Unicorn Talk: Monday 6th Feb – Heroic Sea Dog Bamse His Berth at Dundee by Andrew Orr and Angus Whitson.

 Our first Talk by Alistair Urquhart the famous ‘Forgotten Highlander’ was a roaring success, and we want to make sure that  Andrew Orr & Angus Whitson’s coming illustrated talk on the famous Norwegian Sea-dog Bamse is as well-attended. 

Do come along, hear a fascinating story, meet like-minded people and help support Unicorn.

Click on https://www.gammabookings.com/FrigateUnicorn/ to go direct to our new online booking system.

Or click here   http://www.frigateunicorn.org/events/6th-feb-2012-talk-2-bamse-his-berth-in-dundee for more details, or send this link to your friends.

We look forward to seeing you onboard!

Many thanks for your help

Don’t forget the RNR Remembrance Service, which is open to all and will be held onboard at 3pm on Sunday 13 Nov 2011.  Our Guest Preacher is Cardinal O’Brien and Dundee Instrumental Band will provide the accompaniment as in previous years.  Click 2011 RNR Remembrance Service for details.

HMS UNICORN Swaps her Figurehead! 

HMS Unicorn’s familiar ‘Unicorn’ figurehead takes a surprising aerial journey, courtesy of Nationwide Platforms. HMS Unicorn is unique amongst sailing ships in having three figureheads: one wooden master carving kept in store and two light-weight copies in fibreglass! The figurehead on Unicorn’s beakhead is one of the GRP copies, greatly easing maintenance, and the spare is usually displayed inside the ship, allowing visitors a close up view of the size and detail of this impressive carving.

The Unicorn mounted on the beak-head had become weather-worn, and has been replaced with the spare, newly refurbished by Peter Stewart-Blacker of Petrocrest, the UK’s leading heraldic wood-carvers based outside Blairgowrie.

After the figureheads had been changed over, using a special Genie S-45 boom from Nationwide Platforms with 11.2 m outreach, then the first Unicorn figurehead had a quick polish up, ready for yet another journey, this time to Edinburgh, where he will take centre stage in this year’s Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo!

The Royal Navy is the lead service at this year’s Edinburgh Tattoo, and will stage a Trafalgar-period gun display each night. We were delighted to help out by lending two gun batteries which will be called into action every night at the Tattoo, but no sailing ship is complete without a figurehead, and Unicorn’s dramatic ‘Unicorn’ figurehead will give the Tattoo ship its final touch. So visitors to this year’s Tattoo will enjoy the unusual sight of ‘HMS Unicorn’ sailing on the Castle Esplanade, firing her great 18 pounder cannon to port and starboard.

HMS Unicorn was launched in 1824, is the sixth oldest ship in the World and is the only warship preserved in Scotland. And, as Unicorn takes her name from the supporters of the Scottish Royal Arms and her figurehead represents a Scottish Unicorn bounding over the waves, she makes an ideal ship to represent the Navy at this supremely Scottish event.

[The mythical Unicorn is not simply a horse with a single horn. He had the legs and beard of a goat, and the figurehead therefore has cloven hooves. Had his hindquarters been carved, he would have had a lion’s tail!]

Gilbert & Sullivan Afloat:  This year’s performance is ‘Patience’ with lots of great music, on Thursday 16, Friday 17 and Saturday 18 June, so click here to find out more and book tickets.

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