Bad weather has blown Team Gallagher back over the exact same spot this morning for the third time.  Clearly they aren't just rowing across the Tasman for fun, they're also raising money to help build the world’s biggest man made coral reef in Borneo.

Coral Reefs cover 1% of the ocean yet provide a home for 25% of all marine species. Unfortunately, half of the coral reefs globally have vanished or are in a state of serious decline.

Team Gallagher are generating funds to build an artificial reef off the northern coast of Borneo, just east of Semporna. The reef, while providing a home and hunting ground for a vast diversity of marine species, will also function as an educational tool, one enabled by art and the community.

The reef will be shaped into an ever growing nautilus and will be built out of eco-friendly ceramic modules that provide a perfect substrate for the coral to grow. To start, clippings of sustainably grown coral will be planted onto the modules by local coral gardeners, with the help of the surrounding community and visiting divers.

“The Tasman row reaffirms the our commitment to raise awareness of our oceans' plight,” says Team Gallagher rower James Blake. “The enormity of the row and the vastness of this stretch of water reminds me how significant our oceans are to our very existence.”

Team Gallagher Director and trans Atlantic rower Rob Hamill believes the Coral Garden Project has the potential to become a global movement, “This will raise awareness of the issue of dynamite fishing and the related destruction of coral reefs in developing countries and in the long term will make a difference to the global fishery.”

Want to support this great cause? Visit our donations page and donate to the Coral Garden Project to help save this unique marine environment.