Homeport: Toronto, Canada
Rig: Topsail Schooner
Sparred Length: 118'
Un-Sparred Length: 93'
Beam: 22'
Draft: 10'
Rig Height: 90'
Sail Area: 9,688 sq ft.
Hull: Steel
Power: 350-HP cat diesel
History:
Unicorn, as the boat was originally named, was built in 1947 from captured German U-boats as a Dutch motor fishing vessel for the North Atlantic fishing grounds.
When her fishing days were over, she was bought by a Dutch skipper and his wife, Pieter and Agnes Kaptein of Hoorn, who converted her into a sailing ship and renamed her Eenhorn or "One Horn," Dutch for "Unicorn". Starting in 1981 she was operated as a charter vessel cruising in the North Sea and English Channel and began its history as a sail training ship.
In 1986, Eenhorn was sold to an American, Mr. Morris Henson, who registered the boat in Jersey under the anglicized name, Unicorn and added improvements to the accommodations, electronics and other equipment to return the boat to Lloyds class. Until 1992 the boat traveled extensively including a cruise up the Amazon, charters from Spain, and was based in the Channel Islands when Henson became ill.
In 1993 the vessel was purchased by Curtis and Lettie Ciszek, an American couple from Bainbridge Island, Washington. They, along with their four children and a crew, sailed the boat to Grenada. After two years of chartering tours there, they received a charter to take part in the 1994 Tall Ships Tour of the Great Lakes. The winter was spent cruising the Caribbean chain and down to Venezuela and the next summer brought another Northern Tour.
In September 1995 Unicorn began the long voyage south. After several stops along the eastern seaboard and shortly after entering Delaware Bay, the ship collided with the ocean-going chemical tanker Chilibar and had to be towed to Norfolk by the sailing tugatine Norfolk Rebel. After a survey, repairs were estimated to be higher than the insured value.
The vessel was offered for sale by the insurer and purchased by Doug and Michelle Prothero of Toronto, Canada. Prothero had been agent for the ship for two years in addition to owning and operating the schooner Challenge out of Toronto. The Unicorn laid at Norfolk for the winter of 1995-96. After a month of repairs and system rebuilds, the ship departed in early May, for Toronto, with a new flag (Canadian) and a new lease on life under the name True North of Toronto.Major work was done on the boat upon arrival in Toronto from the spring of 1996 to the summer of 1997. Dry-docking projects resulted in a new bow and rig. All major systems were rebuilt or replaced, including the main engine.
The spring of 1997 marked the beginning of another sailing career for True North and a new tall ship for Canada. The charted course was another Great Lakes Tour including a two-race series sponsored by the American Sail Training Association (ASTA) with 12 other tall ships from Chicago, Illinois to Racine, Wisconsin. True North of Toronto was awarded the Governor's Cup for winning first place in the series of events in both races.
In the 1999 season True North returned to the Eastern Seaboard and did a number of Trainee Voyages in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and Northumberland Straits. She was also featured in a film production in Montreal that was set in post Civil War New Orleans.