30 crew joined the Green Coconut Run on season 1 (2015). On legs ranging from 4 days to 6 months, Aldebaran cruised from California to Costa Rica with diverse and wonderful friends. For season 2, click here. Bios starting with most recent:
Erika Lindemann
Costa Rica, Playas de Coco to Tamarindo / 2 weeks
Erika was born and raised in Santa Barbara. She has worked promoting sustainable transportation, especially bikes; done a 5 month surf adventure in Central America in 2008; and is currently part of the team at Wilderness Youth Project. Her pastimes include surfing, biking, playing music, dancing salsa & spending time with friends and family.
Bret & Jessica
Costa Rica, Playas de Coco / 10 days
“My Name is Jessica Steely. I’m a pretty good cook, I don’t snore, and don’t get sea sick. What more could you ask for in a travel partner?! I can’t wait to dip my toe in the freedom of this sailing adventure! Ahoy!” “And I’m Bret. I can’t wait for a great time of sailing, surfing, and socializing!” Bret is Aldebaran’s lettering maker and fix-it-all, and Jessica is a SLO-town green builder with a knack for baking cookies!
Dave Clark
Costa Rica, Playas de Cocos to Nicaragua, San Juan del Sur / 1 month
Dave Clark is a PhD physical oceanographer who thinks about waves before work, at work, after work, any and all snack times, and while he sleeps. After an extended stay on Cape Cod he headed west to scout some tropical waves with the Aldebran crew, catch some fish, and explore the beautiful coasts of Costa Rica and Nicaragua. “There’s nothing wrong with moving your office a little closer to the ocean!”
Rachel Harbeitner
Costa Rica, Playas de Cocos to Nicaragua, San Juan del Sur / 10 days
Rachel is a Phd candidate in marine micro-biology (or something complicated that we don’t quite understand) at UCSC. Rachel loved to SCUBA dive in the Santa Rosa National Park, and baked banana bread every time the bananas went ripe — which was quite often.
Stu, Felipe, Kevin, and Sean
Costa Rica, Playas de Cocos / 4 days
Stu (far right) came to Costa Rica in the 1970s and never left. This was the first boat trip to Ollies’ for his son Kevin, grandson Felipe, and friend Sean and they declared it’s their new favorite spot. This photo was taken in the Murcielago Islands just before a big rainstorm drenched us!
Alex Wyndham (aka: the Gnome)
Costa Rica, Playas de Coco / 2 weeks
Besides making a great gnome in expert tube riding and costuming, Alex is a tiny home architect, inventor and designer, who can make a mean Pad Thai whether it’s raining or not.
Ashley Curtis (aka: Leaky)
Costa Rica, Playas de Coco / 7 days
When asked what excited her most about the trip, Ashley responded: A chance to see Costa Rica, visit with a beloved college homie, AND experience some heavy boat chillin!? I’m a serious beach frolickin’ fisher-lady, who occasionally shreds the old-man-long-boardie gnar gnar.The opportunity to explore rain forests, jump off waterfalls, SUP to remote beaches, and take my frolic’ing skills to a new destination was all too good to pass up! THANK YOU to the Aldeberan crew for the chance to experience a slice of your adventure stoke. Salude to the sunset Cuba Libres, morning beach yoga and epic Balls Bay dance parties.
Jay Seiden
Nicaragua, San Juan del Sur to Costa Rica, Playas de Coco / 10 days
Jay spends his time trying to relive his youth. His favorite song is Glory Days. Every once in a while he gets to go surfing with his friends.
Klaus Kernbach
Nicaragua, San Juan del Sur to Costa Rica, Playas de Coco / 10 days
Klaus is a foot surgeon with a passion for the ocean and surf – related travel. He loves fishing and wilderness experiences with friends!
Brad Smith
Nicaragua, Miramar to San Juan del Sur / 1 week
Yet another family visit on the Green Coconut Run! Brad joined us to see what his brother Ryan – aboard for 6 months – was making a fuss about. He agreed that Aldebaran has world class napping areas, particularly when he’s recovering from battle wounds with reefs and slabbing waves. The food on the boat, Brad admits, “checks off three boxes a day”.
Dan Elefant
El Salvador, Acajutla to Nicaragua, San Juan del Sur / 45 days
Mr. Elefant (aka Dr. Hongo) has a Master of Science in Environmental Engineering with a focus on water resources, fluvial and coastal geomorphology, and water quality. He works on large aquatic restoration projects throughout the Pacific Northwest. He’s obsessed with the equality of all species and all peoples. He loves to explore the natural world – its beauty sustains his soul and rejuvenates a sense of hope for humanity and fellow creatures. He goes bonkers for waves, tortugas, wind, and teeming natural reefs.
Sam Hatzenburger
Mexico, Bahias de Huatulco and El Salvador, Puerto Barrilas / 1 week
Sam joined the Aldebaran crew from Seattle, Washington, where she finished up her Master’s in Public Health right before setting sail. Her favorite water activities include paddle boarding, pretending she’s a dolphin, and peeing in her wetsuit. When not in the water, Sam is either exploring the Pacific Northwest on her bicycle or cozied up with a good book. Sam is new to sailing but is excited for many adventures with new friends!
Angélica Almazán,
Mexico, Bahias de Huatulco to Puerto Chiapas / 7 days
Angélica is a nomadic singer and writer who wants to explore every desert, jungle, forest and beach that life puts in her way. Her one-week trip on the Aldebaran was a dream come true, her first time living on a boat, and certainly won’t be the last! She loved to watch the dolphins and turtles swimming at sunset, the full moon glooming on the sails and to dive and chase colorful fish and manta rays.
Pierre & Lianna
Mexico, Chacala to Zihuatanejo / 10 days
The older brother of Sabrina, Pierre teaches 3rd grade by day in his hometown of San Rafael, moonlighting as a bartender at a swanky lodge in the evenings. With a background in the theatrical arts and member of the Screen Actors Guild, he helped the Green Coconut Run create and produce the “hook to fork” series and several other media inspired reels, including “Chamela Day Spa” and “surfing Hammerhead”. He loves entertainment, magic, comics, the outdoors, and being Lianna’s boyfriend.
Lianna works in a world-famous music venue as an adult babysitter serving expensive food and beverages. She is a licensed cosmetologists who prefers to give haircuts on the open seas. Lianna loves to be outdoors and cooking. Thanks in part to Aldeberan, Pierre and Lianna have found a greater love for adventure, travel and each other, and are looking forward joining the crew once again very soon…
Deena Rosen
Mexico, Bahias de Huatulco / 4 days
Deena is a designer and traveler. By day, she leads design at Opower, where they create products that nudge people to use less energy. By night, she cooks, does photography, meditates, explores. Her favorite ocean activities are swimming, wave listening, sunset chasing, and riding in the Aldebaran nets! She has always wanted to explore Oaxaca.
Cristina Lanata
Mexico, Bahias de Huatulco / 4 days
Originally from Peru, Cristina is a research doctor in San Francisco specializing in auto-immune diseases. She traveled in Oaxaca City with Deena before joining Aldebaran in Huatulco for a cruise of the national park. Her favorite thing aboard the boat – besides eating great food – was pulling anchor.
Keri, Bryan, and Tessa Hope
Mexico, Bahias de Huatulco / 5 days
This is the Hope Family, Bryan (the wine loving, extreme sports dad), Keri (the mom who dries up when out of the ocean), and Tessa (the up-for-everything 3 and-a-half year old daughter). Together, they spend most of their free time surfing and playing at the beach. They travel to Mexico quite a bit, but they’ve never been down to Oaxaca– so grateful to be able to join this voyage and explore the area!! Read their blog post.
Eric Lohela
Mexico, Cabo San Lucas to Mazatlán / 11 days
Eric loves big adventures around the world and was thrilled to sail the Sea of Cortez with the Aldebaran and crew. He spends a lot of time exploring mountains on skis, and back home in Black Rock City, NV. His favorite ocean activities include diving, spearfishing, surfing, and watching the sunset. What excites him most about this trip: who doesn’t want to be part of a grand adventure with amazing people! Seeing a truly remote and hard to access place from the best perch possible.
Brian Rossini
Mexico, Cabo San Lucas to Mazatlán. 11 days
Brian grew up tromping through national forests and spearfishing kelp beds with dad. His early adventures instilled a gritty appreciation for wild times and resource management; while cleaning fish and discussing sustainable land management, the pygmy pirate learned to appreciate the symbolic good of the Aldebaran before he ever laid eyes on ‘er.
Our motion-sick eco-pirate allied with the crew seeking boundless adventure, and refuge from his digital life, aboard the self-sufficient vessel, nary to return. With a SCUBA compressor (boss!!), a water maker, solar, and his excellent co-pirate Eric, this was the opportunity of a lifetime!
Matt Hendren
USA, San Diego to Mexico, Bahia Tortugas / 10 days
Matthew grew up thirsty for adventure, but after two weeks with Aldebaran, knows exactly how little salt water quenches that thirst. A midwest boy, he had no idea what an amazing thing that great blue could be. Magical seussian scapes, holding course by stars, his first barrel…by day, he’s a planner, a designer, a builder, but often gets lost in daydreams of sindbad the sailor, frederick the field mouse, and the sundance kid. If he can shake free from the grind, he hopes to catch up with the coco crew again for more high sea shenanigans.
Annie & Ryan
USA, Santa Barbara to San Diego / 5 days
Pumped for the opportunity to harvest stoke with the Aldebaran Crew in Central America! Annie is excited to surf amazing waves and learn more about remote areas and ecosystems, and as a video producer/photographer, she’ll be helping to document the epic adventures. As for Ryan, when he isn’t busy designing oceanographic-mapping sonar systems, he just wants to surf, fish, and sail (he’s a simple man!). Check out the video episode #1, which Annie helped produce.
Michael Chiacos aka “Chef Boy MC”
USA, Santa Barbara to Costa Rica, Playas de Coco / 6 months
Michael works on clean energy policy and infrastructure, catalyzing California’s solar and electric car growth. He’s glad El Capitan let him bring 6 surfboards on Aldebaran. He enjoys scuba diving, fishing, kayaking, stand up paddling, cliff jumping, hiking, exploring new lands and seas, and drinking rum in beachfront cabanas. He is extremely stoked to surf the epic righthand point breaks of El Salvador!
As the voyage’s Social Alchemist, he keeps the good vibes within our membership, helping motivate several Early Seabirds for the trip. He did a month of boatwork grind to help launch the ship. As head chef and head fisherman, he kept Green Coconut Run crew in happy disbelief with gourmet meals. Michael also wrote about how warm waters are affecting Isla Natividad’s fishery, and about his impressions on Night Sailing.
Ryan Smith aka “Desert Mouse”
USA, Santa Barbara to Costa Rica, Playas de Coco / 6 months
After spending three years in conservation finance Ryan is now pleased to be an adventure-preneur. He wants to spend as much time in the water as possible – chasing fish for dinner and waves for fun. He’s eager to sharpen his sailing skills, strum his ukulele, and master the art of chillin’ as he sips in a slower pace of life.
Ryan did 3 months sloggin’ at the Ventura Boatyard to help launch the ship, and as Development Director of Green Coconut Run, has led our micro-plastics partnership with ASC and launched our Youtube presence. He’s become reknown for his boat-made yogurt, kim chi, fresh baked focaccia, fish fillet skills, and smooth Rob Machado-esque wave riding style.
Sabrina Littée aka “la Sirena”, boat owner
USA, Santa Barbara to Costa Rica, Playas de Coco / 6 months
Sabrina is our ship’s Nurse and Dive Master as well as our Operations Director. She is pretty much in heaven living this vagabond life! She likes to surf in warm water with turtles, and is excited we found space for a SCUBA compressor on Aldebaran! She is a big fan of mangos, sushi, and just about anything as long as she’s in costume…or on an adventure!!
Kristian Beadle aka “El Capitan”, boat owner
USA, Santa Barbara to Nicaragua, Playa Gigante / 8 months
Kristian grew up spending summers in an island with his grandparents in Brazil and continues that love to this day. He was trained aboard a Tall Ship, owned two 30ft boats, and bought Aldebaran in ’09, which he opened for cooperative sailing in ’12. He is a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar, with a masters in environmental science (sustainable tourism) from UCSB, and a masters 50 ton license from the Coast Guard. Watching every sunset and sunrise brings a smile to his face.
