Ocean Sailing Expeditions is not in liquidation

Ocean Sailing Expeditions is operated by Ocean Sailing Expeditions Group Pty Limited. Ocean Sailing Expeditions (OSE) is Oceania’s favourite sailing adventure company and has been operating since 2020.

We have taken more than 1,400 customers safely across 1.7m + nautical miles of ocean between them. Ocean Sailing Expeditions is not in liquidation and never has been. OSE has operated continuously for the past 6 years.

Due to changes in the business and market in the first few months of 2025, Ocean Sailing Expeditions set out to restructure its business, to ensure it could evolve and grow profitably, through the economic challenges it was facing. Despite rumours of our demise for the past 5 years now, we have continued to evolve, reinvent and grow, and we are definitely not in liquidation.

For 5 straight years, our sales have grown; despite COVID19 lock-downs, adverse weather, economic downturns and vessel challenges. In the last 12 months we have faced our toughest set of challenges ever, but they have caused us to double down, think differently and take the bold and innovative steps, to reset the foundation required for profitable and sustainable growth.

The challenges we have faced in 2024/25;

• The 40-70% rise in the hourly rates (since COVID19), charged by contractors for repairing our vessels.

• A continued economic downturn in New Zealand, impacting demand for sailing and motor events. We have suffered the second straight year of sales decline in New Zealand, despite record growth in Australia and the Pacific Islands.

• The rising cost of servicing debt, used to fund the growth of our fleet, from one to four vessels over the past five years.

• Significant performance issues with a new booking platform rolled out in March 2025 after 4 months of development and testing. Users on 3G or 4G broadband had large delays loading web pages. This impacted Mar-May bookings and forced us to make the difficult decision to abandon the project. We started again and work around the clock, to roll out We Travel as a replacement booking and itinerary management platform 4 weeks later (and 3 months sooner than estimated by We Travel). It’s been a fantastic decision and hugely successful for both our admin team and customers.

• The $230k cost over-runs getting Awen and Te Kaihōpara into survey with the MCA for the first time in late 2024.

• The initial low demand for Sea Breeze III cruising events, due to high cabin pricing and lack of cabin options for couples, combined with low New Zealand demand.

• $110k in unexpected damage to our vessels from miss-use or negligence.

• The rising cost of the OSE membership program, after it was launched initially in 2020, to help fund the acquisition of Silver Fern and released again in 2023 to help fund the acquisition of Te Kaihōpara. To date members have received more than $2.5m in benefits by way of sailing credit, discounts and dividends. The cost and value delivered to members exceeded all expectations and is no longer sustainable. This program is in the process of being shut down, with settlements being negotiated with members.

• Global issues have impacted tourism and the economies of New Zealand and Australia and had a flow on effect on our business.

• We were the target of $90k marketing fraud by external contractors, in early-mid 2025, impacting bookings from March to August 2025 as we quadrupled marketing spend, while watching sales halve.

The future is here

OSE has now implemented the majority of strategic initiatives, identified in a review of its business operations in early 2025, with the sales results from Sep - Nov 2025 our highest 3 month sales quarter on record. Nov-2025 set a new monthly record and the Oct-Dec 2025 quarter is on track to exceed AUD$1m in bookings for the first time.

The successful restructure of OSE in mid-2025 has included;

• The roll out of the We Travel itinerary and booking management system to streamline the booking process and reduce customer administration by 150+ hours per month.

• The voluntary liquidation of a non-trading company, OSE QLD Pty Limited by its Director: David Hows in September 2025, as part of a planned restructure. This has no effect on clients or future sailing event bookings.

• Our restructured operating company; Ocean Sailing Expeditions Group Pty Limited continues to grow, thrive and hit new sales records.

• The sale of our 3 sailing yachts to owner-operators, who will operate them under license to OSE, enabling OSE to eliminate all long term debt completely, while retaining the commercial use of the yachts. This will bring additional leadership to OSE, maximise vessel quality management, ensure crew continuity and reduce direct vessel operating costs for OSE. Our current yachts will continue to operate under the exact same events calendar and this will strengthen our ability to manage future safety.

• The cancellation of New Zealand summer events for 2025/26 for Sea Breeze III and Te Kaihōpara, due to New Zealand’s economic downturn.

• The injection of additional share capital to support the business restructure and growth plans.

• The planned conversion of Sea Breeze III from 9 to 12 berths and increase from 3 to 5 couples cabins, in early 2026. This has already led to 30% lower cabin pricing, with 2026 already 65% booked out in Fiji and 2026 bookings already 410% up on 2025.

• The reflagging of Sea Breeze III under Fiji in early 2026, with the vessel now permanently based in Fiji operating surf, kayak, wellness and adventure cruising charters from April to December each year. Sea Breeze III is now our most popular vessel for bookings and is a great example of getting the strategy right.

• The addition of new licensed owner-skippers, with vessels such as Cruczar and Kiss, joining our fleet in New Zealand, to offer events on yachts with smaller berth numbers (6-8), lower costs and at lower price points (from NZD $2,950) to cater to market demand. We have plans to add a number of new licensees over the next 5 years in 12 key locations around Oceania. Our goal is to provide more choices and destinations, without having to own the yachts ourselves.

• The termination of our external marketing contractor in July, after an audit uncovered 75% of our marketing spend with Facebook and Google, being spent on traffic from South Korea, India and the UK, which generates less than 3% of bookings. This cost us $90k in wasted marketing spend and caused lost bookings of more than $950k from March to August 2025, before it could be rectified. Marketing spend is now managed in-house, from July 2025, with sales growth of 249% in the 3 months from Sep-Nov 2025, when compared to our low point of Jun-Aug 2025.

• Nov 2025 set a new monthly sales record of $458k and Oct-Dec 2025 is on track for our first: $1m quarter.

• Bookings for the 2025 calendar year, are on track to finish at $2.72m, 46% up on 2024. Given the tough environment, its an excellent result and reinforces the tough decisions and changes we have made.

Summary

Businesses face difficult challenges at times. That’s part of building a successful business. Some businesses overcome their challenges and thrive, while others fail to adapt and eventually cease to operate. We will continue to invest, evolve and innovate. As at 6th of December 2025, we have $2.26m in forward bookings and confidence in OSE, is at the highest levels ever.

I am personally doing everything I can, to take care of our customers, crew, vessels and suppliers. While the path through the last 12 months has been difficult to navigate, our future has never looked brighter. Critics are everywhere and it’s easy to be an expert, when you don’t work inside a business. We have made the necessary changes (many of them painful) this year, for the security and future of the OSE business and based on the feedback of our valued customers, contractors and crew.

If you follow us on Facebook or Instagram, you’ll see the steady stream of both new faces and repeat customers, having fun on the ocean with Ocean Sailing Expeditions. That’s what I created the company to do and that’s what’s still important to me today. 2025 has not been easy, but 2026 looks bright.

Written by David Hows
Founder and Managing Director of Ocean Sailing Expeditions
david@oceansailingexpeditions.com.au