Flying Dutchman

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

• noun A spectral ship said to appear in storms near the Cape of Good Hope.
• noun The captain of this ship, a legendary Dutch mariner condemned to sail against the wind until Judgment Day.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

• proper noun nautical A Dutch-flagged clipper that is very fast sailing, and never makes it to port, seen on the high seas, where upon being hailed, occupants request information on persons long dead, or leave messages for said people. It is considered bad luck to meet said ship.
• proper noun idiomatic A ship of similar qualities to the Flying Dutchman.
• proper noun A ghost ship.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

• noun the captain of a phantom ship (the Flying Dutchman) who was condemned to sail against the wind until Judgment Day
• noun a phantom ship that is said to appear in storms near the Cape of Good Hope