Nic Compton's Blog - Posts Tagged "madness-at-sea"
The Flying Dutchman and other sea-borne illusions
One of the abiding legends of the Age of Sail was the story of the Flying Dutchman. Many sailors reported seeing an unmanned ship sailing out at sea, far from land, which mysteriously vanished from view before it could be hailed. The story went that the 'ghost ship' was condemned to sail around the world forever because of some heinous crime committed by her captain and/or crew. Even the future King George V claimed to have seeing the Flying Dutchman while sailing off Australia in 1880.
In fact, the most likely explanation for this apparition – apart from the crew being drunk – is they were experiencing a Fata Morgana. This so-called 'superior mirage' occurs when the lower layers of air in the atmosphere are colder than the layers above – rather than the other way round, which is the norm. When this happens, the light rays from an object in the distance are refracted so it appears higher that it really is. Thus the image of a ship passing on the other side of the horizon is temporarily 'raised' so it can be seen by another ship. Once the atmospheric conditions returns to normal, the 'ghost ship' disappears back behind the horizon and both ships carry on their way, oblivious to each other. This phenomenon has also been used to explains UFOs, where a car's headlight on the other side of the horizon might be refracted into the air to look like a flying saucer...
Just one of the ways the sea can 'confuse and beguile' our senses and make us question our sanity (or the sanity of others!). Lots more in my new book: Off the Deep End: A History of Madness at Sea
In fact, the most likely explanation for this apparition – apart from the crew being drunk – is they were experiencing a Fata Morgana. This so-called 'superior mirage' occurs when the lower layers of air in the atmosphere are colder than the layers above – rather than the other way round, which is the norm. When this happens, the light rays from an object in the distance are refracted so it appears higher that it really is. Thus the image of a ship passing on the other side of the horizon is temporarily 'raised' so it can be seen by another ship. Once the atmospheric conditions returns to normal, the 'ghost ship' disappears back behind the horizon and both ships carry on their way, oblivious to each other. This phenomenon has also been used to explains UFOs, where a car's headlight on the other side of the horizon might be refracted into the air to look like a flying saucer...
Just one of the ways the sea can 'confuse and beguile' our senses and make us question our sanity (or the sanity of others!). Lots more in my new book: Off the Deep End: A History of Madness at Sea
