The Flying Dutchman
By Albert Jack
()
About this ebook
From the Author of the Internationally Bestselling Books - Red Herrings & White Elephants, What Caesar did for My Salad, Shaggy Dogs, Pop Goes the Weasel, They Laughed at Galileo:
We all love a good mystery don’t we? And by all, I mean each and every one of us are, or will be, captivated at one time or another by a decent, real-life, scary mystery; either one of the world’s most famous or something on a much smaller scale. But, writing a book on just one of these would have been relatively easy.
The challenge came from researching many of them and then condensing them down in a way that I know you, my reader, will enjoy them. And that is in short, sharp informative sections that can be read on the train, bus, queue or whilst you are waiting to pick the kids up from school.
In other words, the challenge was to explain each mystery in a way you can enjoy, and absorb, in about ten minutes flat. Therefore, inevitably, some information will be missing, for which I apologise in advance. But the missing detail isn’t critical to the basic story; the core details of the mystery in question should all be in there. And this brings me to an important point. Given that I am a fan of the unknown and unexplained, I have not set out to be a mystery buster in this series.
Instead I just wanted to tell the story, reveal some little-known detail and offer a rational explanation wherever I could. I wanted to provoke a bit of thought and conversation wherever I could, but leave you to decide the answer for yourselves; does the story remain a mystery, in your view, or have you managed to piece together a theory of your own that you can share with friends.
Although, to be fair, I must admit there are some cases where I just couldn’t resist presenting some of my own ideas and giving full rein to my scepticism. But don’t let that stop you from enjoying yourselves. Here then are six of the world's most famous mysteries of the sea.
Contents
1. The Flying Dutchman
2. The Mary Celeste
3. The Bermuda Triangle
4. The Eilean Mor Lighthouse
5. Buster Crabb
6. Unidentified Submerged Objects (USO)
Read more from Albert Jack
Moral Stories for Kids Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsJFK: The Death of Marilyn Monroe: Who Didn't Kill Them Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRed Herrings & White Elephants: The Origins of the Phrases We Use Every Day Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Short Stories for Kids: Children’s Stories: Reading for Children Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5British Myths & Legends: Good Short Stories: Legends that made Britain Great Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5Unsolved Mysteries: Real Life Mysteries: Ten Famous Disappearances Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5English Words: Learn English: English Grammar: Advanced English Words: Origins, History & Meanings Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5They Laughed at Galileo: How the Great Inventors Proved Their Critics Wrong Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFood History & Recipe Origins: The Origins of the Names of the World's Favorite Recipes Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHealthy Breakfast Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Pop Goes the Weasel Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsD.B. Cooper Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRobert Kennedy: JFK: The Death of Marilyn Monroe: Who Didn't Kill Them Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/59/11 Conspiracy Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBlack Sheep and Lame Ducks: Origins of Idioms and Phrases Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Urban Myths & Legends Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5September 11 Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Bermuda Triangle: Real Life Mysteries: Unsolved Mysteries Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Urban Myths: Short Stories: Urban Myths & Legends Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHealthy Breakfast: Food History: The History of our Favorite Breakfast Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDonald Trump: Donald Trump Quotes: In His Own Words Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5The Seventh Day Adventists & The Great American Fraud Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5Mysterious World Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHow to Write Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsJet Engines Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMilitary & Nautical Phrases Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAre Aliens Real?: Aroura Spaceman: America's First Reported UFO Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Related to The Flying Dutchman
Related ebooks
Lightning Up: The Career of Air Vice-Marshal Alan White CB AFC FRAeS RAF Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsOnly the Makers Name Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPioneering Places of British Aviation: The Early Years of Powered Flight in the UK Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBlack Arrow Blue Diamond: Leading the Legendary RAF Flying Display Teams Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFrom Borneo to Lockerbie: Memoirs of an RAF Helicopter Pilot Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWith My Head In The Clouds: Part 2 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTurbulent Times & Clear Skies Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Outer Whorl: Essays of an Airline Pilot Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5One of the Few: A Story of Personal Challenge Through the Battle of Britain and Beyond Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAustralian Women Pilots: Amazing True Stories of Women in the Air Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Through the Barrier: Flying Fast Jets in the RAF and USAF Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBomber Commander: A Biography of Wing Commander Donald Teale Saville DSO, DFC Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRear Gunner Pathfinders Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Airlines at War: British Civil Aviation, 1939–1944 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMeteor Boys: True Tales from the Operators of Britain's First Jet Fighter—From 1944 to Date Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBest of Breed: The Hunter in Fighter Reconnaissance Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBarnstormers, Wing-Walking and Flying Circuses Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWith my head in the clouds: part 1 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFrom Lightnings to MiGs: A Cold War Pilot's Operations, Test Flying & an Airspeed Record Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFlying Vagabond Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAircraft Down: Forced Landings, Crash Landings and Rescues Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Armstrong-Whitworth Argosy Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5The Last Flight of the Arrow Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsIsland in the Sky Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Bleeding Sky: The Story of Captain Fletcher E Adams and the 357Th Fighter Group Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMy Foreign Flying Adventures Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Package Tour Industry Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFaster Than The Sun: The Compelling Story of a Record-Breaking Test Pilot and WWII Navy Flyer Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSailor in the Air: The Memoirs of the World's First Carrier Pilot Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Aircraft Wrecks: The Walker's Guide: Historic Crash sites on the Moors and Mountains of the British Isles Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Occult & Paranormal For You
You Were Born for This: Astrology for Radical Self-Acceptance Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Modern Tarot: Connecting with Your Higher Self through the Wisdom of the Cards Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Silva Mind Control Method Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Modern Witchcraft Book of Tarot: Your Complete Guide to Understanding the Tarot Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Master Key System Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Only Tarot Book You'll Ever Need: A Modern Guide to the Cards, Spreads, and Secrets of Tarot Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Psychic Witch: A Metaphysical Guide to Meditation, Magick & Manifestation Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Protection Spells: Clear Negative Energy, Banish Unhealthy Influences, and Embrace Your Power Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Seventy-Eight Degrees of Wisdom (Hardcover Gift Edition): A Tarot Journey to Self-Awareness Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Practical Witch's Almanac 2023, The: Infinite Spells Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Only Astrology Book You'll Ever Need: Twenty-First-Century Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Linda Goodman's Sun Signs Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Linda Goodman's Love Signs: A New Approach to the Human Heart Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Astrology 101: From Sun Signs to Moon Signs, Your Guide to Astrology Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Mothman Prophecies: A True Story Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Dictionary of Demons: Expanded & Revised: Names of the Damned Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Numerology: The Secret of Numbers Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Hidden History: Lost Civilizations, Secret Knowledge, and Ancient Mysteries Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Day After Roswell Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Tarot: No Questions Asked: Mastering the Art of Intuitive Reading Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Hunt for the Skinwalker: Science Confronts the Unexplained at a Remote Ranch in Utah Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Haunted Road Atlas: Sinister Stops, Dangerous Destinations, and True Crime Tales Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Unacknowledged: An Expose of the World's Greatest Secret Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Strange Angel: The Otherworldly Life of Rocket Scientist John Whiteside Parsons Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Element Encyclopedia of Magical Creatures: The Ultimate A–Z of Fantastic Beings from Myth and Magic Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Book of Lies Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Satanic Witch Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for The Flying Dutchman
0 ratings0 reviews
Book preview
The Flying Dutchman - Albert Jack
Flying Dutchman
Sea Mysteries: Mary Celeste: Bermuda Triangle: Eilean Mor: Buster Crabb: USO
(2018 eBook Edition)
Albert Jack
Albert Jack Publishing
Copyright Page
The Flying Dutchman
Mary Celeste: Bermuda Triangle: Eilean Mor: Buster Crabb: USO
(2018 eBook Edition)
Copyright ©December 2018 Albert Jack (First Published in 2007)
Cover Art: Albert Jack Publishing
Cover Design: Albert Jack Publishing
All rights are reserved to the author. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.
This is a work of non-fiction
Albert Jack Publishing
PO Box 661
Seapoint
Cape Town
South Africa
albertjack.com
albertjackchat (facebook & Twitter)
About the Author
Albert Jack is a writer and historian. His first book, Red Herrings and White Elephants explored the origins of well-known idioms and phrases and became an international bestseller in 2004.
It was serialised by the Sunday Times and remained in their bestseller list for sixteen straight months. He followed this up with a series of bestsellers including Shaggy Dogs and Black Sheep, Pop Goes the Weasel and What Caesar did for My Salad.
Fascinated by discovering the truth behind the world’s great stories, Albert has become an expert in explaining the unexplained, enriching millions of dinner table conversations and ending bar-room disputes the world over.
He is now a veteran of hundreds of live television shows and thousands of radio programmes worldwide. Albert lives somewhere between Guildford in England and Cape Town in South Africa.
Introduction
We all love a good mystery don’t we? And by all, I mean each and every one of us are, or will be, captivated at one time or another by a decent, real-life, scary mystery; either one of the world’s most famous or something on a much smaller scale. But, writing a book on just one of these would have been relatively easy.
The challenge came from researching many of them and then condensing them down in a way that I know you, my reader, will enjoy them. And that is in short, sharp informative sections that can be read on the train, bus, queue or whilst you are waiting to pick the kids up from school.
In other words, the challenge was to explain each mystery in a way you can enjoy, and absorb, in about ten minutes flat. Therefore, inevitably, some information will be missing, for which I apologise in advance. But the missing detail isn’t critical to the basic story; the core details of the mystery in question should all be in there. And this brings me to an important point. Given that I am a fan of the unknown and unexplained, I have not set out to be a mystery buster in this series.
Instead I just wanted to tell the story, reveal some little-known detail and offer a rational explanation wherever I could. I wanted to provoke a bit of thought and conversation wherever I could, but leave you to decide the answer for yourselves; does the story remain a mystery, in your view, or have you managed to piece together a theory of your own that you can share with friends.
Although, to be fair, I must admit there are some cases where I just couldn’t resist presenting some of my own ideas and giving full rein to my scepticism. But don’t let that stop you from enjoying yourselves. Here then are six of the world's most famous mysteries of the sea.
Contents
1. The Flying Dutchman
2. The Mary Celeste
3. The Bermuda Triangle
4. The Eilean Mor Lighthouse
5. Buster Crabb
6. Unidentified Submerged Objects (USO)
The Flying Dutchman.
The ghostly captain and his crew condemned to sail the seas for ever.
There are many Flying Dutchman pubs throughout Britain and as many theories supporting the origin of the name. Steam-train enthusiasts will point to the legendary locomotive of the same name operating mainly along the London to Exeter route between 1849 and 1892, although, in fact, like many steam trains of the period, it was named after a famous racehorse.
Bred in Yorkshire, the Flying Dutchman triumphed in every race he entered, bar one, including the Derby and the St Ledger in 1849, the year the train was first launched. (If that’s what you do with trains.)
Both the locomotive and the racehorse may well have inspired a few inns and taverns to bear their name. But the name itself goes back much further, to events alleged to have taken place four centuries ago, somewhere near the Cape of Good Hope at the tip of South Africa.
The most celebrated ghost ship the world has even known takes its name from a Dutch captain, a man called Van Something or Other (opinions vary), who was famous for the speed at which he was able to travel between Holland and the Far East along the trade routes of the seventeenth century.
Legend has it that on one return journey he ordered his crew to tackle the Cape of Good Hope in the teeth of a storm, instead of taking shelter in nearby False Bay. His crew, suspecting the belligerent captain to be more interested in his own reputation than the safety of his men, pleaded with the old seadog, but Captain van Cantankerous refused to change course.
As he left the quarterdeck, he swore a blasphemous oath, challenging the might of God, and then attacked a man who had dared question his decision, running