How Alison Hoareau grew up to love the Sea and care for the environment

Not many people find their calling in life from watching television, but if Alison Hoareau oozes everything to do with the sea today it’s because as a child she used to watch footage of underwater life just before the 8pm news on SBC.

As she recalls: “I was first passionate about the environment when I was a small child. Prior to the 8pm SBC news, there used to be a nightly display of underwater footage with stunning coral reefs and anomalous species, sea turtles lazing in a small cave, and amusing crab dances to the tunes of commercial music.

“I eventually got the opportunity to go on many excursions, island hop, swim in marine parks, and get up close and personal with things I watched on TV largely because my dad also owned a power catamaran boat when I was growing up”.

She takes up her story: “My background is primarily in environmental subjects and water sports. Working on the first EBA coral restoration project on Curieuse Island, I was a research assistant for the Marine and Fisheries Consultancy Seychelles.

“This involved a lot of diving and the collection of biological, oceanographic, economic, socioeconomic, and other types of data on the field as needed. I have worked as an environment health and safety officer for Indian Ocean Tuna Ltd. for the past three years.

A call to protect the Environment

“My primary responsibilities there were to protect the environment and the safety of the workforce, as well as to constantly comply with local laws and standards”.

Alison Manoella Hoareau, aged 26, lives in Mont-Buxton. (Her second name is written differently from how Manuella is usually written. This is because her mother's side of the family is from Mauritius, and she wanted to give her a traditional name from her native country).

Often characterized as a kind, timid, and friendly person, she comes from a family of two children, along with her older brother, Nickson. Her mother works as a shop supervisor at Jouel, and in her own words “I consider her to be my best friend, my sister, and my role model.

She is the one who makes the impossible possible and approaches life's challenges with a dash of  ‘joie de vivre’. Her dad is a self-employed maintenance contractor who fixes and builds everything. “He is a workaholic who always has his toolbox and measuring tape in his truck or Jeep, even on weekends”, she adds.

“Growing up, I was exposed to water sports like swimming and sailing. I also developed a passion for the environment, which led me to pursue my studies at the University of Seychelles and the Seychelles Maritime Academy, where I studied environmental science, fisheries, and nautical science.

Competing with the boys

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Being a young female sailor and competing with the boys for a spot hasn't been an easy journey. I didn't let it stop me, though, as I went on to win an array of prizes and significant awards on a national and international level.

“This includes winning best female sailor of the year several times, two silver medals in the IOIG and a bronze medal in the India International Regatta.

“My biggest and most memorable achievement for 2015 was qualifying for the Youth World Championship, and I came in 4th place out of 8 female sailors in the Olympic qualifying in Algeria.

“After a long break, I came back to sailing in 2023, where I won all the local titles and, my favorite of all, made history by winning my first gold medal in the regional competition for the ILCA 4 female category. Due to all the winning, I was also nominated as the Best Female Sailor of the Year 2023.

I'm really passionate about conservation, restoration, and preservation of the environment, and my favorite of all is coral restoration and turtle conservation.

Abundance of opportunities

“Last but not least, I competed in the Miss Seychelles National Pageant in 2020 and brought home the title of Most Empowered contestant. This event changed my life yet again since it gave me access to an abundance of opportunities and opened doors”.

After a few years, she got accepted to the Maritime Academy to study nautical and fisheries science and became exposed to a great deal of work-related experience in the environmental and maritime sectors.

Due to the huge damage that crown of thorns starfish cause to our healthy coral reef, she was involved in the first pilot operation to exterminate them. She has  worked on vessels, gone scuba diving, and gathered information from many places.

She took part in a sailing coaching course in January 2024, where she learned how to be a good mentor and all the attributes of a coach.

“Naturally, I won't spend my entire life as a sailor. Being a woman, I do have an amount of time remaining until I am able to plan a family and be a mother.

“But being one of the last remaining female sailors, my goal is to use my expertise and abilities to proudly coach both boys and girls to help them achieve their highest target and podium position in the sailing world.

Around Seychelles in 18 Bays

2023 is what I would call my year, she says enthusiastically.

“Among the many projects I worked on were the Around Seychelles in 18 Bays. A catamaran loaded with accomplished women from every walk of life, including professors, DJs, local artists, fisherwoman, and many more. If someone were to ask who was skippering the boat, I would say that it was the whole female crew, including experienced skippers and captain.

“As a crew myself I participated in the sail-setting and trim work to ensure smooth sailing. The goal of this fundraising was to gather money so that the Liam’s Rainbow Foundation could build a little playhouse for the children receiving treatment at Victoria Hospital.

Turning to teaching

“More recently I had the great honour of representing the Seychelles in an educational conference last year that was hosted at Island School Bahamas.

“I had the opportunity to go on field trips, meet researchers and educators and assist them in gathering data from experiments, get over our fear of heights, and have incredibly instructive conversations with the students, facilitator, and other educators at the school. The entire trip was, in my opinion, an adventure of a lifetime.

“Returning to the Seychelles, I want to use the knowledge I've gained from the conference to create an environment where learning happens more than just in a classroom with four walls and a teacher writing on a blackboard.

“Instead, I want to involve the environment so that educators and facilitators can feel more inspired and creative with the teaching environment”.