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Live mission · Haiti relief
A gospel carriedby wind, water & willing hands.
A hand-built schooner preparing to carry food, fuel, and essential supplies to hurricane-affected communities in Haiti—then continue missionary work toward Thailand.
01HaitiRelief supplies
02Deo Gratis66-foot schooner
03ThailandMission onward
Why we sail
The ocean is the road.
The gospel is the reason.
Deo Gratis exists to serve God by serving people: sharing the gospel in ports, homes, streets, and around the table.
This is not a cruise brand or a floating stage. It is a working mission shaped by prayer, hospitality, practical service, and a simple invitation to follow Jesus.
Our discipleship pathway
Be baptized
Take a public step into new life in Christ through baptism.
Receive
Live led and empowered by the Holy Spirit in everyday obedience.
Make disciples
Help others follow Jesus, then send them to do the same.
Built for a calling
Forty years of faithful work, ready for the water.
Deo Gratis is a 66-foot, three-masted, junk-rigged schooner designed and hand-built over roughly four decades. Every plank, mast, system, repair, and learned skill belongs to the same long story.
See where she is going
01
VesselHand-built schooner
02
RigThree-masted junk rig
03
Length66 feet
04
PurposeMission & hospitality
Built by hand.
Prepared through patience.
The voyage ahead
One boat. Eight waypoints. Relief in Haiti, mission beyond.
The route remains responsive to weather, repairs, open doors, and human need. Haiti is the present relief focus; Thailand remains the continuing missionary horizon.
Illustrative route / no fixed datesDG / NAVIGATION CHARTWESTBOUND MISSION ROUTE
04 / 08
HaitiCurrent focus / Hurricane relief
The present relief focus: delivering food, fuel, and essential supplies to communities affected by the hurricane.
01
Dispatches from sea
Starlink is intended to carry voyage notes, prayer needs, and real stories from the water.
02
Join for a leg
Crew may arrive and depart at different ports, serving for a focused stretch or a season.
03
Simple life aboard
Shared work, meals, watches, maintenance, hospitality, and ministry shape the rhythm.
Footage from the vessel
The mission is already in motion.
These are not stock scenes. They are moments from Deo Gratis: the boat, the crew, the work, and life on the water. Play a clip or explore the deck stills below.
PORT JOURNAL / A LIVING RECORD
Every port carries a story.
Follow the visual route to meet the people, work, and prayer behind each leg. New field notes arrive here from the editorial studio, without changing the design of the voyage.
THE VESSEL
RELIEF / HAITI
MISSION / THAILAND
Life on the water
Before a route is a line on a chart, it is a collection of ordinary moments: work alongside the vessel, shared passage, and room for the gospel at the table.
Different hands. One mission.
A crew formed around service, skill & faith.
Leadership, navigation, hospitality, craftsmanship, and ministry meet aboard the same vessel. Meet the people carrying each watch, meal, and mile of the voyage.
01 / Captain
Captain Keith
Holds the helm, reads the way ahead, and keeps the crew centered on faithful service.
02 / Galley & hospitality
Rand
Keeps the table open, because a shared meal often becomes the beginning of friendship and ministry.
03 / First mate
August
Supports navigation, watches, and the practical work required to keep the mission safe and steady.
04 / Builder
Paul
Designed and hand-built Deo Gratis through decades of patient work, craft, and faith.
Forty years in the building.
Before Deo Gratis could carry the gospel across an ocean, the boat had to be carried in someone’s hands—plank by plank, mast by mast.
That long faithfulness is now becoming a voyage. Future logs will come from the water as the crew is able to publish them.
Support Deo Gratis Missionary Ship
Carry relief to Haiti. Keep the mission moving toward Thailand.
Deo Gratis is preparing to deliver practical help to hurricane-affected communities in Haiti. After that relief work, the ship plans to continue its missionary efforts in Thailand.
01 / RELIEF
Haiti
Food, fuel & essential supplies
02 / ONWARD
Thailand
Continuing missionary work
- 01Food for affected communitiesPractical provisions for families facing difficult conditions.
- 02Fuel & safe passageThe operating costs required to carry relief by sea.
- 03Essential relief suppliesUseful goods delivered where local need is greatest.
- 04Mission beyond HaitiSupport for the continuing ministry journey toward Thailand.
Every bit helps us reach more people in need.
Deo Gratis relief appeal
Live fundraiser
Hosted securely on
GoFundMe
Support Deo Gratis Missionary Ship
Help deliver food, fuel, and supplies to hurricane-affected communities in Haiti—and sustain the ongoing mission in Thailand.
- Organizer
- August Fellner
- Mission corridor
- Haiti → Thailand
Scan to open the fundraiserDonations are completed on GoFundMe. This website never receives or stores payment-card details.
The fundraiser opens on GoFundMe in a new tab.
A place to serve
Not a vacation.
A life shared on purpose.
Life aboard is simple, physical, shared, and purposeful. Every day includes real work—cooking, cleaning, maintenance, deck duties, watches, and ministry.
01
No fixed crew feeFood contributions are welcome.
02
Join for a leg or seasonCrew may arrive and leave at different ports.
03
Shared livingPrivate rooms for married couples; dormitory-style main room for men.
The application asks about health, readiness, skills, faith, and emergency contact details so both sides can discern the fit honestly.