The Vega desperately needs a mizzen mast. Specifically, they are looking for a fir or spruce to shape the 10m x 26cm mast and a shipping company able to transport the wood from either Brisbane, Australia, or Vancouver, Canada, to Singapore.  If they cannot find a replacement mast by April, their 2014 humanitarian mission, delivering medical and school supplies to over 50,000 people in remote island communities, may be at risk.

Their website and Facebook page refer to the craft as the “Historic Vessel Vega,”  which is appropriate given that the ketch was built in 1892 in Norway and has had a long illustrious and varied career. In recent years, however, it would be more appropriate to refer to her as the “Humanitarian Vessel Vega,” as under the command of Captain Shane Granger and his crew, the Vega has been delivering critically needed supplies to villages in very remote parts of Eastern Indonesia and East Timor.  In 2011, Captain Granger and the Vega’s crew were honored with the Asia Pacific Laureate Foundation annual award for Social Services in recognition of “Humanitarian Services to Isolated Island Communities.”

From the Vega’s Facebook page: Historic Vessel Vega’s mizzenmast must be replaced and a recent engine overhaul depleted the “fix things” budget. “If I can’t sort this out by end of April our whole 2014 mission of mercy goes down the drain….that’s about 50,000 people who depend on us for their school and medical supplies” among some of the world’s most isolated island communities, said Capt. Shane Granger. Fir or spruce to shape the 10m x 26cm mast and a shipping company able to transport the wood from either Brisbane, Australia, or Vancouver, Canada, to Singapore is needed. If you can help, or know someone who might, to donate the wood and/or shipping, please post a comment here and/or message Shane via VEGA’s FB www.facebook.com/pages/Historic-Vessel-Vega/125068434229063