I once sailed with a Captain who claimed to have actually seen the Flying Dutchman, in the Arabian Sea, of all the places. To me, just like other shipmates at that time, the Captain became an object of derision, behind his back.
Behind his back and not to his face not because that guy was a cruel or harsh taskmaster; instead as a man and a superior officer, he was good, nice, well-balanced character, ready with suggestions or advice, which were excellent most of the time and were always welcome.
The snickering behind his back was because we
An year or so later another Master Mariner well versed in maritime folklore pointed out the possibility that Capt. A., might have actually sighted the Flying Dutchman. The reason he believed in Capt. A., was the fact that within 6 hours of the sighting, the ship on which Capt. A. was Chief Officer at the time, sank.
The then First Officer Capt. A., and his crew floated around in the Arabian sea thorough out the night, holding hands in a circle, singing Hindi cinema songs till rescue in the morning. The good guy also had his shoulder dislocated - the ball came out of the socket, which is called subluxation. Ever since Capt. A., has had the problem of slipping or loose shoulder joint. Every once in a while, perhaps as often as twice in a single week, the ball would slip down - an inferior subluxation and without any hesitation he used to slip the joint in.
8-)
So whether Capt. A. saw the Flying Dutchman or not became immaterial to me. From then on maritime sentiments and folklore, which some people term as superstitions, became all to real to me. Over the years it became apparent that almost every mariner,
Thus it was with amusement I read the news that exactly 2 weeks back the Japanese squid fishing boat Ryou-un-Maru has been sighted off northern British Columbia. Ryou-un-Maru broke moorings from the Hachinohe harbour when the Tsunami hit Japan on the aftermath of a massive underwater earthquake on 11 March 2011, almost an year back (The Fukushima earthquake and Tsunami).
My thoughts were ‘Oh! are we witnessing the birth of a new Floating Ryoushi legend?’ Ryoushi in Japanese means fisherman.
:-)
I don’t know whether the US Coast Guard thought on the same lines, but as soon as the Canadian fishing boat Bernice C abandoned its attempt at salvage, the cutter Anacapa quickly shelled (machine gunned?) and sank Ryou-un-Maru. The official reason was that the unlit derelict was a danger to shipping, a drifting navigation hazard.
So for the moment at least the ‘Floating Ryoushi’ is no more.
Here is the Flying Dutchman from the Pirates of the Caribbean.
Brrr!
Isn't the resemblance uncanny?
Shiver me hearties!
Touch Wood and Cross your fingers!
Just joking. For all I know, seeing the Flying Dutchman and Floating Ryoushi together might mean that Lady Luck will finally smile on you and me.
Break a Leg!
Behind his back and not to his face not because that guy was a cruel or harsh taskmaster; instead as a man and a superior officer, he was good, nice, well-balanced character, ready with suggestions or advice, which were excellent most of the time and were always welcome.
The snickering behind his back was because we
- either didn’t have the heart to insult a good man to his face or,
- hadn’t become complete blackguards till then.
An year or so later another Master Mariner well versed in maritime folklore pointed out the possibility that Capt. A., might have actually sighted the Flying Dutchman. The reason he believed in Capt. A., was the fact that within 6 hours of the sighting, the ship on which Capt. A. was Chief Officer at the time, sank.
The then First Officer Capt. A., and his crew floated around in the Arabian sea thorough out the night, holding hands in a circle, singing Hindi cinema songs till rescue in the morning. The good guy also had his shoulder dislocated - the ball came out of the socket, which is called subluxation. Ever since Capt. A., has had the problem of slipping or loose shoulder joint. Every once in a while, perhaps as often as twice in a single week, the ball would slip down - an inferior subluxation and without any hesitation he used to slip the joint in.
8-)
So whether Capt. A. saw the Flying Dutchman or not became immaterial to me. From then on maritime sentiments and folklore, which some people term as superstitions, became all to real to me. Over the years it became apparent that almost every mariner,
- variety fighter,
- variety mercantile,
- variety fisher folk, or
- variety pleasure seeker,
Thus it was with amusement I read the news that exactly 2 weeks back the Japanese squid fishing boat Ryou-un-Maru has been sighted off northern British Columbia. Ryou-un-Maru broke moorings from the Hachinohe harbour when the Tsunami hit Japan on the aftermath of a massive underwater earthquake on 11 March 2011, almost an year back (The Fukushima earthquake and Tsunami).
My thoughts were ‘Oh! are we witnessing the birth of a new Floating Ryoushi legend?’ Ryoushi in Japanese means fisherman.
:-)
I don’t know whether the US Coast Guard thought on the same lines, but as soon as the Canadian fishing boat Bernice C abandoned its attempt at salvage, the cutter Anacapa quickly shelled (machine gunned?) and sank Ryou-un-Maru. The official reason was that the unlit derelict was a danger to shipping, a drifting navigation hazard.
So for the moment at least the ‘Floating Ryoushi’ is no more.
Here is the Flying Dutchman from the Pirates of the Caribbean.
Brrr!
Isn't the resemblance uncanny?
Shiver me hearties!
Touch Wood and Cross your fingers!
Just joking. For all I know, seeing the Flying Dutchman and Floating Ryoushi together might mean that Lady Luck will finally smile on you and me.
Break a Leg!
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