For other uses, see Helmsman (disambiguation) |
- "The Caribbean abounds with gales and hurricanes. Aye, and a ghost ship is said to sail these waters, with her skeleton helmsman forever lashed to her cursed wheel. It is said that she can be seen sometimes in the light of flashing lightning, when the wind is screaming like the Devil himself was after Davy Jones."
- ―Unknown
This man was a pirate that served as the helmsman of a ship which was wrecked within Dead Man's Cove.
Biography[]
- "What terror lurks in the mind o' stout 'arted seamen...battling the angry seas?"
- ―Unknown
Not much is known about this man's life. It is known however, that he was part of a pirate crew that sailed the Caribbean in search of a cursed treasure hidden in the subterranean grotto of Dead Man's Cove. When they came near Isla Tesoro, their ship was wrecked on the rocks. The pirate's ghastly skeleton remained at the helm of the wrecked ghost ship, clutching the ship's wheel, dead set on steering his vessel into any port in this particular storm. The tattered remains of his uniform flail in the howling wind as the skeletal steersman weathers the worst of the storm on his eternal voyage.[4]
Gallery[]
Behind the scenes[]
- The ghastly skeleton clutching the ship's wheel first appeared in Walt Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean.
- His name varies across Pirates media. In 2006, the toy figure of the skeleton helmsman was released under the name "Helmsman". Jason Surrell's book Pirates of the Caribbean: From the Magic Kingdom to the Movies refers to the character as the "skeletal steersman" and the "ghost ship's skeletal captain".[3]
- It's possible the helmsman's real name is Jolly Roger. When Marc Davis and Walt Disney originally designed Pirates of the Caribbean as a walk-in atraction, they considered putting in it a skeletal helmsman named Jolly Roger.[5] About 40 years later, the name was given to Jolly Roger, the main villain of Pirates of the Caribbean Online.
- Unused narration recorded for the ride identified the Helmsman's wrecked ship as the Royal Fortune.[6][3]
- The 1972 Dead Man's Raft zap/action model kit was probably inspired by the Helmsman's role in the ride.
- The scene from the Disney ride featuring a skeleton clutching the ship's wheel in a storm inspired the teaser poster for the 2003 film Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl.
- The At World's End video game features "The Stormy Ship", an area in Davy Jones' Locker where an unnamed helmsman steers his wrecked ship for all eternity, thinking he's caught in a storm even though he's stranded in the middle of the desert. When Jack Sparrow takes the wheel the helmsman disappears.
- The scene from the original Disney ride was redesigned in the Pirates of the Caribbean: Battle for the Sunken Treasure attraction where the skeleton magically transforms into Jack Sparrow.
- In July 2017, Hector Barbossa was added to the Disneyland Paris version of the ride, standing close to the skeletal helmsman.
- In Terry Rossio's screenplay draft for Dead Men Tell No Tales, there is a grinning skeletal pirate hanging onto the wheel of a sunken brigantine, the Abyss, with the movement of the undersea tides causing him to sway back and forth.[7] This was meant to be an homage to the ride, with the subtle implication that the skeleton was either alive, or perhaps only seemingly so.[8]
- On the 50th aniversary of the Pirates ride, Disney released a mug with the helmsman on top.
Appearances[]
- Walt Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean (First appearance) (Appears as a corpse)
- Pirates of the Caribbean: Battle for the Sunken Treasure (Appears as a corpse)
- Virtual Magic Kingdom (Non-canonical appearance) (Appears as a corpse)
- Sea of Thieves: A Pirate's Life (Non-canonical appearance) (Appears as a corpse)
Sources[]
Notes and references[]
- ↑ Pirates of the Caribbean action figures
- ↑ Walt Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean: The Sound Track of the Fabulous Adventure
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Pirates of the Caribbean: From the Magic Kingdom to the Movies
- ↑ Walt Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean
- ↑ Marc Davis – Disney Legend
- ↑ Ghostly Voices by Paul Frees
- ↑ Pirates of the Caribbean DEAD MEN TELL NO TALES Screenplay by Terry Rossio
- ↑ Pirates of the Caribbean - Dead Men Tell No Tales - Annotations - Terry Rossio - 8/14/12 - Page 3