1896. Marryat, English novelist who began writing after a distinguished career in the British Navy. The Phantom Ship is the tale of Philip Vanderdecken's search for his cursed father and the Dutchman's ghostly crew. Maritime legend holds that a spectral ship, The Flying Dutchman, haunts the seas around the Cape of Good Hope. Philip Vanderdecken's father is the captain of that ship, condemned to sail and torment sailors until the Day of Judgment. See other titles by this author available from Kessinger Publishing.