The Flying Dutchman

Four hundred and fifty years ago, there lived a man named Hendrick Vanderdecken, a
captain, a sailor, a man devoted to the sea. Captain Vanderdecken lived in Amsterdam, in
Holland, and for as many years as he could remember, he had loved to be at sea. He knew
that was where he belonged, heart and soul, and he could not imagine his life anywhere else.

One day Vanderdecken and his crew set off in their ship, the Flying Dutchman. They were
heading toward Batavia, a Dutch port in East India, and their course was set. The journey
would take many months, or so they thought. They had no idea that this was a journey that
would never end.

After some time the ship reached the Cape of Good Hope at the tip of southern Africa, and
there, just as they were rounding the cape, a fierce and unrelenting storm met the Flying
Dutchman.

The waves rose higher than the deck itself, and the wind blew so mightily, the sails were
ripped to shreds. The crew, feeling the booms ripped from their hands, watching the wind
pound at the masts, cried to their captain, "We must turn back!"

Many of the sailors were down on their knees, praying that something might save them. "It's
a warning that we shouldn't travel in this direction," some of the sailors wailed, and this they
believed. Others cursed and swore and talked of mutiny, for their captain had a gleam in his
eye now, and they thought he might have gone mad.

"Sail on," Vanderdecken commanded.

"This is a warning to turn around," the sailors cried out, but Vanderdecken believed he could
weather any storm. He believed that he, more than any other man, knew how to work the sea,
how to steer his ship always forward. And so he shouted, "Keep sailing!" over the gales. "We
will never give up!"

When lightning struck the deck, and raging currents ripped the keel from beneath the ship's
hull, many of the sailors screamed in terror and pleaded with their captain to save them, but
Vanderdecken was, by this time, listening only to his own heart. "We won't give up, we'll sail
for eternity," he cried. "We shall sail until doomsday!"

People say the ship vanished from sight just moments after Captain Vanderdecken uttered
these words.

No one ever saw the sailors again, and no one ever saw Captain Vanderdecken. That is, no
one ever saw them on land. But some say the captain did receive his punishment for his
bravado. People say that he will never rest, and it is also said that those who see the Flying
Dutchman -- and people do -- soon meet their own doom.
 The Flying Dutchman

Empat ratus lima puluh tahun yang lalu, hiduplah seorang pria bernama Hendrick
Vanderdecken, seorang kapten, seorang pelaut, seorang pria yang berbakti kepada laut.
Kapten Vanderdecken tinggal di Amsterdam, di Belanda, dan selama bertahun-tahun yang
dia ingat, dia senang berada di laut. Dia tahu di situlah tempatnya, hati dan jiwa, dan dia tidak
bisa membayangkan hidupnya di tempat lain.

Suatu hari Vanderdecken dan krunya berangkat dengan kapal mereka, Flying Dutchman.
Mereka menuju Batavia, sebuah pelabuhan Belanda di India Timur, dan jalur mereka telah
ditentukan. Perjalanan akan memakan waktu berbulan-bulan, atau begitulah menurut mereka.
Mereka tidak tahu bahwa ini adalah perjalanan yang tidak akan pernah berakhir.

Setelah beberapa waktu, kapal mencapai Tanjung Harapan di ujung Afrika selatan, dan di
sana, tepat ketika mereka mengitari tanjung, badai dahsyat dan tak henti-hentinya bertemu
dengan Flying Dutchman.

Ombak naik lebih tinggi dari geladak itu sendiri, dan angin bertiup kencang, layarnya
terkoyak-koyak. Para kru, merasakan ledakan merobek dari tangan mereka, menonton angin
bertiup di tiang kapal, berteriak kepada kapten mereka, "Kita harus kembali!"

Banyak pelaut berlutut, berdoa agar sesuatu menyelamatkan mereka. "Ini peringatan bahwa
kita seharusnya tidak melakukan perjalanan ke arah ini," keluh beberapa pelaut, dan ini yang
mereka yakini. Yang lain mengutuk, bersumpah, dan berbicara tentang pemberontakan,
karena kapten mereka memiliki sinar di matanya sekarang, dan mereka pikir dia mungkin
sudah gila.

"Berlayar," perintah Vanderdecken.

"Ini peringatan untuk berbalik," teriak para pelaut, tetapi Vanderdecken yakin dia bisa
mengatasi badai apa pun. Dia percaya bahwa dia, lebih dari orang lain, tahu cara bekerja di
laut, bagaimana mengarahkan kapalnya selalu maju. Maka dia berteriak, "Terus berlayar!" di
atas angin kencang. "Kami tidak akan pernah menyerah!"

Ketika kilat menghantam geladak, dan arus yang mengamuk merobek lunas dari bawah
lambung kapal, banyak pelaut menjerit ngeri dan memohon kapten mereka untuk
menyelamatkan mereka, tetapi Vanderdecken, pada saat itu, hanya mendengarkan hatinya
sendiri. "Kami tidak akan menyerah, kami akan berlayar selamanya," serunya. "Kita akan
berlayar sampai kiamat!"

Orang mengatakan kapal itu lenyap dari pandangan beberapa saat setelah Kapten
Vanderdecken mengucapkan kata-kata ini.

Tidak ada yang pernah melihat pelaut lagi, dan tidak ada yang pernah melihat Kapten
Vanderdecken. Artinya, tidak ada yang pernah melihat mereka di darat. Tetapi beberapa
orang mengatakan kapten itu menerima hukumannya atas keberaniannya. Orang-orang
mengatakan bahwa ia tidak akan pernah beristirahat, dan dikatakan juga bahwa mereka yang
melihat Flying Dutchman - dan orang-orang melakukannya - akan segera menemui ajalnya
sendiri.