Flying Dutchman

**The Flying Dutchman** is a ghost-ship from real-life nautical folklore which is connected to several Disney Park attractions in the S.E.A. mythos.

## Description

### Crew

#### Captains

##### Folklore

* **Captain Hendrick van der Decken**:
* **Barend Fokke**:

##### Pirates of the Caribbean

* **Davy Jones**:
* **William Turner**:

#### Crew-mates

* **Angler:**
* **Bootstrap Bill**:
* **Clanker:**
* **Hadras:**
* **Jimmy Legs:**
* **Koleniko:**
* **Maccus**: Davy Jones' first-mate.
* **Ogilvey:**
* **Palifico:**
* **Penrod:**
* **Quittance:**
* **Two Head:**
* **Wyvern:**

## History

### Folklore

   The Flying Dutchman is considered to be a ghost-ship that is an omen of death, destruction and storms. It is frequently identified as moving unnaturally, capable of being somewhat transparent, and being able to suddenly vanish. It is believed that the myth originates from an illusion where the humid air before a storm casts a mirage-like reflection of one's own ship against the horizon.

In one legend behind the Flying Dutchman, it was a vessel that sailed under the East India Trading Company during the 17th century. It sailed for the cruel Captain Hendrick van der Decken who forced his crew to sail through a hurricane off the coast of Good Hope resulting in the entire crew to die. As a curse for his cruelty and arrogance, the Dutchman was damned to be a ghost-ship which forever sailed the seas.

In another story, the captain of the Flying Dutchman was one Bernard or Barend Fokke. In this tale, Fokke sold his soul to the devil so that the Dutchman could sail with supernatural speed. When Fokke tried to use the ship to outrun the devil he was killed in a paranormal hurricane sent by the Devil or God and was damned to sail the seas for eternity with his undead crew.

### Pirates of the Caribbean (film-series)

In these films, the Flying Dutchman serves a similar role to the boat of Charon from Hellenistic Greek myth. It is a paranormal vessel which served the sacred duty of ferrying the souls of those who die at sea to the afterlife. The ship is powerful and has many supernatural powers however the captain of the vessel cannot step foot on solid-land except for one day every ten years.

The Flying Dutchman was given by the sea-goddess Calypso to her mortal-turned-deity lover Davy Jones to ferry the souls of the dead. However on the one day when Jones and Calypso could be together, the goddess abandoned Jones. Due to this, the captain rebuked the Dutchman's purpose and used it for faustian bargains to enslave and kill unsuspecting sailors. Due to the corruption of his sacred duty, Jones and his crew were cursed to become hideous monsters resembling sea-life and shipwreck debris. To cope with his emotional pain, Jones carved out his own heart and placed it in an iron-chest which he hid on the island of Isla Cruces.

In 1727, Davy Jones would be killed by the pirate Captain Jack Sparrow by stabbing the heart while holding the hand of Jones' victim William Turner. Due to this, William inherited the position of Captain of the Flying Dutchman and restored the purpose of the ship before leaving his own heart in the possession of his wife Elizabeth Swann.

## Appearances and allusions

### Castaway Cay

The Flying Dutchman from the Pirates of the Caribbean film-series used to appear in the waters of Castaway Cay as a sort of attraction.

### The Haunted Mansion

A portrait of the Flying Dutchman is hung in the portrait-corridor of the Haunted Mansion, possibly indicating a connection between its spirits and those of the manor. The portrait shows the Dutchman as a proud sailing-ship before lighting flashes and shows it as a floating wreck in a storm. In unused concept-art it would have had ghostly sailors floating from its deck.

### Phantom Manor

A portrait of the Flying Dutchman (as it appeared in the films) is hung in Ravenswood Manor, seemingly part of the collection Big Thunder Mining Company founder Henry Ravenswood. The portrait shows the Dutchman sailing as a normal ship before changing to show it engulfed in flames.

### Pirates of the Caribbean attractions

#### Pirates of the Caribbean

The Dutchman's former-captain Davy Jones made an appearance in Pirates of the Caribbean from 2006-2018 and still makes an appearance in the Disneyland Paris version of the attraction. All of these appearances had Davy Jones make a comment on the cursed treasure of Dead Man's Cove before guests were transported back to the golden age of piracy when the crew of the Wicked Wench stole the treasure.

#### Blue Bayou Restaurant

Two dishes in this New Orleans-set restaurant allude to the Flying Dutchman. One is the Flying Dutchman dreamboat and the other is the Isla Cruces Crab-cake.

#### Pirate's Lair on Tom Sawyer Island

Both Davy Jones and William Turner are referenced in this attraction. Davy Jones' ghost can be heard haunting the Dead Man's Chest found in Dead Man's Grotto and a blacksmith's shop run by William Turner in the 1750s, both on Jackson Island in the Mississippi River. The crew of the Dutchman is also alluded to in the Pirate Den area in a shipwreck caused by the kraken.

#### Pirates of the Caribbean: Battle for the Sunken Treasure

The Dutchman is prominently featured within this attraction when guests team up with Jack Sparrow to rob Davy Jones of his sunken treasure off the coast of Treasure Cove. Guests find the Dutchman on the ocean floor in a graveyard of ships used as Jones' fleet and enter it where they encounter the Dutchman's first-mate Maccus and then the captain Davy Jones. After this the Dutchman and its fleet raise from the depths and engage in a gunfight with Jack Sparrow's ship before Sparrow makes away with the treasure.

### Other

In the Columbia Harbour House of Walt Disney World, the landing overlooking the Haunted Mansion is named for the Flying Dutchman and features artwork of ghost-ships.

## Connections

### Trader Sam's Enchanted Tiki Bar

One of Davy Jones and Calypso's lockets is located in this bar within Trader Sam's collection.

## Trivia

* The appearance of the Flying Dutchman largely changes depending on the specific incarnation.
	+ In the Haunted Mansion it is a fairly typical-looking ghost ship.
	+ In Phantom Manor and the Pirates of the Caribbean films, the Dutchman is a much more unique-looking vehicle with tattered sails, a darkened hull, and a stern resembling the jaws of a whale.
	+ In *Pirates of the Caribbean: Battle for the Sunken Treasure*, the Dutchman has a skeleton figurehead.