Swedish sailors battle bug at sea

  • Schuyler Kropf
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  • Posted: Wednesday, March 5, 2008 12:01 a.m.
    UPDATED: Thursday, March 22, 2012 11:57 a.m.
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Anton Svensson maneuvers in the rigging on the Swedish tall ship Gunilla after it docked at the Charleston Maritime Center on Tuesday. The ship arrived Tuesday morning from Cuba and will be in Charleston for five days before setting sail for Bermuda. The
Photo by Alan Hawes /The Post and CourierAnton Svensson maneuvers in the rigging on the Swedish tall ship Gunilla after it docked at the Charleston Maritime Center on Tuesday. The ship arrived Tuesday morning from Cuba and will be in Charleston for five days before setting sail for Bermuda. The

A stomach bug aboard a visiting tall ship from Sweden prompted a doctor's visit before some of the crew could be cleared for shore leave Tuesday in Charleston.

Members of the barque Gunilla became ill after picking up something unsettling during their extended travels. The vessel serves as a floating classroom and is currently tied up at the Charleston Maritime Center.

The ship's last stop was in Cuba, but a visiting doctor from the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control said the water- or food-borne illness probably was picked up before then. About six people aboard were affected.

It is standard procedure for DHEC and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to be alerted when a crew visiting from overseas reports an illness before landing in the U.S., the Coast Guard said.

Whatever the source or type of ailment, "it is not going to cause a risk if they go ashore," said Dr. Kathryn Arden, who added the main precaution is that the affected crew members not handle food.

The three-masted, 160-foot vessel is a touring classroom with 38 students and 12 officers on board.

Gustav Gabinus, 18, of Gothenburg, said others were added to the sick roll earlier this week when the ship was caught in competing currents and heavy winds during the five-day sail from Cuba. The ship was gearing up for Tuesday's squall line coming in.

The crew is expected back in Sweden in April.