The Legend of Flying Dutchman

Summary

Four hundred and fifty years ago there lived a captain, a sailor who really loves sea, named Hendrik
Vanderdeckhen. He lived in Amsterdam, in Holland. One day he and his crew had a journey using their
ship, Flying Dutchman to Batavia, a Dutch port in East India to do a trade. They had no idea that it was a
journey that would be never end. The accident happened when the ship reached the Cape of Good Hope at
the tip of southern Africa. There were a terrifying storm and the huge waves that met their ship. It made
the crew become afraid and beg to the captain that they have to turn back. However, Hendrick, the
captain said in arrogant to keep sailing and he believed that he more than any other man, knew how to
steer his sheep always forward.

When lightning struck the deck and broke the ship’s hull, it made the crew screamed in a terror and
begged to the captain to save them. But he did not care and only listen to his own heart. He cried “We
shall sail until doomsday!”

People say that the ship vanished just a moment after he uttered the words. No one ever saw them
on a land. People say that he will never rest and they said that those who see the Flying Dutchman they
will soon meet their own doom.

……

A few years later, two more British sailors saw the phantom ship as they sailed around the cape, but when
the other sailor want to see it then the flying Dutchman vanished. The very next day the sailor who had
been seeing the ship fell to the sea and died when he lost his grip while climbing the rigging. People
believed that the ghost ship takes another victim.

My reaction to the legend

Flying Dutchmen is the legendary ghost ship that can never make port and is cursed to sail forever.
I have read two articles which are totally have 7 pages. The first article tells that Flying Dutchman is the
name of ship, however the second article tells that it can be a name of ship, or a name of the captain who
died at that time because there are a lot of ships that have been sank including the captain and there is not
any proofs about that.

I have got some new vocabularies by reading these such as set off “berangkat”, devoted “akrab”,
cape “tanjung”, weather “melalui/bertahan”, gale “angin kencang”, hull “lambung kapal”, and Bravado
“mulut besar”.Two things that I could learn from this legend is first do not be arrogant in life because it
will never help us. Sometimes we may have to support ourselves that we can pass the problem, but we
have to remember that we all have God where we can hang on. Second is sometimes we should think
considerately about other people advices, maybe it can be the best way to solve the problems that we are
facing.

https://www.uexpress.com/tell-me-a-story/2003/5/18/the-flying-dutchman-a-tale-from

https://www.ancient-origins.net/myths-legends/legend-flying-dutchman-ghostly-apparition-ship-captain-
hendrick-007285