The Flying Dutchman

Many of you are familiar with the legend of the Flying Dutchman, a dreadful ghost ship that is destined to sail the seas forever, unable to dock, and functioning as a sign of impending doom for anybody who sees it. Although it's generally agreed that this mythology first occurred in the 17th century, when the Dutch Empire was a major maritime power, its origins are a little hazy. But did a real "flying Dutchman" truly exist?

Although a number of contenders have been put out, one version of the tale centers on Bernard Fokke, a Dutch captain known for the unfathomably quick passages he took between Europe and the Dutch East Indies. As a result, when the captain's ship failed to return after one voyage, everyone concluded that the devil had received his reward and that Fokke and his crew of the damned would henceforth continue to cruise the seas in perpetuity.