VI Mid-Island Club Night – The Longest Goodbye

Cresswell and Irena Walker sailed from Vancouver to Australia in 2005 in their first boat, Conversations. Eighteen years, 50,000 nm and 1 ½ times around the world later, they sailed from Puerto Vallarta for New York, to hand over their dream boat to a dear friend.

This is the story of that delivery, “The Longest Goodbye”. Unfolding over 2 ½ years, it’s a tale that bridges COVID, the south west Coast of Mexico, Guatemala, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Cost Rica, and a Pacific to Atlantic transit of the Panama Canal. Then the tale continues northeast against the Caribbean Tradewinds to Columbia, Cuba,Turks and Caicos, Bahamas, and on to Virginia Beach and finally to Montauk, New York on the eastern tip of Long Island.

It’s a tale of new sailing stories and old friends, and of closing a loop on a lifetime of sailing, by returning 45 years later to where Cress discovered salt water and cruising, Long Island Sound!

Biography: Cress and Irena have been sailing together for over 20 years now. Both lifelong sailors, their first Blue Water sail together started out in 2005 when they decided to fulfill Cress’s dream of sailing to Australia in their Westwind 35. Over the next 10 years, that dream transformed into a shared dream, a second (bigger) boat – an Oyster Lightwave 48, over 50,000 nautical miles sailing and working around the world, a couple of seasons in Mexico and then delivering their boat to Long Island Sound, New York just last year.  Both of their boats were named Conversations and for good reason. They shared their experience with about 100 people – family, friends and crew, where almost everyone had a chance to experience those moments or even days of tranquillity at sea, mixed with occasions of stormy seas when the wind or a squall came up out of nowhere. These moments are worth talking about!

Note that this club night will NOT be available via Zoom but this presentation may be repeated later in the season in a hybrid (Zoom and in-person) format.