Last week, the brig Unicorn sank after apparently hitting a submerged object on her way from St. Lucia to Saint Vincent and the Grenadines for dry docking. The captain and nine crew escaped by boat and were rescued by the Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Coast Guard a few hours later. The brig was built in Finland in 1949 and has been sailing in the St. Lucia charter business for many years. Unicorn was also known for appearing in movies and television programs.
The Unicorn was often said to have played the ship Black Pearl in the Pirates of Caribbean series of movies, which was not the case. Instead, she reportedly played the Henrietta. Nevertheless, the brig was employed in three Pirates movies. It was also used in the movie, Muppet’s Treasure Island and played a slave ship in the television mini-series Roots. Here is a clip of the Unicorn from Roots. Thanks to Robert Kennedy for contributing to this post.
Eleven years ago my wife and I visited St. Lucia on a cruise and went for a day sail on the Brig Unicorn. During the sail to one of St. Lucia’s parks, I was asked by one of the crew to “help” and I jumped at the chance. In addition to hauling lines, I actually got to pilot the ship for about 20 minutes. I was amazed at how easy it was to steer a 250 ton ship even in the fairly stiff winds we had that day. I was impressed by the professionalism and skill of the Captain and his crew of mostly high-school/college age kids, and just doing something I only dreamed of doing; I was in heaven.
I’m sad to hear of her demise. My prayers and best wishes for her Captain and crew.