Boat racing community mourns Chris Denslow, treasured Tri-Cities photographer
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Boat racing lost longtime photographer Chris Denslow, who died at age 56.
- Denslow documented races for two decades, earning respect across the sport.
- Community members honored Denslow’s humor, heart and lasting contribution.
Boat racing lost a major part of its family this past weekend when Chris Denslow passed away after a short illness.
Denslow didn’t race boats. He didn’t work on them. What he did do, though, was chronicle every aspect of racing through the lens of his camera.
Like track and field, boat racing is best displayed by its images and color. Chris Denslow did that with an excellent flair, and whether it was on the water during a race, or behind the scenes in a team’s camp, he was always there for the past 20 years.
Didn’t matter if it was unlimited hydroplanes, small inboards or Grand Prix boats. If Denslow was there, you knew it must’ve been important.
Stories abound that the big fella was always watching. And he might catch you talking with someone in the pits, and later you’d get a copy of that photo.
Denslow’s cousin is Mike Denslow, chairman of H1 Unlimited.
“Chris was one of those rare individuals who quietly made things happen,” said Mike Denslow, in a Facebook post on the H1 Unlimited.
“As part of our team of officials, his dedication, humility and talent left an indelible mark on the sport and on everyone who had the chance to work with him. Beyond his incredible work, he was family to me, he was family to everyone, and his loss is felt deeply,” he said.
Everyone appreciated Chris.
When the Herald needed a photo from some race, I could text Chris and he would have it to me by the end of the day.
He had this dry sense of humor that made me laugh. When I announced my retirement from working full-time in the newspaper business, I’d still go down to the Columbia Cup to freelance for the Herald.
I would walk the beach to look for photo opportunities for something called Jeff’s Excellent Beach Adventures. On this day, Herald photo editor Bob Brawdy found Denslow. We asked him to “act” like he was choking me.
Either he was a bad actor, or he found the chance he’d been looking for.
I’ll miss his sense of humor on Facebook, in which he had running commentary during either a Washington Huskies game, or especially a Seattle Seahawks game.
Everybody has their Chris Denslow stories, about all of the good things he did.
The most common thread of those stories is that the Kamiakin High grad had the biggest heart. He had a large boat racing family, and that family loved him back fiercely.
He was 56.
Jeff Morrow is former sports editor for the Tri-City Herald.