Unicorn (ship, 1948)
 The brig Unicorn 2006
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The Unicorn was a two-masted sailing ship of the Brigg type , which was launched as a cargo ship in Finland in 1948 and sank in the sea on May 23, 2014 off the coast of St. Vincent on a transfer voyage for maintenance work in the dry dock. The ship has been used several times for film and television productions. It became known as the pirate ship in the movie Pirates of the Caribbean in 2003 .
history
After the end of the Second World War , the Finnish government offered a special loan to all shipyards that were able to manufacture wooden cargo sailing ships. These 30 wooden schooners belonging Lyra (who later Unicorn should be called). The ship was built in 1948 at the Johannson shipyard in Sibbo, Finland, mainly from wood, initially without auxiliary machinery. However, it had a motor-driven winch . The shipyard also used steel from decommissioned German World War II submarines for construction. The lyra transported building materials that were needed to rebuild Finnish cities after the war. The designer and the first owner was Helge Johansson.
As a cargo ship and barge, the Lyra had only a few superstructures when it was discovered in 1971 by the sailor and photographer Jacques Thiry, who was looking for a suitable hull to convert into a traditional square sail . Thiry and his Finnish partner Pertti Tarvas bought the ship and named it Unicorn . Then the conversion began based on the construction drawings of a French brig from 1876 in order to turn the cargo ship into a majestic sailor. After around 14 months, the conversion was completed and the Unicorn took up her new role as a charter and transport ship in the Caribbean waters of the West Indies ( British West Indies ) in 1973 . Until 1974 it operated on a shipping line between Honduras and the Cayman Islands as a freighter for food. On her third cargo voyage, she and her cargo were so badly damaged by a hurricane that they were sold by their owners. An American businessman with a weakness for traditional sailors became the new owner of the Unicorn and used it as a sailing training ship. She then served as a tourist ship until another renovation in 1975 and sailed from bathing bay to bathing bay along the coast. With Thiry as captain, she took part in a project at the Florida Ocean Science Institute (FOSI) for 13 years . It also served as a rehabilitation program for juvenile offenders aged 15 to 18 and participated in regattas for tall ships as far as Boston .
After this time, the brig was chartered out in the 1980s and, after optical adjustments, also used for films and TV series. The Unicorn has been based in the West Indian island state of St. Lucia since 1980 and has served as a bar and restaurant ship in the Rodney Bay Marina since 2012 .
Downfall
On May 23, 2014, the Unicorn was with nine crew members and the captain Sam Alleyne on a voyage from St. Lucia to St. Vincent and the Grenadines in order to have repair work carried out in a dry dock. According to the crew, the ship suddenly began to vibrate heavily in choppy seas , as if it had collided with floating debris. A strong water inrush was the result, so that the Unicorn sank within four minutes off the coast of St. Vincent. The use of bilge pumps could not stop the water ingress. The crew was able to escape unharmed in a dinghy and rafts . She was recovered by the Coast Guard. The Unicorn was located at a depth of several hundred meters and, according to information from a rescue company, has severe structural damage, so that it would not be worth lifting.
reception
- As early as 1977, the ship was used as the slave ship Lord Ligonier in the American television series Roots , but it was also used in other films.
- The ship became known worldwide as the Jack Sparrow's ship in the Pirates of the Caribbean movies. It was used there as Henrietta and Terrasaw . It should also be used in the fifth part of the series.
- The ship was depicted under full sail by artist James Williamson in a painting entitled Magic of the see .
- The ship is adorned with a $ 1 St. Lucia stamp from 1991.
literature
- Otmar Schäuffelen: Chapman great sailing ships of the world . Hearst Books, New York 2005, ISBN 1-58816-384-9 , pp. 395 .
- John Townsend: Bicentennial ship parade . John Townsend, Newport, RI 1976, OCLC 3498621 , pp. 44 (with photo).
Web links
- Bruce McDonald: St Lucia's Biggest Star is Waiting to Take You Out!
Footnotes
- ↑ Brigg1 - Unicorn. Retrieved June 18, 2015 .
- ↑ a b The 39.2m Helge Johansson Sailing Yacht UNICORN. Charterworld Superyacht and Luxury Yacht Charters, accessed on June 18, 2015 (different dimensions).
- ↑ Peter Walter: Emergencies May 2014 - The Pirates' Curse of the Caribbean has struck again. May 2014, accessed June 18, 2015 .
- ↑ a b c Pirate ship: "Pirates of the Caribbean" Brigg "Unicorn" sinks within four minutes. In: segelreporter.com. Retrieved June 18, 2015 .
- ↑ Unicorn St. Lucia. Retrieved on June 18, 2015 (website with the history of the Unicorn ).
- ↑ John Townsend: Bicentennial ship parade . John Townsend, Newport, RI 1976, OCLC 3498621 , pp. 44 .
- ↑ 'Pirates of the Caribbean' Tall Ship Sinks Off Saint Lucia. In: gcaptain.com. Retrieved June 18, 2015 .
- ↑ The Curse of the Black Pearl: Pirates of the Caribbean Pirate ship Brig Unicorn sunk in the waters of the Caribbean. In: karibik-news.com. Retrieved June 18, 2015 .
- ↑ Magic Of The Sea by James Williamson. In: Fine Art America. Retrieved June 18, 2015 .
- ↑ Unicorn tall ship. In: shipstamps.co.uk. Retrieved June 18, 2015 .