Sailing the World in Support of Coconut Culture

Alexander Gall and Sina Cheung are about to embark on the journey of a lifetime. Aboard their boat, they plan to visit 12 different countries, establishing coconut cultural centres in each country with a focus of educating and spreading passion for coconut farming. ‘We want to find out if coconut culture is still alive in villages and islands around the world”, said Alex. The ambitious project will see the pair sail around the world to foster coconut culture and teach people how to best make use of the plant. At the core of this endeavour is a wealth of inspiration from years of firsthand experience with coconuts and the influence of history. The inspiration came first from Thor Heyerdahl, a Norwegian explorer whose wooden raft is currently located at the Museum of Sydney. The adventurer famously sailed through Peru to French Polynesia in 101 days. “I said well, if that’s going to work on a wooden raft, then it might work on a bamboo catamaran as well.” Over the course of their journey, the pair plan to build a great bamboo catamaran. “We want to make a sustainable living headquarter out of bamboo. We’re going to find some of the biggest bamboos in the world and build a catamaran of up to 33 metres. We want to make a good first impression when we arrive at villages,” Alex explained. “We don’t want them to see us as a white catamaran with a champagne bottle, but rather a bamboo boat full of coconuts”. Alex’s passion for coconuts began 15 years ago in Airlie Beach, when he opened a coconut bar as a backpacker. “I was 21 at the time. I had just finished the army and was climbing coconut trees every day,” he said. “My friend and I ended up at Rusty’s Markets in Cairns running a coconut bar for free years, selling around 800 coconuts a day. With that, I received a lot of education about coconuts. My head was full of coconuts after three years”. Part of the project will see Alex and Sina will film a documentary to record the experience. “I studied film and documentary in Los Angeles to prepare for this project,” Alex noted. “We’re going to be connected to Starlink. We will have live updates on social media. The documentary will consist of 13 episodes and will start in Australia”. Beginning in Australia, the couple will start in the Torres Strait Islands to gauge the coconut culture. From there they plan to sail across the Philippines, Bali, Thailand, India, Zanzibar, the Caribbean Islands, Panama, Hawaii and Papua New Guinea. Speaking to Sina, she reiterated the emphasis on being self-sustainable, relying on nature over human resources. “We want to learn how to be self-sustainable and live on boat. We’re not paying rent; we rely on what we have in nature. We’ll look for leaves that we can eat, vegetables we can grow, fish we can catch”, she said. The couple will likely leave Australia around April directly from the Whitsundays. “Come join us on this journey and help villagers create this coconut culture centre,” said Alex. “Support them, go there, ask for the coconut boy. Ask for the grandma who’s going to cook you something with the coconut. Instead of asking for coca cola in the fridge, ask for the coconut”. Captions Alex and Sina preparing for their grand journey Photo Credit: Suzanna McLoughlin