Shane Granger and Meggi Macoun found the 126-year-old wooden sailing vessel Vega high and dry on Grenada in 2001, suffering from years of neglect. The 80-footer was still sound, though, so they spent years on restoration work, all while looking for a meaningful way to make use of the boat.
“If we tie her to a pier, she will die in a year,” Granger says. “A boat like Vega must keep working if she is to continue in seaworthy condition for another hundred years.”
They found their calling in 2004 while in Langkawi, Malaysia. The Norwegian-built boat was at a marina when the Boxing Day tsunami hit, devastating parts of Asia. Yachts were pulled off the dock or swept out to sea, but Vega sustained only minor damage. Relief supplies and donations began to collect on Langkawi—but there was no way to rush the supplies to the remote areas that needed them most.
Granger and Macoun put Vega to use, with 25 tons of food and emergency medical supplies on board. Their mission was a far cry from what Vega was originally built to be: a deep-sea stone carrier that’s certified for Arctic waters. Its design is a cross between a North Sea cargo ship and a naval man-of-war. And now it was transiting an area that’s infamous for riptides, tidal bores, standing waves, whirlpools and strong currents.
“That voyage was tough,” Granger says, “but it taught us that, although no longer able to carry commercial cargo as she had for over a hundred years, Vega was perfectly capable of carrying cargoes of hope in the form of educational and medical supplies to remote island communities.”
It was the beginning of a humanitarian mission that has since become an annual 6,000-nautical-mile round trip to the islands of Eastern Indonesia and East Timor. Vega and her crew deliver basic medical supplies to rural health workers and midwives, notebooks and pencils to teachers and students, eyeglasses to the elderly, toothbrushes to kids, IT supplies to communities, and solar setups to islands with no power. They rely mostly on public donations, with a few corporate sponsors.
The couple have an extensive history of humanitarian work. After meeting in Tanzania in the 1990s, they worked for the World Health Organization, UNICEF, BBC World Service Trust, and the World Wildlife Fund in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. What’s different with Vega, they say, is that they’re running an effective mom-and-pop initiative whose main goal is to empower people to solve their own problems.
“A boat like Vega must keep working if she is to continue in seaworthy condition for another hundred years.”
“Our method is simple,” Granger says. “We ask teachers, midwives and community leaders what they need to do their jobs. We then bring those lists back to our supporters and try our best to fill them for next year’s deliveries. Then we gather new lists, and the whole process begins once again. That means every item we load has been requested by someone who is waiting for it and needs it to do his or her job.”
They pretty much split each year in half, to gather supplies and then deliver them. The medical kits were designed with the help of an Indonesian doctor. They include antibiotics, disinfectants, suture kits, stethoscopes, blood pressure cuffs and fetal heartbeat monitors. Instructions are printed in the local dialect, solar setups are included to recharge batteries, and prescription medicines are approved by the Indonesian government. This program supports 122 traditional midwives and, in some regions, has contributed to maternal and natal mortality falling more than 50 percent in just three years.
Kits 4 Kids is another success story. Students in wealthy schools prepare backpacks filled with school supplies, along with notes about themselves and a photograph or a toy. Approximately 800 kits per year are transported on Vega to community leaders in some of the poorest schools in East Timor. There, Vega’s crew takes photographs to send back to the donor schools. “Often, we receive notes from those receiving bags to take back to those who donated them,” he says.
Sight by Sail is another initiative. It started more than a decade ago to deliver reading glasses to islanders. Elderly weavers, net-makers and boatbuilders in remote communities receive drugstore “readers” that allow them to continue working and passing down their skills to the next generations.
“We assist 18 islands,” Granger says. “Our average load consisted of between 12 and 18 tons of new medical equipment, pharmaceuticals and educational supplies. One year we loaded over 20 tons. More than once, we departed Jakarta so loaded, we could just get to the galley, navigation station and engine room, but were sleeping out on deck until offloading at the first few islands.”
That is, until 2019, when Vega fell from a cradle while being towed up a boat ramp during a routine haulout in Thailand. The boat landed on its port side and ended up partially submerged in muddy river water.
Emergency pumps helped the crew deal with the water, and several hours later, the yard tried to right the vessel with a crane.
Vega slipped, rolled, and landed hard on its starboard side. The river rushed through the main companionway, flooding 80 percent of the interior with the muddy and now also diesel-tainted water.
The main engine and generator were submerged, and all the electrical and electronic systems were destroyed, including navigation and safety equipment. The couple lost all their clothes, cameras, computers and mementos. Everything the water touched—mattresses, cushions, linens—was ruined. There had also been 11 tons of supplies on board, ready for delivery to remote communities.
Vega itself had damage to the frames, decking, bulkheads and keel. The refinished interior was also severely wrecked, and it would be hard to ethically source high-quality hardwood for repairs. Funding all the repairs not covered by insurance, or the boatyard, would depend on public donations.
For the next nine months, Vega was on the hard in Thailand. Eventually, the boat was towed to Langkawi, Malaysia, and hauled out again. By early 2020, Vega was “minimally seaworthy,” Granger says, so the crew prepared to sail to Penang and start their annual trip.
Days before departure, the pandemic lockdowns began. They were stuck in port for almost two years.
Finally, with restrictions lifted, they set out again—only to be plagued with a host of mechanical and electrical problems. They completed deliveries to five communities in 2022, and established computer labs for schools.
But Vega still had extensive damage on its starboard side. Work had to be done. The couple hauled out for another refit in April 2024, raising about $35,000 to cover the costs. Five months later, Vega was ready once again to sail with a cargo of hope.
Today, a network of supporters from around the globe keeps Vega and its humanitarian mission afloat. Annual running costs are roughly $50,000.
“Meggi and I are not rich,” Granger says. “We volunteer ourselves and Vega because that is what we have, but we depend on our supporters to make those deliveries possible.”
To learn more, visit vega1892.com.
Heather Francis is from Nova Scotia and has worked and lived on boats worldwide since 2002. In 2008, she and her Aussie partner, Steve, bought Kate, their Newport 41. They live on board and sail full time. Follow their adventures at yachtkate.com.
Cargo of Hope
Granger recently published the book Cargo of Hope. It chronicles the time that he and Macoun have spent delivering supplies and getting to know the communities they assist (available on Amazon).
