Pirates of the Carib ‘Star’ Sinks

Remember that classic scene in one of the first Pirates of the Caribbean movies where Johnny Depp’s character arrives at a dock aboard a leaky skiff and steps ashore just as it sinks out from under him? The real-life sinking, May 24, of the Brig Unicorn — which was used in three Pirates of the Caribbean films — didn’t happen quite that way, but according to new reports she did slip under quickly due to yet unspecified causes, with no crew injuries or loss of life. The incident occurred in the waters of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, in the Eastern Caribbean.

According to various news reports, the vessel’s captain and nine crew were all rescued by the St. Vincent Coast Guard. Although the Unicorn played ‘starring roles’ as the Henrietta in The Curse Of The Black Pearl, and the Terrasaw in Dead Man’s Chest and At World’s End, she’d recently been used as a bar and restaurant while docked at St. Lucia’s Rodney Bay Marina. She was reportedly heading from St. Lucia to St. Vincent for repairs when the sinking occured.

The 148-ft double-master was launched in Finland in 1948. In addition to roles as pirate vessels, Brig Unicorn was also used to portray a slave ship in the renowned 1977 TV mini-series Roots.