Eight Bells: Chris Welsh

Chris at the helm.

Chris Welsh, aka “The Most Interesting Man in the World” passed away unexpectedly on March 15 at home in Pt Richmond, CA.

Just 58 years, he was many things to many people. First and foremost, he was a partner to Tina. With Tina he found someone that was with him to do all of his adventures and love. From sailing, flying, submarines and whatever else he could think of, they did it all together and loved every moment of it.

Sailing was always Chris’ passion. He started racing at an early age and continued that passion into his adulthood. In 2004, he bought the infamous Spencer 65 Ragtime and started racing her any chance he got. He competed in three Transpacs aboard her and was planning to be continue racing her again after her latest rebuild.

While at the helm, Chris won the 2008 LA to Tahiti Race and won division in the 2008 Sydney Hobart Race. With Chris and Ragtime, the list of victories were endless. Chris loved Ragtime and at times was able to experience the love others had for Ragtime. One highlight for Chris was when Ragtime returned to New Zealand where she was built, they arrived late at night to be greeted by thousands of fans at the dock welcoming Ragtime to her birthplace.

His sense of adventure never stopped. Chris heard about Cheyenne, aka PlayStation being for sale, along with two submarines. That led to the next chapter of his life, underwater exploration. Prior to COVID-19, he had taken the Submarine project, Pentarius, to Asia to dive the islands of Japan and do a presentation in China. Along the way they documented four wrecks off Hawaii from World War II that had not been discovered.

More recently, he was invested to save L’Hydroptere, an abandoned and rare record-breaking sailing machine. With Chris, you never knew when some spontaneous adventure would occur, but he was always the one to initiate it. He never stopped pushing the limits, exploring and loving.

He was Son, Brother, Uncle, Spouse and most importantly friend to all. He is survived by his spouse Tina, parents Sally and Terry, Brother Doug and his wife Mary, his nephew and nieces Charlie, Brittany and Becca. He will be missed immensely.