"...Called a messenger of the devil, the ship of the dead was called..."

From generation to generation sailors told each other the legend of the flying Dutchman. This image will always make the heart beat faster. The mystery and romance related excited the imagination. And not without reason: the legend really very poetic. Judge for yourself...

Once century that way in the sixteenth, probably, in the seventeenth, flew sailing passenger vessel with an experienced captain headed, heading past the Cape of Good Hope in southern Africa. Passengers are not lucky: no time the ship be compared to the Cape as he played the violent storm. The team promptly started to persuade the old captain reach the coast and wait out the storm. However, he was drunk, and maybe mad. Anyhow, but the supplication of his charges, he left without attention. Not only that: he swore by any means to round Cape. Fear for the fate of the ship in power crazy captain, sailors, together with passengers rebelled and rebelled, Vozmi in order to neutralize the madman. But he was the most subtle and caught the leader of the rebellious. After a moment, he went to feed the fish.

As legend has it, a wicked action angered the Almighty Lord. At that moment the heavens opened up and the clouds lit up bright flame. From the flame went out a black shadow and set foot on the deck of the ship. The captain did not understand the warnings and military habit, decided to shoot the intruder. But the gun exploded in his hands, lightened for a moment face red. Icy voice shadow pronounced the verdict: "You are very stubborn and cruel man, captain. Now wine for you will be a bitter bile, and food - a red-hot iron. You are cursed, captain, accursed forever!" And immediately the sailors it turned into the rotting skeletons, and the captain is in the Flying Dutchman, with despair and cry looking at the sky. So he is known to seamen of the last centuries. Heavens are in no hurry to grant him pardon. According to legend, it can save only the love of a woman, a believer in God. But where did it come from in the middle of the ocean?

Since then, the flying Dutchman sailing, sowing death and destruction. According to a popular belief, the Ghost Flying Gallanta heralds certain death for vehicle or part of the crew. So the sailors were afraid of him, as of fire, superstitious nailing to the mast horse of a horseshoe.

"...And if the transparent, morning Swimmers in the seas met him, eternally tormented voice internal Blind harbinger of sorrow..."

This is the legend, permeated mysticism, like phantasmagoria. Should be, this myth has some historical background. However, the real facts are losing their shape under the curtain of time.

For example, there are disagreements about the captain cursed schooner. Some of his name van Der Decena, others - van Stratena, others simply by van. In all probability, based legends became a true story that happened to one of the Dutch navigators in 1641. Merchant ship intended to round the Cape of Good Hope in the search for a suitable location for a small settlement, which could serve as transshipment point for ships of the East India Company. Broke out the storm, but the captain decided to reach the goal, why would he want it at any cost. The story ended in failure. However, it was not without myths. According to legend, stubborn captain wanted to get on the Eastern side of the Cape, which declared: "I will be there even if I have it will take time until the end of the world!" The devil gave him eternal life, and since then the ship is worn on the waves near the modern Cape town.

There is another, quite real precedent "flying Dutchman". In 1770 on one of the ships was an outbreak of an unknown illness. Being in the vicinity of Malta, the sailors asked for asylum in the local port. The authorities denied for security reasons. Likewise received the ports of Italy and the UK, condemning the inhabitants of the vehicle to slow extinction. In the end, the ship has really turned into a floating island with a pile of skeletons on Board.

Interestingly, with the Flying Dutchman was nearly met one of the representatives of the English Royal family. 11 July 1881 British ship "Bacchante", on Board of which there was a young Prince as a cadet from the masters, met the Ghost ship. By the will of fate, the Prince was destined to live a long summer and become king George V. But the sailor standing on that fateful day on patrol, soon had fallen from the mast and kill himself to death.

But the most stunning thing in this story is that the legendary ship was met even in the 20th century! Thus, in March 1939, his presence has seen many South African bathers. This event is documented, as in the day wrote about it in all the papers. A similar thing happened with one of the German submarines during the Second World war. In the 60-ies of the past century, scientists have tried to bring the latest scientific data to explain the phenomenon of the Flying Dutchman. It was assumed that this is a Mirage that occur in anticipation of the storm as the result of a special kind of atmospheric disasters. However, this hypothesis has not justified itself.

And to this day the nature of the Ghost ship remains a mystery for us. Who knows, maybe he was not yet time to remind yourself. And can be, the flying Dutchman is just a myth? Who knows...