Cabo de Buena Esperanza, 1641. El barco del capitán holandés Willen van der Decken se enfrenta a una peligrosa tormenta. La tripulación suplica al capitán buscar refugio en la bahía. Pero el capitán van der Decken desafía a Dios y a los elementos, blasfemando y burlándose de la tormenta. Sus juramentos blasfemos desatan la ira de Dios, que le condena a vagar eternamente por los siete mares, sin lograr llegar jamás a puerto, hasta el día del juicio final. Desde entonces, su barco fantasma deambula sin rumbo en alta mar, presagiando desgracias a quienes tienen la mala fortuna de encontrarse con él.
¿Existió de verdad el capitán van der Decken?
Las historias de barcos fantasmas que traen desgracias a quienes los avistan son innumerables. Los elementos del mito del holandés errante ya existían desde al menos el siglo dieciséis, pero la leyenda tomó forma propia en el siglo diecinueve, influida por la literatura.
En el siglo diecinueve Frederick Marryat, un escritor inglés del Romanticismo le da el nombre de Willem van der Decken al capitán del barco en la novela “El buque fantasma”.
Según esta novela, el capitán van der Decken era oriundo de Terneuzen, una ciudad al sur de los Países Bajos. Hoy en día la ciudad de Terneuzen sigue alimentando el mito con fines turísticos.
Sin embargo, todo apunta a que el capitán van der Decken no existió. Hay otra figura histórica en que pudo inspirarse la leyenda, el marinero holandés Bernard Fokke, que vivió en el siglo diecisiete.
El capitán Bernard Fokke y las Indias Orientales
En esa época Holanda, o lo que más correctamente son los Países Bajos, todavía no se llamaba así. Era la República de los Siete Países Neerlandeses, y se había establecido como una gran potencia mundial en el comercio marítimo. La Compañía Neerlandesa de las Indias Orientales realizaba con gran éxito viajes comerciales a las Indias, en particular a Indonesia. Su capital Batavia, hoy conocida como Jakarta, se convirtió en el centro de la red comercial de la compañía.
Para hacer los viajes a las Indias, los navegantes neerlandeses viajaban de Holanda a Indonesia a través de la llamada Ruta Brower, que era mucho más corta que la conocida como ruta del monzón. La ruta Brower reducía a la mitad el tiempo de travesía, pero era mucho más peligrosa, ya que existía un gran riesgo de no calcular bien el rumbo y acabar naufragando en las costas occidentales de Australia.
Bernard Fokke era el capitán de uno de los barcos de la compañía de las indias orientales. Fokke era célebre por la velocidad de sus viajes a Java, que no tenía parangón en su época. En el año mil seiscientos setenta y ocho cubrió la distancia en tres meses y cuatro días.
Debido a esta rapidez, se empezó a especular que contaba con la ayuda del diablo para cubrir sus rutas. La creencia popular es que nunca regresó de su último viaje y que él era el verdadero capitán del barco fantasma del Holandés Errante.
En los siguientes dos siglos, la historia real se fue entrelazando con diversos elementos legendarios. De ahí surgió el mito del famoso capitán holandés que inspiró obras artísticas como la ópera de Wagner en mil ochocientos cuarenta y tres, y años más tarde la novela de Marryet. Como ya hemos visto, aquí al capitán ya se le da el nombre de van der Decken.
Avistamientos famosos del Holandés Errante
Dejando aparte la identidad de su capitán, los avistamientos de este barco espectral han sido numerosísimos a través de los siglos, llegando incluso hasta la década de mil novecientos noventa. Aunque la mayoría se han producido en la zona del Cabo de Buena Esperanza en Sudáfrica, se han reportado apariciones del barco fantasma en diferentes partes del mundo.
Según dicen quienes han sobrevivido para contarlo, el buque navega siempre contra el viento, sus velas son de color rojo sangre y se desliza por encima del agua, como si volase. Por eso en inglés se le conoce como el “flying Datchman”, que significa “el holandés volador”.
El barco del rey Jorge de Inglaterra
Uno de los avistamientos más famosos del holandés errante fue en mil ochocientos ochenta y uno, en el barco en que viajaba el Príncipe Jorge de Inglaterra por las costas de Australia. El vigía avistó un galeón antiguo que desprendía una extraña luz roja. La tripulación al completo, compuesta por catorce personas, vio el galeón con sus propios ojos, dejando constancia de ello en el cuaderno de bitácora. Como era de esperar, el avistamiento presagiaba una desgracia. A las pocas horas el vigía se precipitó desde el mástil, muriendo instantáneamente al chocar contra la cubierta. Por fortuna, el resto de la tripulación del barco no corrió la misma suerte, y el príncipe vivió para convertirse en el rey Jorge V de Inglaterra.
El submarino alemán
Durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial también se produjo otro avistamiento muy conocido. En mil novecientos cuarenta y uno, un submarino alemán que participaba en la Batalla del Atlántico reportó sobre un barco antiguo avanzando a lo lejos a toda velocidad con todas las velas desplegadas, aunque el mar estaba en calma y no había viento que lo impulsara.
La explicación científica es que los avistamientos en realidad son espejismos. Este fenómeno se produce cuando la mar está en calma y en determinadas condiciones atmosféricas. El horizonte produce literalmente un efecto espejo, con lo cual se puede ver allí el reflejo de otro barco durante unos instantes.
Esto es lo que nos dice la ciencia, pero si algún día estás en alta mar y ves un barco antiguo con las velas rojas, que navega flotando por encima del agua, te recomiendo que no te quedes a comprobar si es solo una ilusión óptica. ¡Recuerda que todavía nos quedan muchos misterios que descubrir, y muchos encuentros a medianoche!
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