Which legendary ship is associated with a tale of a vessel that sailed around the Horn of Africa and never returned?

• A. Flying Dutchman
• B. Black Pearl
• C. Santa Maria
• D. HMS Endeavour

Answer: (A)

Legends about a ship cursed to roam the seas latch onto the image of a voyage that ends without ever returning to port. The Flying Dutchman is the famous version: a Dutch ship, caught in a violent storm near the southern tip of Africa, vows to complete the voyage around that coast no matter what, and is doomed to sail the oceans for all eternity, never able to reach harbor. Sightings of this ghost ship become omens for sailors, especially in rough weather. That mix of a perilous round-the Cape of Good Hope voyage and perpetual punishment fits the description best, which is why this ship is the right match.

The other ships come from different contexts: the Black Pearl exists in modern fiction as a pirate ship; Santa Maria was Columbus’s real flagship on a historic voyage; HMS Endeavour was Captain Cook’s expedition vessel. They don’t embody the doomed, wandering-forever legend that defines this tale.