Long-moored catamaran may now be a short-timer in Newport Harbor

When Newport Beach businessman Chris Welsh asked harbor commissioners in 2011 to consider mooring his colossal catamaran named Cheyenne, city officials thought it would remain in the harbor for a short time.

Welsh plans to use Cheyenne – a 125-foot-long, 60-foot-wide white vessel adorned with advertising logos including Google – to haul a submarine for deep-sea exploration across the globe. However, after more than four years of delays in repairing the sub, city Harbor Resources Manager Chris Miller and some harbor commissioners decided it is time to cut the boat loose.

“At some point we needed to draw the line,” Miller said.

Welsh was notified recently that his mooring permit would not be renewed, meaning that as of Aug. 31, Cheyenne would no longer have a place in the harbor.

Last week, Welsh appealed the decision to the city harbor department. He did not respond to requests for comment Wednesday.

The city will bring in a hearing officer who will decide whether to uphold the decision.

When Welsh first approached the city about keeping Cheyenne in the harbor, officials built a special mooring for the large vessel. Typically, the largest mooring in the harbor is for a 90-foot boat, Miller said.

At first the city didn’t charge Welsh rent for the mooring, thinking he wouldn’t be in the harbor often or for very long. However, in 2012, Welsh began paying an annual mooring fee after some boaters complained that he was receiving preferential treatment.

Welsh pays $572 per month for his spot in the harbor, according to city records.

“It wasn’t designed to be an indefinite moorage,” Miller said. “It was created to accommodate him.”

Some residents whose homes overlook the mooring spot off the Balboa Peninsula have complained that Cheyenne has worn out its welcome.

“Some residents have grown tired of looking at it,” Miller said.

Welsh’s plans for the submarine on the boat are lofty by many adventurers’ standards, harbor commissioners said.

He hopes it will eventually dive to the deepest spots in Earth’s oceans, including the Pacific’s Mariana Trench, the Atlantic’s Puerto Rico Trench, the Indian Ocean’s Diamantina Trench, the south Atlantic’s South Sandwich Trench and the Arctic’s Molloy Deep.

However, before the sub could attempt the dives, it needed repairs, some of which took longer than expected.

The biggest hiccup has involved the submarine’s dome, which cracked during pressure testing. Replacing the dome, which is expected to be finished in the next month, resulted in a delay of more than a year.

In response to the various setbacks, the Harbor Commission renewed Welsh’s permit several times. In November, commissioners asked him to update them on his progress every month.

“His cause seems worthwhile, but we just didn’t see any progress from one update to the next,” Commissioner Duncan McIntosh said.

Commissioner Joe Stapleton suggested that the city give Welsh six more months to finish the repairs and start his journey.

“[Welsh] has put a lot of time and energy into this project,” Stapleton said. “Now we’re here at the finish line and we say it’s time to leave. It’s disappointing.”