November 13, 2009
Dear Friends,
In 2002 we set on a course to build a Canadian based expedition cruise company under the name of Canadian Sailing Expeditions (CSE). It was in principal to combine our many years of experience in adventure and corporate charter into a niche cruise product, with summer cruising in eastern Canada and Quebec and winter voyaging in the Caribbean. We commenced cruises in 2004 on chartered vessels and by February 2008 had realized on our efforts to build and launch the Caledonia. Caledonia is the largest sailing vessel built in Canada and one of a handful of sailing cruise vessels worldwide that is built to meet the new SOLAS regulations that come into effect in 2010.
The construction of Caledonia was a massive feat both financially and from a regulatory perspective. The end result is a platform that has proven ideal for the delivery of the CSE adventure cruise product. The dedicated and passionate team at CSE (both ashore and afloat) have assisted us in delivering a product that has garnered very high praise from both passengers and travel media. It is a product that personally connects with passengers from the first call on the phone to the departure from the crew after a voyage.
The launch of Caledonia in December 2007 was delayed by 2.5 months. This resulted in a negative domino effect on cash reserves for the company and also limited marketing efforts in the early going. In late June 2008 CSE entered into CCAA (protection from bankruptcy) to permit the company time to restructure its construction debt. By January 2009 we had undertaken a project with other parties in a new venture to create a consolidation in the small ship sailing cruise sector. With the support of these parties and CSE’s creditors and lenders, the efforts to make this concept a realization have been productive.
As of today the consolidation project has achieved much of what is required to become a reality, however reduced access to credit caused by the global crisis has required more time than would typically be required. Although the elements for the consolidation continue to progress well, regrettably, the resources to continue operating Canadian Sailing Expeditions have been consumed.
The net effect is that CSE will cease doing business as of today. CSE has always protected its customers and as a result ALL deposits on future bookings will be returned today. We owe a great deal of appreciation and thanks to our staff (past and present), our financial partners and as importantly to the very loyal cruise clientele that we have had the privilege of serving.
We will now turn our focus entirely to the completion of the consolidation venture. We look forward to resuming delivery of the high quality coastal cruises for which we are known. With kind regards,
Doug Prothero, Michelle Clark, David Evans