The Flying Dutchman

For several hundred years sailors have spoken of a ghostly spectre of a ship sailing around Cape point on stormy nights. Witnesses report that if you communicate with the ship, rowboats are lowered manned by phantoms that approach you with letters to deliver to their loved ones.

The story of the vessel called the Flying Dutchman is connected to a ship caught in a storm in 1641 near Cape Point on the way from Holland to Indonesia. The story goes that the captain refused to turn back vowing that he would round the tip of Africa if it was the last thing he did.  It turns out that he probably did not get as far as the tip. The boat sank along with all the crew that night.

There have been many sightings of the phantom ship between Cape Point and Cape Agulhas. However, seeing it is said to be a particularly bad omen.