the Competitive Cat, Racing Small Gaff-Rigged Catboats
Bill Welch learned to sail with wooden spars and cotton sails on the Town Cove in Orleans, Massachusetts, in the late 1950’s. His passion for sailing quickly evolved to the discipline of racing. He began racing in Turnabouts and Sprites, and was introduced to catboats by skippering a Beetle Cat for one of the local juniors. Lazy Cape Cod summers were soon replaced with college and eventually medical school. New sailing adventures included cruising in the Bahamas and the Virgin Islands, with his wife, Sherry. He returned to racing during his surgery residency in Coconut Grove, Florida, where they raced a Creekmore 23 together. After residency, Bill and Sherry began a private practice in general and vascular surgery in St Petersburg, Florida, where they successfully campaigned a J-27, as well as starting and co-captaining a very active Snipe fleet. They have raced in events all over the world as competitors in the Snipe Class. Along the way Bill was a commodore of the St Petersburg Yacht Club, and US Snipe Class National Secretary. Currently they sail a Marshall 15 on Useppa Island, Florida in the winters, and on Pleasant Bay, Cape Cod in the summers.