Headline

Captain Hendrik van der Decken had just offloaded his cargo in Cape Town and was anxious to get back to sea again in his ship, the Flying Dutchman. His crew, however, begged to to stay in port, as the weather was turning foul and they were scared to sail in the dangerous Cape waters in such conditions. Van der Decken would not listen and he sailed out of Cape Town straight into a hurricane. For days he fought against the elements, even lashing himself to the wheel, so that he would not be swept overboard. His crew pleaded with him to turn back, but he would not listen. He was like a madman – pitching his small vessel against the mighty storm.

He cursed God, saying that even He could not make him change his mind and swore that he would sail on until he met the ends of the earth. As he said this, the storm seemed to instantly die down and a ghost appeared on the ship. All the crew instantly fell down dead, but van der Decken fired his gun at the figure. His arm immediately withered and became useless. The ship glowed a red colour and disappeared forever into the storm.

The legend says that the Flying Dutchman continues to sail forever, as a ghost ship, trying still to sail around the Cape of Storms.

Over the years many people claim to have seen the Flying Dutchman off our shores, but no sensible captains will take their ship near the ghostly ship, because they believe that something terrible will happen aboard their ship if they do.

Text from FunkyMunky.co.za