Crew of the Flying Dutchman

"Part of the crew. Part of the ship."

- The crew of the Flying Dutchman

The crew of the Flying Dutchman consisted of a large number of crewmen aboard Davy Jones' ship, the Flying Dutchman. Davy Jones' monstrous crew is made up from the doomed sailors who have opted to serve one hundred years before the mast rather than face certain death at sea. With every year that passes, the crewmen become less human, their bodies taking on traits from the sea, until eventually they become part of the Flying Dutchman itself. After Jones' own death, the crew turned back to normal, with Will Turner as the new captain of the Dutchman.

History
"Once you've sworn an oath to the Dutchman, there's no leaving it. Not till your debt is paid. By then, you're not just on the ship, but of it. Why did you do it, Will?" "I've sworn no oath." "Then you must get away."

- Bootstrap Bill Turner and Will Turner

The Flying Dutchman must have already had a crew by the time Jones became her captain, but it is unknown of whom this crew consisted and whether or not he kept this crew when he abandoned his duty. However, over the years and decades Jones recruited a large number of crewmembers. On one occasion, Jones offered Jack Sparrow a proposal: in return for raising the Wicked Wench from the ocean floor, Jack would give Jones his soul after being captain for thirteen years. Two years later he recruited &quot;Bootstrap Bill&quot; Turner.

When another eleven passed, Jones demanded Sparrow's debt back. Bootstrap marked Sparrow with the Black Spot and the Kraken started hunting him. During a meeting near a scuttled ship, Jones and Sparrow agreed that Sparrow may pay his debt by recruiting 100 souls for Jones. Jones kept William Turner as a Good-faith payment aboard the Flying Dutchman.

Sparrow and his crew however went to Isla Cruces in order to get the heart of Davy Jones which was buried there. As Jones was unable to go ashore, he sent a landing party led by Maccus to the island. The fish-people fought Sparrow and his mates and managed to get the Dead Man's Chest, not knowing that it was empty. They returned to their ship and the Dutchman attacked the Black Pearl. When the faster Black Pearl escaped, the crew rotated the Kraken Hammer and summoned the giant creature which dragged the ship along with its captain into Davy Jones' Locker. However, James Norrington stole Jones' heart and brought it to Lord Cutler Beckett of the East India Trading Company, who was now able to control Jones.

For the next few months, Beckett had Jones assist in exterminating pirates from the world. However, after the Flying Dutchman destroyed numerous pirate ships with no survivors, Beckett reinforced Jones' crew with a large number of EITC soldiers led by Admiral James Norrington. Later, after Norrington's death, Ian Mercer took his place as commander over the Dutchman.

During the battle around Calypso's maelstrom, the Dutchman's crew boarded the Black Pearl. Throughout the battle, Jones killed Mercer, many of the EITC Marines were killed by the pirates, Morey was decapitated by Barbossa. Jones was ultimately killed by Will Turner, whose heart was cut out by his father and who became the new captain of the Dutchman. The surviving crewmen regained their humanity and helped the pirates in destroying the HMS Endeavour.

Everyday life
"One hundred years before the mast. Losing who you were, bit by bit..."

- "Bootstrap Bill" Turner to Will Turner

The crew was subdivided into two main groups: crewmembers and slaves, although the distinction of these groups was fluid and not clearly visible, however it is possibe the slaves did not participate in fighting.

The crew had a hierarchy similar to the ones on other ships, so some of the crewmembers had positions making them superior to others, these are:
 * The Captain (Davy Jones, later Will Turner)
 * The Four Trusted Mates (Maccus (First mate), Ratlin, Penrod and Angler)
 * The quartermaster (known only by his title)
 * The Boatswain (Jimmy Legs)
 * The Head Gunner (Ogilvey)
 * The Navigators (Koleniko (primary navigator) and Greenbeard)

Koleniko, Jimmy Legs and Maccus were in fact the ones who kept order on the ship on behalf of Captain Davy Jones. Their rule was strict and backed up by harsh punishments such as whipping and locking into the Brig. It is possible that Palifico was Jones personal bodyguard. Another distinctive group is the team of three elite fighters consisting of Cannon Arm, Morey and Quartermaster.

Jones recruited new crew members by offering dying sailors life in exchange for 100 years of service aboard his ship. However, he did not tell them that during this time they would go through a painful transmutation turning them into fishmen and after 100 years they will become an part of the ship itself, like Wyvern. In their leisure time the crewmen used to play Liar's Dice using years of service as bets since they had no other important possessions.

Unlike their captain, the crewmembers could go ashore every time when Jones allowed them to do it. They also had the possibility to mark any person with a Black Spot, though only Jones could remove it. It is unknown whether they also had the ability to teleport themselves or whether Jones could teleport them if he wanted to. However, the crew seemed to teleport to the deck after Will Turner killed Jones so it is likely they could teleport themselves.

Behind the scenes
"Stay back! I will kill you." "Are you prepared for what comes after? When I carved that traitorous vessel from my body, I cast upon it a terrible geis. If you stab my heart, yours must take its place. The crew are not bound to me. They are bound to the Dutchman. And the Dutchman must have a captain. Will ye serve?"

- Weatherby Swann and Davy Jones


 * Screenwriters Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio originally conceived of Davy Jones and his crew as ghostlike creatures. Determined to come up with never-before-seen fantastical characters, director Gore Verbinski wanted them to be more specifically of the sea, with gravity and weight, as if the souls of shipwrecked sailors had fused with the detritus of the ocean floor.
 * The entire crew of the Flying Dutchman (except Bootstrap Bill Turner) were completely Computer-generated, including Davy Jones. Their performances were recorded using motion capture during actual filming on the set, rather than in a motion capture studio during post-production.
 * The work on Davy Jones and his crew by Industrial Light and Magic earned Dead Man's Chest the 2006 Academy Award for Visual Effects.
 * In Pirates of the Caribbean Online, Isla Tormenta is the only place populated with Davy Jones' crew.

Appearances

 * Legends of the Brethren Court: The Caribbean
 * Pirates of the Caribbean Online
 * Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
 * The Journey of Will Turner!
 * Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
 * Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (video game)
 * LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video Game