Discussion - Flying Dutchman origin? (2024)

Whose idea was it to have Hendrick van der Decken be the original captain of the Flying Dutchman? At first, I was just like everyone else, with no clue of the original legend, but man does it open up a realm of possibilites in the Pirates of the Caribbean verse in my opinion.

After a bit of research, I also found that the franchise's Flying Dutchman is supposedly based on Vasa, a Swedish ship which sunk by accident in 1628.

And that the designer of this ship was in fact a Dutchman, Henrik Hybertsson...

It is also believed that the source of the Flying Dutchman legend began around the 1600's during the height of the Dutch East India Company.

So, maybe the Flying Dutchman was originally called Vasa and had an actual Dutch captain as its original owner and sailed for the Dutch East India Company? In the same way that the Black Pearl was originally called Wicked Wench and was used by the British East India Company???

Add to this - the Vasa's armament is virtually identical to that of the Dutchman:

What made her arguably the most powerful warship of the time was the combined weight of shot that could be fired from the cannon of one side: 588 pounds (267 kg), excluding stormstycken, guns used for firing anti-personnel ammunition instead of solid shot.

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The Dutchman's main armament consists of twenty 36-pound cannons and eighteen 24-pound cannons, supplemented by 3-pounders on the quarterdeck and forecastle, making her capable of delivering a 588 lb. broadside.

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Whoever designed the Dutchman seems to have clearly drawn inspiration from this ship!

I dunno...this sounds like it could be a really cool backstory.

I wonder if anyone else has had similar ideas.

From what I know it was @Pieter Boelen's and @TechnicJelle's idea.

Actually Hendrick van der Decken is the Flying Dutchman's captain in the actual legend.
So his name in New Horizons is a nod to that. Quite the coincidence with the Vasa designer's name.

About the ship being based on the Vasa, I can definitely see that.
There is a clear resemblance between the two.
Which also explains why the movie Dutchman can submerge, seeing as the Vasa didn't make it far without sinking.

The Nameless Pirate said:

From what I know it was @Pieter Boelen's and @TechnicJelle's idea.
Quite the coincidence with the Vasa designer's name.

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Who knows - maybe the production designer knew the correlation? Looked for a big old ship, with a tragic fate, designed by somebody Dutch with Henrik as a name...

There is a clear resemblance between the two.
Which also explains why the movie Dutchman can submerge, seeing as the Vasa didn't make it far without sinking.

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I can see that!

If you think Van der Decken and Hybertsson having the same name is a coincidence, take a look at this:

It's a painting by Hendrick van Anthonissen from the first half of the 17th century. If the ship on the right were some way out of the water, it could be the Flying Dutchman...

Grey Roger said:

If you think Van der Decken and Hybertsson having the same name is a coincidence, take a look at this:

It's a painting by Hendrick van Anthonissen from the first half of the 17th century. If the ship on the right were some way out of the water, it could be the Flying Dutchman...

See Also

The Flying Dutchman | Second Life Destinations

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Gorgeous work. Is that not Vasa? Or some generic fluyt?

I'd have guessed it to be a Heavy East Indiaman.

Hendrick Hybertsson did a lot of seascapes. But this one of the Flying Dutchman is, I believe, by Howard Pyle:

It's also in the game. You'll probably find it if you play the "Bartolomeu" storyline or the "Family Story" sidequest.

Grey Roger said:

I'd have guessed it to be a Heavy East Indiaman.

Hendrick Hybertsson did a lot of seascapes. But this one of the Flying Dutchman is, I believe, by Howard Pyle:
View attachment 39560
It's also in the game. You'll probably find it if you play the "Bartolomeu" storyline or the "Family Story" sidequest.

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Interesting. I read the legend online recently, it gave me the creeps. They say an English king or prince spotted her in the 1800's with red lights or something. I recently dreamt of the Flying Dutchman afterwards, but it looked like the Pearl, complete with the fog effect, and she was floating above the ground, towards me. And there were no people onboard. Looking at it now, such a scene felt spooky, but more sad than scary. It's as if the ship itself were an apparition, still existent but somehow no longer so.

Lonious said:

I recently dreamt of the Flying Dutchman afterwards, but it looked like the Pearl, complete with the fog effect, and she was floating above the ground, towards me.

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Like this?

Grey Roger said:

Like this?
View attachment 39561

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lol, not exactly. I was just walking on the ground but was surrounded by fog and the ship was floating a few metres above the soil.

That looks like the Pearl from the stock game. Looks like the painting too. How do you make it float?

Lonious said:

That looks like the Pearl from the stock game. Looks like the painting too. How do you make it float?

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By making a new entry in "Ships_init.c" which used the stock "Black Pearl" model, now known as "Lineship1", and setting its 'refShip.WaterLine' stupidly high. Then I sailed it near an island and spent some time getting the free camera into place for a similar angle to the painting. Unfortunately the seagulls wouldn't cooperate so it was not quite right, but it was close enough.