CARGO OF HOPE

A maritime chronicle of a humanitarian effort to deliver supplies to the needy.

From the helm of their restored 130-year-old sailboat, Vega, author and seasoned seaman Granger personifies the risks and rewards of survival on the open seas. He and his German partner, Meggi Macoun, a graphic designer, found their calling not only in the excitement of risky oceanic adventures, but also in their annual humanitarian mission, which “gives life meaning.” In 2004, the couple had just returned from a months-long odyssey from South Africa to Malaysia when a massive earthquake underneath the Indian Ocean spurred a deadly tsunami that submerged large areas of coastal Asia. Together with a sturdy crew of volunteers, Granger and Macoun initiated the inaugural Mission of Mercy rescue effort, setting sail for the northern Sumatran island of Pulau Weh with the Vega stocked with 22 tons of donated food and medical supplies. No stranger to long-haul sailing, Granger formerly trekked alone across the Atlantic in an engineless, rudderless brigantine he salvaged from a West African beach. Tapping into this experience, the author vibrantly brings their philanthropic journeys to life with keen details about the remote tropical islands, mountainous villages, and cultural communities they have helped over the years. He also describes numerous challenges, including vicious stormy seas and labor-intensive grunt work performed in congested quarters. The impact of that first altruistic expedition to Sumatra ignited a desire in Granger and Macoun to offer their services to other communities in need. The author also shares lively personal anecdotes about Vega’s mysterious Norwegian origins; information from a great-grandson of the vessel’s original boat builder, an amateur naval historian; and the author’s own notes on how the couple keeps the boat afloat “on a microscopic budget.”

A spirited, awe-inspiring story about people helping people.