Three-masted sail training vessel “Gunilla” under full sail. Photo by Jean Jarreau.
GUSTAVIA--The sixty-metre-long (180-foot) three-masted barque “Gunilla” arrived in Saint-Barthélemy Thursday, February 27, for a two-day visit, non-profit association Caribbean Sail Training (CST) announced.
The vessel’s clearance, immigration and other paperwork has been handled by Sunshine Yacht Services and provided free of cost as the vessel is a CST member vessel. All port fees and other expenses are also covered, as CST received sponsoring from two Saint Barthélemy-based companies, Master Ski Pilou and Oceanmust.
The Swedish vessel “Gunilla” was launched in 1940 as a long-haul cargo ship. With the exception of a short time in the ’50s, when the ship acted as a ferryboat, transporting both people and cars to Öland, she was sailing with cargo until the 1990s.
“Gunilla” was completely rebuilt in 1997 and started working as a Sail Training ship. She has a total sail area of 1,000m2 and holds a professional crew of 11 and 44 trainees/students. The students work in three different watches on board and take care of all duties on a ship of this size, such as maintenance, climbing the rigging, handling the sails and working on deck.
The trainees/students are from Öckerö Seglande Gymnasieskola, an upper secondary school for students ages 16-19 and a municipal school, financed by the Swedish state. The school is located in the archipelago of Gothenburg, on the west coast of Sweden.
“Gunilla” had requested that CST organise her visit to Saint-Barthélemy mainly because the students wanted to explore Swedish history on the island. Former tourism committee president Nils Dufau happily agreed to give the youngsters a tour in Gustavia and to answer all questions.
The ship sails all year long, taking students from different programmes on five separate trips each school year. Three trips are sailed by the students on the social science programme and the other two by students on the science programme together with students from the vocational programme.
First grade students on the social studies programme sail from Spain to the USA making stops at Canary Islands, Cape Verde, Bahamas, Grenada, Antigua, Saint-Martin and Suriname. In their second year they sail from Öckerö, Sweden, down to Cádiz, Spain, via Germany, France, England and Portugal. In their third year the journey begins and ends in the US with stops in Cuba, Belize, Mexico and New Orleans.
The first trip for the students on the science programme and vocational programme is sailed in the Mediterranean and takes them from Cádiz to Gibraltar, Barcelona (Spain), Corsica, Sardinia and signing off in Malaga. In their second year they sail from Miami to Öckerö, Sweden, stopping at Charleston, Bermuda, the Azores and Portsmouth, England.
Youngsters from the St. Barth Yacht Club will have the opportunity to visit the vessel while she is at anchor in Gustavia.
