The Flying Dutchman

This podcast takes a tale from the sea and brings it to life.

Transcript

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Welcome to Kitts Myths and Mysteries, listened to in all 50 states and 39 countries. Stories from a world you thought you knew. Today, The Flying Dutchman. The legend of the Flying Dutchman is not only renowned in the field of supernatural, it is also one of the most famous tales of the sea. For 300 years this ghostly ship has sailed the seas around the Cape of Good Hope, bringing misfortune to any ship that is unfortunate enough to come within sight of it. The tale of the Flying Dutchman has been known for generations. In real life, the Flying Dutchman was a seventeenth century Dutch merchant ship. Whilst attempting to round the Cape of Good Hope, a raging storm blew up, but the captain was determined to proceed and not wait for the storm to die down. He said to have cursed God and the elements, saying that he would rather sail till doomsday rather than ride out an anchor. For this blasphemy he has been forced to sail the southern seas ever since without finding harbour, although it is said that once he has found another captain prepared to take a letter from him, begging forgiveness, his reason for haunting will cease and he will find peace. However, it has been proved over the years that any ship that has visual contact with a Dutchman is doomed to some form of disaster, and therefore it will be quite difficult to find a captain prepared to take the necessary letter. The most famous sighting of the Flying Dutchman took place on the eleventh of july eighteen eighty one, when one of the eyewitnesses was Prince George, later to become King George V. He was to see it while serving as a naval cadet. The prince himself made the entry in the ship's log describing the encounter. The log now preserved in Royal Navy Archives was later to report that on that same day as the sighting, the seaman who originally reported the sighting of the phantom vessel fell from the four top mast cross stress and died instantly when he hit the deck. The total number of men on the ship who saw the apparition was thirteen. Also in eighteen eighty one, a Swedish merchantman, under the command of Captain Lars, encountered a flying Dutchman. Captain Lars's ship had been battling a storm as she rounded the Cape on her journey from Australia. The lookout fell from his perch and crashed headlong onto the deck. He died several minutes later, having whispered the words Flying Dutchman. Sightings of the Flying Dutchman have been sighted through the centuries up until 1968. But of course, critics say it couldn't be. Just like flying saucers don't exist, and there's no such thing as ghosts. This is Kit Crumb. Be sure to listen Monday to another story from a world you thought you knew.