Flying Dutchman

The Flying Dutchman is an old ship from maritime folklore. In the series, the ship and its surrounding legends were revealed to be real.

Appearance
The Flying Dutchman is the stereotypical representation of a ghost ship: old and worn from time. The sails are torn and tattered, moss and barnacles are growing out from various spots of the ship and the mast seems to be like a clock tower in design. On the bottom front sail is the name "FLYING DUTCHMAN", and the top one bears the crew's Jolly Roger, a fanged skull with cutlasses, their blades pointing down in place of crossbones. The ship's figurehead bears the same skull and swords. The Flying Dutchman is one of the largest ships to appear in the series, being as large as Wadatsumi, a sea giant who dwarfs the Thousand Sunny.

Legend and Backstory
The Flying Dutchman is described as a ship that is unable to make port, and must wander the endless oceans forever. This was due to its deranged captain committing atrocious crimes. He brought about God's wrath which punished him and cursed the ship. It is a bad omen when the ship does appear. The captain of the "Flying Dutchman", in both sailing lore and in One Piece is named Vander Decken (although the spelling tends to vary in the real life lore).

However, the legend tends to be exaggerated, so some of the facts are debatable. Decken eventually died on Fishman Island, and his descendants would go on to pilot the Flying Dutchman, with the current captain being the eighth generation grandson of the original Decken.

Fishman Island Arc
When the Straw Hat Pirates entered the Deep Sea with their coated ship, the Thousand Sunny, they eventually met the Flying Dutchman at 7000 meters below the surface. The haunted ship with its crew attacked the Sunny in an attempt to steal the treasure on board, but were impeded by underwater volcanic activity. Ankoro and Wadatsumi, serving as "advanced sea navigation", dragged the ship away, only to be blown away by the explosion.

The ship managed to survive, and it eventually entered the Fishman District of Fishman Island, where it was anchored by Wadatsumi while the rest of the crew went to meet the New Fishman Pirates.

Trivia

 * Nico Robin made a sketch of the ship in the anime.
 * The only coated portion is a bubble on the deck, where it is used to protect Decken from the sea.

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