In 1607 a baby boy called Michiel is born in the Dutch fishing village of Vlissingen. He is destined for the sea, he even prefers seawater to milk! True story! At age eleven he becomes a ships' mate and four years later he's an experienced sailor. In the Caribbean he works as a merchant, a whaler and, time permitting, even as a pirate. He has doubloons up the whazoo, so at age 44 he can settle down to 'spend time with his family.' Hang on, when did he have time to start one!?
But a true sailor can't live on land, so De Ruyter becomes supreme commander for the Zealand admiralty, where he introduces innovations such as formation sailing and signal flags. In 1667 he's up against the British. He sails over a big chain across the Thames, lights the enemy fleet on fire and steals their flagship! And while doing so, he is, get this... feeding the fishes!
Michiel fights many a sea battle, until a canon ball takes off his leg near Sicily. De Ruyter gets a mausoleum in the New Church in Amsterdam. If you go there, you can still smell the sea. Or it might just be the Dutch and their raw herring.