How to write the flying Dutchman to mean ship. Flying Dutchman

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"Flying Dutchman"(Dutch. De Vliegende Hollander, English. The Flying Dutchman) - a legendary sailing ghost ship that cannot land on the shore and is doomed to forever plow the seas. Usually people observe such a ship from afar, sometimes surrounded by a luminous halo. According to legend, when the Flying Dutchman encounters another ship, its crew tries to send messages ashore to people who have long been dead. In maritime beliefs, an encounter with the Flying Dutchman was considered a bad omen.

Origin

Legend has it that in the 1700s, Dutch captain Philip Van der Decken (or in some versions Van Straaten) was returning from the East Indies with a young couple on board. The captain liked the girl; he killed her betrothed, and proposed to her to become his wife, but the girl threw herself overboard.

Other versions of the legend

Van der Decken vowed to sell his soul to the devil if he could pass the cape unharmed and not run into the rocks. However, in the contract he did not specify that this needed to be done only once, and therefore he was doomed to eternal wandering.
Due to strong storms, the ship was unable to round Cape Horn for a long time (according to another version, the Cape of Good Hope). The crew rebelled, asking the skipper to turn back. But the angry Van Straaten began to blaspheme in response and declared that he would storm Cape Horn, even if he had to sail until the second coming. In response to such blasphemy, a terrible voice was heard from the sky: “So be it - swim!”
The crew of a Dutch merchant ship fell ill with a terrible disease. For fear that the disease might be brought ashore, no port accepted the ship. The ship with sailors who died from illness, lack of water and food still roams the seas and oceans.
One version tells of Captain Falkenburg, who was doomed to wander the North Sea until the Last Judgment, playing dice with the devil for his own soul.
The crew of the Flying Dutchman was in such a hurry to get home that they did not come to the aid of another sinking ship, for which they were cursed.

Possible explanation

One of the possible explanations, as well as the origin of the name, is associated with the phenomenon of Fata Morgana, since the mirage is always visible above surface of the water.

It is also possible that the glowing halo is St. Elmo's fire. For sailors, their appearance promised hope for success, and in times of danger, for salvation.

Fata morgana of the ships.jpg

This image shows how the Fata Morgana changes the shape of the two ships. The four photographs in the right column are of the first ship, and the four photographs in the left column are of the second.

Fata Morgana of a boat.jpg

A chain of changing mirages.

There is also a version that yellow fever played a role in the origin of the legend. Transmitted by mosquitoes that bred in containers of food water, this disease was quite capable of destroying an entire ship. An encounter with such a ghost ship was truly life-threatening: hungry mosquitoes immediately attacked living sailors and transmitted the infection to them.

In art

In fiction, the legend has been presented in many variations. In 1839, the English writer Frederick Marryat's novel The Ghost Ship was published. (English)Russian, which tells about the wanderings of Philip Van der Decken, the son of the captain of the cursed ship. Nikolai Gumilyov’s poem “” from the cycle “Captains”, IV, published in 1909, is dedicated to the Flying Dutchman. The Flying Dutchman is mentioned in the story “Captain Duke” by Alexander Greene.

The expression has been used more than once in cinema as an allusion. The title “The Flying Dutchman” was given to such films as the film by Vladimir Vardunas, shot at the Yalta film studio “Fora Film” in 1990, and the film by the Dutch director Jos Stelling, released in 1995.

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Notes

An excerpt characterizing The Flying Dutchman

Natasha was going to the first big ball in her life. That day she got up at 8 o'clock in the morning and was in feverish anxiety and activity all day. All her strength, from the very morning, was aimed at ensuring that they all: she, mother, Sonya were dressed in the best possible way. Sonya and the Countess trusted her completely. The countess was supposed to be wearing a masaka velvet dress, the two of them were wearing white smoky dresses on pink, silk covers with roses in the bodice. The hair had to be combed a la grecque [in Greek].
Everything essential had already been done: the legs, arms, neck, ears were already especially carefully, like a ballroom, washed, perfumed and powdered; they were already wearing silk, fishnet stockings and white satin shoes with bows; the hairstyles were almost finished. Sonya finished dressing, and so did the Countess; but Natasha, who was working for everyone, fell behind. She was still sitting in front of the mirror with a peignoir draped over her slender shoulders. Sonya, already dressed, stood in the middle of the room and, pressing painfully with her small finger, pinned the last ribbon that squealed under the pin.
“Not like that, not like that, Sonya,” said Natasha, turning her head away from her hair and grabbing the hair with her hands, which the maid who was holding it did not have time to let go. - Not like that, come here. – Sonya sat down. Natasha cut the tape differently.
“Excuse me, young lady, you can’t do this,” said the maid holding Natasha’s hair.
- Oh, my God, well, later! That's it, Sonya.
-Are you coming soon? – the countess’s voice was heard, “it’s already ten.”
- Now. -Are you ready, mom?
- Just pin the current.
“Don’t do it without me,” Natasha shouted, “you won’t be able to!”
- Yes, ten.
It was decided to be at the ball at half past ten, and Natasha still had to get dressed and stop by the Tauride Garden.
Having finished her hair, Natasha, in a short skirt, from which her ballroom shoes were visible, and in her mother’s blouse, ran up to Sonya, examined her and then ran to her mother. Turning her head, she pinned the current, and, barely having time to kiss her gray hair, again ran to the girls who were hemming her skirt.
The issue was Natasha's skirt, which was too long; Two girls were hemming it, hastily biting the threads. The third, with pins in her lips and teeth, ran from the Countess to Sonya; the fourth held her entire smoky dress on her raised hand.
- Mavrusha, rather, my dear!
- Give me a thimble from there, young lady.
- Soon, finally? - said the count, entering from behind the door. - Here's some perfume for you. Peronskaya is already tired of waiting.
“It’s ready, young lady,” said the maid, lifting the hemmed smoky dress with two fingers and blowing and shaking something, expressing with this gesture an awareness of the airiness and purity of what she was holding.
Natasha began to put on her dress.
“Now, now, don’t go, dad,” she shouted to her father, who opened the door, still from under the haze of her skirt, which covered her entire face. Sonya slammed the door. A minute later the count was let in. He was in a blue tailcoat, stockings and shoes, perfumed and oiled.
- Oh, dad, you are so good, dear! – Natasha said, standing in the middle of the room and straightening the folds of the haze.
“Excuse me, young lady, allow me,” said the girl, standing on her knees, pulling off her dress and turning the pins from one side of her mouth to the other with her tongue.
- Your will! - Sonya cried out with despair in her voice, looking at Natasha’s dress, - your will, it’s long again!
Natasha moved away to look around in the dressing table. The dress was long.
“By God, madam, nothing is long,” said Mavrusha, crawling on the floor behind the young lady.
“Well, it’s long, so we’ll sweep it up, we’ll sweep it up in a minute,” said the determined Dunyasha, taking out a needle from the handkerchief on her chest and getting back to work on the floor.
At this time, the countess entered shyly, with quiet steps, in her current and velvet dress.
- Ooh! my beauty! - the count shouted, - better than all of you!... - He wanted to hug her, but she pulled away, blushing, so as not to crumple.
“Mom, more on the side of the current,” Natasha said. “I’ll cut it,” and she rushed forward, and the girls who were hemming, did not have time to rush after her, tore off a piece of smoke.
- My God! What is this? It's not my fault...
“I’ll sweep it all away, it won’t be visible,” Dunyasha said.
- Beauty, it’s mine! - said the nanny who came in from behind the door. - And Sonyushka, what a beauty!...
At a quarter past ten they finally got into the carriages and drove off. But we still had to stop by the Tauride Garden.
Peronskaya was already ready. Despite her old age and ugliness, she did exactly the same thing as the Rostovs, although not with such haste (this was a common thing for her), but her old, ugly body was also perfumed, washed, powdered, and the ears were also carefully washed , and even, and just like the Rostovs, the old maid enthusiastically admired her mistress’s outfit when she, in a yellow dress with a code, came out into the living room. Peronskaya praised the Rostovs' toilets.
The Rostovs praised her taste and dress, and, taking care of her hair and dresses, at eleven o'clock they settled into their carriages and drove off.

Since the morning of that day, Natasha had not had a minute of freedom, and not once had time to think about what lay ahead of her.
In the damp, cold air, in the cramped and incomplete darkness of the swaying carriage, for the first time she vividly imagined what awaited her there, at the ball, in the illuminated halls - music, flowers, dancing, the sovereign, all the brilliant youth of St. Petersburg. What awaited her was so beautiful that she did not even believe that it would happen: it was so incongruous with the impression of cold, cramped space and darkness of the carriage. She understood everything that awaited her only when, having walked along the red cloth of the entrance, she entered the entryway, took off her fur coat and walked next to Sonya in front of her mother between the flowers along the illuminated stairs. Only then did she remember how she had to behave at the ball and tried to adopt the majestic manner that she considered necessary for a girl at the ball. But fortunately for her, she felt that her eyes were running wild: she could not see anything clearly, her pulse beat a hundred times a minute, and the blood began to pound at her heart. She could not accept the manner that would make her funny, and she walked, frozen with excitement and trying with all her might to hide it. And this was the very manner that suited her most of all. In front and behind them, talking just as quietly and also in ball gowns, guests entered. The mirrors along the stairs reflected ladies in white, blue, pink dresses, with diamonds and pearls on their open arms and necks.
Natasha looked in the mirrors and in the reflection could not distinguish herself from others. Everything was mixed into one brilliant procession. Upon entering the first hall, the uniform roar of voices, footsteps, and greetings deafened Natasha; the light and shine blinded her even more. The owner and hostess, who had already been standing at the front door for half an hour and said the same words to those entering: “charme de vous voir,” [in admiration that I see you], also greeted the Rostovs and Peronskaya.
Two girls in white dresses, with identical roses in their black hair, sat down in the same way, but the hostess involuntarily fixed her gaze longer on thin Natasha. She looked at her and smiled especially at her, in addition to her masterful smile. Looking at her, the hostess remembered, perhaps, her golden, irrevocable girlhood time, and her first ball. The owner also followed Natasha with his eyes and asked the count who was his daughter?
- Charmante! [Charming!] - he said, kissing the tips of his fingers.
Guests stood in the hall, crowding at the front door, waiting for the sovereign. The Countess placed herself in the front row of this crowd. Natasha heard and felt that several voices asked about her and looked at her. She realized that those who paid attention to her liked her, and this observation calmed her somewhat.
“There are people just like us, and there are people worse than us,” she thought.
Peronskaya named the countess the most significant people who were at the ball.
“This is the Dutch envoy, you see, gray-haired,” said Peronskaya, pointing to an old man with silver gray curly, abundant hair, surrounded by ladies, whom he made laugh for some reason.
“And here she is, the queen of St. Petersburg, Countess Bezukhaya,” she said, pointing to Helen as she entered.
- How good! Will not yield to Marya Antonovna; Look how both young and old flock to her. She is both good and smart... They say the prince... is crazy about her. But these two, although not good, are even more surrounded.
She pointed to a lady passing through the hall with a very ugly daughter.
“This is a millionaire bride,” said Peronskaya. - And here are the grooms.
“This is Bezukhova’s brother, Anatol Kuragin,” she said, pointing to the handsome cavalry guard who walked past them, looking somewhere from the height of his raised head across the ladies. - How good! is not it? They say they will marry him to this rich woman. And your sauce, Drubetskoy, is also very confusing. They say millions. “Why, it’s the French envoy himself,” she answered about Caulaincourt when the countess asked who it was. - Look like some kind of king. But still, the French are nice, very nice. No miles for society. And here she is! No, our Marya Antonovna is the best! And how simply dressed. Lovely! “And this fat one, with glasses, is a world-class pharmacist,” said Peronskaya, pointing to Bezukhov. “Put him next to your wife: he’s a fool!”

The Legend of the Flying Dutchman

The Flying Dutchman is a ghost ship that is doomed to forever sail the oceans and can never land on shore, and a meeting with this terrible sailing ship always promises terrible troubles. The story goes that he only appears on a stormy night...
With all his might he strives to get closer to the desired shore, but as soon as this happens, the ship disappears, as if it never existed. The reason is a terrible curse placed on him...
So what happened? Previously, the Flying Dutchman was an ordinary Dutch sailing ship that calmly plied the waters of different oceans. But one day, in 1641, when the ship was on its way from the Dutch colonies of the East Indies to Europe, its captain Van Straaten took several passengers on board. Among them was a young beautiful girl (she, by the way, was traveling with her fiancé), who really liked the captain of the ship. Passion completely captured the madman: not knowing what he was doing, Van Straaten killed the young man, and then told the girl who charmed him that he himself would take the place of her fiancé. However, the girl did not share his plans for the future and, saying that she wanted to be with her beloved forever, threw herself overboard.

The captain is completely mad with unrequited love! And then, as luck would have it, the ship was caught in a severe storm. This happened near the Cape of Good Hope, in places famous for hurricane winds and strong currents. All the sailors understood that they needed to return and wait out the storm in some quiet place, they, along with the passengers, began to beg Van Straaten to do this. But he, pumped up with alcohol, decided that he didn’t care. He gathered the team and said that even though everyone before him had died in a storm in these ominous waters, he would do everything to go around the Cape of Good Hope! Everyone asked him to take pity on them and turn back, but Van Straaten, angry at everyone, only swore and threatened to kill those who did not take his side. A riot broke out on the ship - the captain, without a drop of regret, shot all the instigators. And he told the rest that no one would leave the ship until it rounded the cape, even if it took forever to sail. Either the creator did not like these words and he cursed the captain and his ship, or for some other reason, but at that moment a huge wave rose and swallowed the ship with everyone on board. It is obvious that the captain is guilty of rudeness, murder, and most importantly, pride: he believed that alone he could compete with the powerful forces of nature and not rely on God’s help.

Thus Van Straaten, his crew and passengers gained immortality. They say that once every ten years the captain gets the opportunity to go ashore. He goes to land to find himself a new bride. And as soon as there is a girl who sincerely loves this presumptuous proud man and murderer and marries him, the curse will be lifted and all the captives of the ghost ship will be able to return to their homes. In the meantime, the Flying Dutchman has been plowing the oceans for several centuries and cannot land on the shore.

Since then, the Flying Dutchman began to appear during storms, and is especially often seen near the Cape of Good Hope. In these latitudes, any ship caught in a storm is almost certainly doomed. And scary stories about a ghost ship, above which a luminous halo is visible, and its crazy captain completely panic superstitious sailors.

The legend of the Flying Dutchman is passed down from generation to generation by sailors. Just thinking about the Flying Dutchman makes your heart beat faster. The history of this ship, shrouded in mystery and romance, does not leave many historians and scientists indifferent. The legend is incredibly poetic, as you can see for yourself

In the distant 16th and maybe even the 17th century, led by an experienced captain, a passenger ship flew through the waves heading through the Cape of Good Hope, located in southern Africa. As soon as the ship approached the cape, a strong storm raged. The team turned to the captain with a request to dock and wait out the bad weather. But the captain refused the team. Perhaps he was drunk or even lost his mind. He promised the crew that he would go around the cape no matter what. The crew and the excited passengers, who disagreed with the captain’s decision, started a riot, setting the goal of neutralizing the desperate captain. But it so happened that the captain outwitted the rebels by catching the leader of the rebels and feeding him to fish.

Legend has it that this treacherous act angered God. And it so happened that in an instant the heavens parted, the fires shone with a bright flame, from which a dark shadow appeared and descended onto the deck of the ship. Captain. Out of military habit, I decided to use a weapon and scare away the approaching shadow. But, suddenly. The pistol in his hands exploded into small particles. In an indifferent and unshakable voice, the shadow pronounced the sentence. “You are cruel and heartless, captain. Now bile will be your wine, and iron will be your food. You will be damned forever." After these words, the sailors turned into half-decayed skeletons, and the captain - into the Flying Dutchman himself. God is in no hurry to forgive him. According to legend, only the love of a believing woman can save the captain. But where can you get it in the ocean?

The Flying Dutchman swims in all sea spaces. The ghost of a ship is a harbinger of certain death for the ship. Sailors are still afraid of the ghost ship, so they nail horseshoes to the masts for good luck.

It is true to believe that the above legend has some historical background. Everyone knows that real facts lose their “edges” under the cover of time.

The legend is based on a true story that happened in 1641 with a merchant ship. It tried to go around the cape in search of a convenient place for a settlement, which was supposed to become a resting point for the ships of the East India Company. A strong storm did not stop the assertive captain. The confrontation between people and nature has ended, as always. By the way, this is where the legend branched out. The captain was eager to get to the eastern side of the cape and he was going to do it even if it took time until the very end of the world. The devil heard his words and decided to help. By giving eternal “life.”

There is another option, more realistic: at the end of 1770, the entire crew landed on the island of Malta. Including the captain, they were infected with yellow fever. The Grand Master of the Order of Malta gave the order to tow the ship from the port, along with the 23 people on it. The ship sailed to Tunisia, but they had already been warned and did not allow the ship into the port. In Naples, where the team set sail later. The sailboat was also not allowed in. The same thing happened in France and England. The team slowly died, and eventually. Turned into a group of skeletons on board.

The Flying Dutchman was almost encountered by the British ship Bacchante in 1881, which at that moment had the young prince on board. Everything worked out fine. Fate gave the prince a long life. The prince became King George V. But the sailor who was on patrol soon died tragically.

The mythical ghost ship was encountered even in the 20th century. In March 1939, it was seen by many South African swimmers. Many newspapers wrote about it that day.

Very often in the seas and oceans there are ships without a crew of sailors and a captain. It is difficult to explain such findings. There have been cases when teams disappeared on a clear day.

What exactly happens to the ship's crews? They have been trying to solve this mystery for several centuries. There are many hypotheses about this, starting with exotic ones - abduction by alien creatures, the transition of people to a parallel world, other dimensions, attacks by sea monsters; but there are also quite possible ones: mass poisonings, or epidemics, or the crew was washed overboard, an attack by pirates, or zones of strong ultrasonic radiation (in which the crew dies) What is really happening? We probably won't know. The ocean keeps its secrets very well.

WIKIPEDIA:

The term is most often used in legends and fiction, but can also refer to an actual ship that previously disappeared but was later found at sea without a crew or with a dead crew on board. Many encounters with such ships are obvious fiction, but there are real cases that are documented.

The reasons for the disappearance or death of the team can be different: epidemics, poisoning, rare natural phenomena such as rogue waves, or methane emissions. The investigation of such cases is often complicated by the lack of evidence of the incident, such as logbook entries.

The yacht Kaz II, dubbed the "ghost yacht", was discovered drifting 163 km off the North Coast of Australia on April 18, 2007. The fate of her three crew members still remains unknown, and the circumstances under which they disappeared are extremely mysterious.

1. Brief chronology of events.

On April 15, 2007, the yacht Kaz II left Airlie Beach and headed to Townsville. On board were the owner of the yacht, Derek Batten, and his friends, brothers Peter and James Tunstead. And on April 18, the yacht was accidentally spotted from a helicopter in the Great Barrier Reef area. She was drifting on her own, and it was clear that something had happened to her crew.

On April 20, a maritime patrol caught up with the drifting yacht and boarded it.
On the map:
1-point from where the yacht left
2-point where it was discovered
3-point where the yacht was caught by the patrol

None of the 3 crew members were found on the yacht, and the yacht itself and the things on it were completely untouched, as if the crew had suddenly left the yacht for unknown reasons. Large-scale search and rescue efforts continued until April 25, but were unsuccessful - neither the crew nor even their bodies were found.

2. Start of investigation

Kaz II was immediately towed to the port of Townsville for forensic examination. An investigation into this case has begun.

After analyzing GPS data on the Kaz II's course, it was determined that on the morning of April 15, the yacht was still controllable and on the intended course. But already in the evening of that day, along the trajectory of the yacht, it became clear that it was no longer controlled by the crew, but was simply drifting freely in a northeast direction. On the same day, the weather worsened in this area, but on the rest of the days the weather was good.

This is a page from the official investigation report, it shows the broken line of the yacht's drift

3. Inspection of the yacht

When inspecting the yacht, the last video recording of the crew, dated April 15, 10:05 am, was found on it, where the islands around were recorded, which makes it possible to determine the exact location of the yacht at the time of video recording.

This is a page from the official investigation report:
1-point video shooting
2-point where the yacht was discovered

The video recording also allows us to establish the condition of the yacht immediately before the disappearance of the crew. The following was recorded:
— Batten was at the helm
— Peter was fishing at the stern of the yacht
— a long white rope is unwound at the stern of the yacht
- the yacht's engine was stopped
— fenders were hung from both sides of the yacht, which serve to prevent damage to the boat, for example, when mooring. This is roughly what they look like

- Peter is wearing a shirt and glasses, these things were later found on the deck of the yacht in another place

Upon careful inspection by the investigative team of the yacht itself, it was found that it was in full working order and looked as if its crew were on board right now:

- food and cutlery are placed on the table
- laptop is on
— the yacht’s engine is started
— all emergency systems, including GPS, are fully operational
- all life jackets are in place
- a small rescue boat is raised at the rear of the yacht
- anchor raised
— under the bed in a drawer there is an untouched firearm and ammunition for it
— the rope, which is recorded in the video lying on the stern of the yacht, has already been wound up

- the T-shirt and glasses that Tunstead was wearing at the time of the video were left on a seat at the stern of the yacht
— a coffee mug was thrown near the lifebuoy
- no signs of a struggle or attack on the yacht have been identified, things are not scattered, there are no signs of a search or any influence, all things are in their places
— one of the yacht’s sails was torn (this is the only damage detected). This photo shows a torn sail.

4. Witness.

During the investigation of the case, a witness was discovered who saw the yacht. Gavin Howland, captain of the commercial fishing vessel Gillian, testified that on April 16, 2007, while fishing off Bowen Reef, he and his crew saw a white yacht with a torn sail. The yacht was drifting sideways between the reefs through a narrow passage, in the North-North-East direction, along the current. Gavin Howland walked about 50 meters from the yacht and did not see anyone on deck, but did not approach the private yacht.

5. Versions.

There are several versions of the disappearance of the crew of the yacht Kaz II, but none of them can be considered completely reliable. It is worth saying here that the captain of the yacht, Derek Batten, had 25 years of yachting experience; while sailing, he always behaved carefully and followed all safety measures. Therefore, any absurdities in his actions are difficult to imagine.

Here are some of the proposed versions of what happened:
- falling overboard due to a storm. This version is not confirmed by the order on board the yacht and the fact that the crew were not wearing life jackets.
- kidnapping onto another unidentified ship. This version is supported by the overhanging fenders, as if the yacht was about to moor. However, there are no signs of a search or the presence of other people on the yacht.
— the yacht ran aground and all three of them went overboard to push it, and as a result, a gust of wind carried the yacht away. But where a strand could exist there is not explained.
- and finally, the official version. This is the cover of the investigative report.

According to investigators, the following happened:

James Tunstead took off his T-shirt and glasses and dove into the ocean to free a tangled fishing line. At this moment the yacht began to be blown to the side by the wind. Then his brother Peter rushed into the ocean to help him. Batten remained on board at that moment and saw that the yacht was being blown away from his friends into the ocean by the wind. He turned on the engine to return, but then realized that first he needed to lower the sails so that the wind would not interfere with the movement of the yacht. When he let go of the rudder and headed towards the sails, an oncoming gust of wind inflated the sails, the yacht jerked and Batten was knocked into the ocean by the sail. After this, the yacht sailed into the open ocean, and the crew was unable to catch up with it by swimming and, as a result, drowned.

But even the official version of the disappearance of the crew of the yacht Kaz II is made with the caveat that it cannot be considered completely accurate... The entire official investigation report can be seen.

6. Ghost ships.

The story of the yacht Kaz II, of course, could be attributed to a unique case of an incomprehensible tragedy in which the entire crew of the yacht accidentally drowned. However, it turns out that this is not the first and not the last case of the discovery of a ship sailing without a crew. Ghost ships appear in history with enviable regularity, and even have their own ancient legend - the Flying Dutchman ship.

The Flying Dutchman is a ghost sailing ship, which, according to legend, cannot land on the shore and is doomed to sail the seas forever. Typically, sailors observe such a ship from afar, sometimes surrounded by a luminous halo. According to legend, when the Flying Dutchman encounters another ship, its crew tries to send messages ashore to people who have long been dead. In maritime beliefs, an encounter with the Flying Dutchman is considered a bad omen.

There are enough discovered ghost ships, you can see for yourself -. One of the most famous documented cases of a ghost ship can be considered the famous Mary Celeste (Mary Celeste, Mary of Heaven, Mary Celeste, which was discovered on December 4, 1872, 400 miles from Gibraltar.

In the case of Mary Celeste, the entire crew simply disappeared from the sailing ship in the same unknown way; not a single living soul was found on board the ship. Although the ship itself remained completely intact, including the valuables on board...

...But there are other areas in the world
The moon of painful torment.
For the highest power, the highest valor
They are forever unattainable.

There are waves with sparkles and splashes
Continuous dance
And there it flies in sharp leaps
The Flying Dutchman's ship.

Lev Gumilyov, from the series “Captains”

Flying Dutchman(Dutch. De Vliegende Hollander, English. The Flying Dutchman) – mysterious ghost ship, forever wandering in the ocean and terrifying sailors for several centuries.

There are a lot of myths and legends around this sailboat. Neither its type nor the year of construction is known, even how it became, in fact, "The Flying Dutchman", there is no single reliable version. There are also discrepancies in the name of the ship's captain: according to some versions, his name was Philip Van Decken, according to others - Van Straaten. But it was precisely through the captain’s fault that the curse fell on the ship.

Legend one

It says that the Dutch ship was carrying cargo from the East Indies, and in addition to the main crew, there were two passengers on board: a young couple in love. It so happened that the captain, who was not distinguished by good manners, killed the young man, and proposed his candidacy as a husband to the girl. But the girl rejected the killer's hand and threw herself overboard. And the ship, approaching Cape of Good Hope(Cape of Storms), caught in a strong storm. Sailors have always been a superstitious people, and here some members of the crew suggested that the cause of the bad weather was a recent incident with passengers. But the captain shot the dissatisfied and swore that no matter how long it took, he would round the Cape of Good Hope, and until then not a single crew member would touch the ground. With this promise, the captain himself cursed his ship. Since then "Flying Dutchman" forever wanders the oceans, and only once every ten (and according to other versions, seven) years, the captain can go ashore and ask for the hand of a girl. As soon as he finds someone who agrees to accept his proposal, the curse will fall from the sailing ship.

Legend two.

A sailing ship sailing around the Cape of Good Hope was caught in a storm, and the captain cursed the sea, the weather and God, who had sent him all these trials, in every possible way. After another round of curses, a ghost appeared on the deck of the ship. The captain attempted to shoot the ghost, but the revolver exploded in the captain's hand, and the ghost cursed "The Flying Dutchman", promising him eternal wandering in the ocean waters. Sometimes he meets other ships, and sailors with "The Flying Dutchman" they are trying to deliver letters to the shore, but anyone who takes them will face trouble.

Legend three.

The most plausible legend. The gist of it is that all the ship's crew members fell ill with some unknown disease. All ports refused to accept the infected ship, and the entire crew was doomed to a painful death. As a result, the ship with the dead sailors drifted in the ocean for a long time, frightening oncoming ships.

If we analyze the appearance of a ghost ship from a scientific point of view, then scientists believe that such a phenomenon as Fata Morgana- a mirage of a ship, as if floating above the water. And the luminous halo around the sailboat may well be St. Elmo's lights(electrical discharge formed at the tips of the masts, caused by a high voltage electric field).

Thus, it became the first collective image of a ghost ship, a sailing ship with a crew of the dead, torn sails and a rotten hull, which promises trouble and death to anyone who meets it on its way to the sea.

For more than three centuries of existence of the legend about "The Flying Dutchman" his image was repeatedly used in literature, painting, and music. It has acquired details and new details that the authors added to it in their works.

For the first time about "The Flying Dutchman" wrote George Berrington, a thief from Ireland, in 1795 in his work "The Voyage to Botany Bay."

In 1826, Fitzball and Rodwell created the first opera called "The Flying Dutchman, or the Ghost Ship". In 1839, the English writer Frederick Marrieta wrote the novel "Ghost ship", telling about the wanderings of the legendary sailing ship. In 1843, Richard Wagner created his famous opera "Flying Dutchman", which used the image of a ghost ship created by the German poet Heinrich Heine in 1830.

Restaurants and rock bands are called by this name. There are even Japanese manga and anime about "The Flying Dutchman". And there are simply a great many poems and books written on this topic.

In the twentieth century about "The Flying Dutchman" Several feature and popular science films were made. And at the beginning of the 21st century, the legendary ghost ship appeared in films where the sea devil Davy Jones became the captain of the sailing ship.

The Flying Dutchman is a legendary ghost sailing ship that cannot land on the shore and is doomed to forever roam the seas. The legend of the “Flying Dutchman”, which arose in the 17th century, has been passed down from generation to generation for many years. In a version published in 1821 in an English magazine, the ship was sailing along the Cape of Good Hope when a storm began. The ship eventually disappeared, and no traces of the shipwreck could be found. The story is overgrown with legends, and the ghost of the ship became a harbinger of bad omens for many decades.

Of course, as in any story, there was some speculation, but the mysterious disappearance of the Flying Dutchman was not the only one. The crews of these ships sank into oblivion without leaving

Perhaps one of the most famous ghost ships. This brigantine, with a displacement of 282 tons and a length of 31 meters, was originally nicknamed “Amazon” and was considered cursed from the very day its first captain fell overboard, and during his very first voyage. The ship changed its name, but not its destiny: the newly-minted "Mary Celeste" disappeared on the ocean in 1872. A month later, the brigantine was discovered: the sailors’ belongings were in their places, children’s toys on the floor, a load of alcohol in the hold. Need I say that there were no crew members on board? Until now, none of the versions of missing people fully explains what happened. None other than the paranormal.

In July 1850, residents of the small village of Easton's Beach, located in Rhode Island, suddenly noticed a sailboat at sea, flying at full speed straight towards the coastal cliffs. "Seabird"(and it was he) got stuck on the sandbank, which allowed the locals to board. Many of them subsequently regretted their decision: despite the cezve boiling in the galley and plates of food in the wardroom, there were no people on the sailboat. However, one living creature still remained: in one of the cabins, under the bunk, the rescuers found a dog trembling in horror. Such a witness, of course, could not tell anything. The investigation into the cause of the disappearance of the Seabird crew turned out to be a waste of time.

History of the Dutch ship "Orang Medan" began with a frightening radio signal. The captains of several merchant ships heard with horror: “SOS! Motor ship "Orang Medan". The ship continues to follow its course. Maybe all our crew members have already died. I'm dying". English sailors boarded the ship and discovered a crew of dead men. An expression of indescribable fear froze on people's faces. As soon as the British left the Orang Medan, it caught fire, then exploded and sank.

In 1999 the ship "Love Orlova" was sold to the cruise company Quark Expeditions, and in 2010 the ship was lost during a storm. The long-suffering liner finally decided to land on shore only in 2014, when it was discovered by a search party.

This 12-meter catamaran, which was used as a fishing vessel, disappeared in 2007 on the northeast coast of Australia. However, the yacht was not on the list of missing ships for long. In just a week "Kaz II" discovered near the Great Barrier Reef. The catamaran's engine was still running; Moreover, in the wardroom the rescuers found a table set - but not one of the three crew members. According to the rescuers, they had to leave the catamaran in the open sea, because on board they all felt an inexplicable attack of panic.