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In Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (2017), Jack Sparrow and his crew decide to try and outrun the dead on the Black Pearl.

[The Black Pearl] is said to be "nigh uncatchable". Indeed, in the first three films, she either overtakes or flees all other ships, including the Interceptor (regarded as the fastest ship in the Caribbean) and the Flying Dutchman (which is actually faster against the wind). She is noted in At World's End as being "The only ship that can outrun the Flying Dutchman."

However, during this frenzied escape, 3 ships actually catch up to the Black Pearl.

  • Salazar's Silent Mary, the specter of a Spanish Royal Navy ship of the line
  • Scarfield's Essex, a British Royal Navy warship
  • A rowboat with Gibbs and some crew-members in it

You can argue that the Silent Mary is a ghost ship, magical, and able to outrun the Black Pearl. You can argue that the Essex was in some sort of cross-route, and not directly behind the Pearl, hence they were able to catch up. But how did the rowboat ever get there?

I mean, it's daytime when they spot the Pearl, and nighttime when they finally climb aboard.
Did Gibbs and crew row faster than the Black Pearl for hours until they finally caught up to it?

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  • Actually the dead spotted the Dying Gull at sunrise with Barbossa's help. Then zombie sharks, then the dead sprinted across the water, then the island marriage, then the Black Perl is freed from the bottle. – DeepDeadpool Jun 12 '17 at 13:06
  • It wasn't daytime when they spotted the Pearl. However, she does seem to be under full canvas and with a moderate wind, so I agree that it's problematic that the rowers should catch up. – Peter Taylor Feb 23 '19 at 13:10
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Carina was holding the wheel navigating them to their target. At some point, some character, Barbossa I believe, tell her to hold steady when they realized they were being chased, giving credence she was course correcting, and overall slowing them down.

(I only saw the movie once, I might be misremembering some details)

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