On the Trail: Crazy for coconuts

One of the things I always found fascinating about traveling to Florida was the coconut palms. I remember crossing the Georgia state line and the first thing I saw in Florida was a palm tree. It was a sabal and not a coconut palm, but even so it had the fronds and the look.

I especially remember the nights as a visitor when the mom-and-pop motels decorated coconut palms with red and green floodlights. Wow! Being a kid from Tennessee, I instantly decided that coconut palms were my favorite. It was not until many years later that I learned the story of the transplanted coconut.

Most everyone will remember the famous film Mutiny on the Bounty with Mel Gibson and Anthony Hopkins. More entrenched Hollywood fans will remember the original portrayal, starring Marlon Brando as Fletcher Christian and Trevor Howard as Captain Bligh.

Whichever film you prefer, the story is the same. But with all the excitement of Polynesian dancing girls, sailing ships on the high seas and crimes against the British Admiralty, the true mission of the Bounty is often forgotten.

In the later 1700s, despite the Pirates of the Caribbean, Britain ruled the seas. The British, apart from always being very proper, were — and still are — very organized and clever in business. They understood immediately after Captain Cook's discovery of Hawaii and Tahiti that a new source of food had been discovered, as well as new land to be placed under British influence.

During the later half of the 18th century, England had vast holdings throughout the Caribbean, particularly in Jamaica and Antigua. There were hundreds of British Marines and sailors to feed, as well as a huge population of slaves from Africa.

Food storage was a big problem in the tropics — the British navy relied upon heavily salted beef and pork sealed in wooden barrels. In colder climates, the salt preserved the victuals for long periods of time, but, as we all know, the humidity and summer heat in the tropics is enough to challenge a 21st-century food-storage unit. The beef and pork barrels spoiled at an alarming rate and the expense of growing, slaughtering and preserving the beef and pork was causing the accountants in the admiralty to research another food source.

Captain Bligh's orders were to proceed to Tahiti and procure as many coconuts and breadfruit plants as possible and transport these innovative new food resources to the West Indies for planting.

We know now that Captain Bligh's mission was thwarted, but subsequent voyages to Polynesian and Malaysian ports did transport cargo after cargo of exotic flora and fauna.

Taller coconut palms with deep-green fronds and coconuts come from Tahiti and Hawaii, but the shorter version with the yellowish frond tips and yellow coconuts come from Malaysia — all originally transported by sailing ship to the Caribbean.

The British Admiralty was pleased with the effort and, in only one generation, coconut palms were thriving and reproducing on our side of the globe.

Coconuts grow, fall from the trees and quite often end up in the water. The tide and the wind carry them offshore and as perfect little boats, they ride the waves until once again they are driven ashore.

Palm Beach was named after an unnatural amount of coconut palms grew on the beaches. Legend has it that an old sailing schooner was pursuing the idea from the British Admiralty and was transporting a hold full of coconuts up the coast for a rich plantation owner in South Carolina. The schooner departed from the Bahamas, but an Atlantic squall caught the aged vessel on a lee shore. When the wind and the waves became too much, the little ship was driven aground and broke up about where the Breakers Hotel is now. The coconuts came up on the beach with the wind-driven waves. A few years later, Palm Beach was easily named, as maritime traffic cruised offshore and admired the beautiful Polynesian transplants.

Misplaced coconuts, welcome to Florida!

Tom Williams is a sailboat charter captain working at the Marriott for over 27 years. Williams lives on Marco Island and is available at capttom@marcoislandtoday.com.