We recently posted that the Oliver Hazard Perry Rhode Island (OHPRI) organization had taken a “strategic pause” to rethink its strategy for the financial sustainability of the SS Oliver Hazard Perry, the largest civilian Sailing School Vessel in the United States. Now, the organization has announced a new operating plan. 

“We explored different options for the ship, even one of selling it to a corporation,” said OHPRI’s new Chairman Avery “Whip” Seaman, “but really the best plan for Oliver Hazard Perry is for her to remain here in Rhode Island serving the people of Rhode Island and adjacent coastal communities with year-round programming.” 

OHPRI’s new operating model will pivot away from long offshore voyages that impact the fewest people at the greatest capital expense. Operations will consist of a mix of multi-day, single day and dockside programs, with underway voyages offered from late spring through mid-autumn.

OHPRI will focus on a “range of revenue opportunities across key stakeholder groups from the marine, maritime and defense sectors, as well as academic and social service organizations, all who view the experiences aboard as a valuable investment in providing professional opportunity in concert with personal development.” This, in combination with a deeper connection to the hospitality and tourism industry, will provide for a more diversified and stable revenue model.

To direct their new operating model, OHPRI has engaged Captain Jonathan Kabak as its CEO. Captain Kabak was most recently Director of Marine Operations for the USMMA Sailing Foundation (affiliated with Kings Point, the Federal Maritime Academy) and continues to serve as an adjunct curriculum developer and instructor at the U.S. Maritime Resource Center in Middletown, R.I. Captain Kabak also is a member of the Board of Directors of Tall Ships America, where he chairs their Ship Operations and Safety Committee and Annual Conference Planning Committee.

We wish fair winds and good fortune to Captain Kabak and OHPRI.