rebellion and cast him overboard but no sooner had the body hit the rough waters below, the clouds parted and a shadowy figure appeared on the quarterdeck telling The Captain ‘You are a stubborn man’ to which The Captain responded with obscene language and claims of ‘never asking for safe passage’ and concluding with ‘I never asking for anything, so clear off before I shoot you.’
The Shadowy figure was not fazed by such threats and remained motionless causing The Captain to raise his pistol, but on attempting to fire the pistol, it exploded in his hand and at this the shadowy figure spoke again, this time cursing the captain that as a result of his actions he was thereby cursed to sail the seas for all eternity with a crew of dead men, never to port, never to know a moments peace and bringing death to all who saw them, concluding ‘Gall shall be your drink and red hot iron your meat’ to which the wreckless Captain responded ‘Amen to that!’

And so it goes…

The residents of Cape Good Hope say if a storm is brewing out to sea, if you look into the eye of the storm you can still see the ship and its crew, the captain of which now nicknamed The Flying Dutchman. Some sailors say that the Legendary Dutchman and his ship lead others onto rocks and hidden reefs, others tell of how the ship pulls alongside others and send letters home aboard, which when opened and read, cause them to flounder.

Many people claim to have seen the Flying Dutchman himself, pleading mercy to the heavens at last, his skeletal crew grinning miserably as they continue the eternal voyage and many just claim to have seen the ship, sailing just off the port. These include: the crew of a German Submarine boat during World War Two and holiday makers.
One of the most historical sightings, however, was that of a young midshipman who later became King George V. On the 11th July 1881, a fleet of Royal Navy ships, headed by Prince Louis of Battenberg rounded the tip of Africa and was confronted by The Flying Dutchman, but seen by only three of the ships, The Cleopatra, The Tourmaline and The Bacchante.
The Midshipman of The Bacchante (later to become King George V) recorded that the lookout and the officer of the watch had seen the Flying Dutchman, and it is recorded that at least thirteen crewmen in total witnessed the sight.
King George V 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”
Unfortunately for the look-out who saw the Dutchman, he died seven hours after the sighting on the same trip, he accidentally fell from the mast, the fall killed him.
Fortunately for the Royal Family the young midshipman survived the curse.

There are many different versions of the Tale of the Legendary Flying Dutchman. The earliest stories about a wandering ghost ship, dating from the Middle Ages, set the action in the North Sea. Most often, the captain is said to be responsible for the ship’s fate, either because he gambles with the Devil or because he makes a rash oath as the ship begins to sink during a storm.
The captain is given different names in different versions of the tale, including Van Der Decken, Ramhout van Dam, and Falkenburg. Some say that “Flying Dutchman” was the captain’s nickname rather than the name of the ship but no-one really knows just what happened to the unfortunate ship or its devoted crew and Captain.

So, just how many people have seen the Cursed Dutchman still battling the storm? How many survived to tell the tale?