Deo Volente I with Dutch fleet number TX11 circa 1947
Originally built in 1947 under the name Deo Volente I with the fleet number of TX 11, Unicorn's hull was crafted from the metals of captured German U-boats salvaged after World War II. The Dutch-built motor fishing vessel with its locomotive style 1500 horsepower diesel engine trawled the North Atlantic's fishing grounds for 32 years.
When her fishing days were over, she was acquired by a Dutch skipper and his wife, Pieter and Agnes Kaptein of Hoorn. By 1979 she had been converted into a sailing ship and renamed Eenhorn or “one horn”, Dutch for Unicorn.
In 1986, Eenhorn was sold to Mr. Morris Henson, brother to Muppeteer Jim Henson. Henson registered the vessel in Jersey under the anglicized name of Unicorn and the hull was painted black, retaining the white rail and gunwale stripes. Under her British flag, Henson sailed Unicorn out of the West Indies, Caribbean and Spanish coast as a charter vessel and treasure seeker.
The early-90’s brought a new direction for Unicorn. Curtis and Lettie Ciszek, an American couple from Bainbridge Island, Washington purchased the vessel from the ailing Henson. After a refit, they sailed the Unicorn with their four children and a crew to Grenada where she chartered out of Secret Harbour. In 1995, on her way to her second Chesapeake Bay Schooner Race, Unicorn collided with the ocean-going chemical tanker Chilibar. She was towed to Norfolk by the sailing tugantine Norfolk Rebel. Estimated repairs to the hull were higher than the insured value and the schooner was for sale once again.
Purchased by a Canadian couple who had a dream of their own, the Unicorn was converted into a Canadian certified sail training vessel. Under Captain Prothero's ownership and management, the ship went through a re-fitting of the hull, rig and power and in 1997 she was christened with a new name, True North or Toronto. True North provided hundreds of trainees of all ages the opportunity to sail the Great Lakes, the East Coast of North America and the Caribbean. It was also at this time that the vessel was introduced as an American Sail Training Association "Event" tallship and began appearing with the ASTA fleet.
In the fall of 1999, True North was acquired by its current owners, Dawn and Jonathan (Jay) Santamaria of Hunterdon County, New Jersey. Along with their four daughters, they have continued to promote the preservation of traditional maritime life through tall ship festivals, community involvement and sail training programs. In December of 2003, the schooner completed a bow to stern refit that took the ship down to its steel ribs, and has been rechristened with her original schooner name, Unicorn. In the summer of 2005, Unicorn was granted a Jones Act Waiver to become a United States registered vessel and she proudly flies the American flag off her stern. With her first-class accommodations, high-end electronics and systems, Unicorn has once again set sail with a new dream and charted course.