Vancouver biologist in Brando’s paradise

Hanna Stewart picks up an alien-like black specimen from the freezer in the Tetiaroa Society’s Ecostation, a quick bike ride from the luxury villas of The Brando. “This,” she happily announces, “is a guy we recently found in the Sea Water Air Conditioning pipes.” Stewart is a Vancouver marine biologist a long way away from her home in the city’s west end, now acting as a volunteer interim manager of the station working with technology nowhere else in the world. She has done work in international waters before, but it’s the first time she has attempted an offshore trip on a sailboat she calls Roxy. Stewart and her partner sailed from Coal Harbour to the Society Islands in 44 days straight, living what she described as a life on the slant — battling intense swells, with currents causing them to almost miss French Polynesia entirely, all without satellite Internet. She looks fondly upon the journey, saying she kept busy working the boat, swimming, cooking, drawing and studying plankton. She’s also excited about her newest adventure in the unique eco-luxury setting of Tetiaroa. “The Ecostation offers a new model entirely”, she says,“and I’m impressed with the potential it has with the stewardship, the science, the conservation and education in a real way. The Brando is putting its money where its mouth is in its sustainability credentials and support of the Tetiaroa Society, and it’s an incredible opportunity to be part of projects conducted by world-class scientists.” Stewart doesn’t know when she will be sailing back into town, but is for now content with the azure waters of the atoll and her role to help further the society’s studies. “I love the ocean and discovering her secrets, ”she says.