sailing

Aside from the scheduled sailings, the crew would voluntarily give up their time to put on several special "booze cruises" to raise money for island charities.

A small group prayed and sang a psalm as cars boarded the boat, but several hundred other people stood and clapped as a show of support for the sailing.

Problems with the stomach bug had been going on for weeks, according to passengers on previous sailings.

The events would include handball, rowing, water polo, sailing and triathlon, among others.

Catamarans consist of two parallel hulls connected by a single deck, and range from lightweight boats used in Olympic sailing, to huge passenger ferries.