Ondine & Dramamine

It may be some consolation to other blue-water yachtsman to learn that Sumner A. ("My friends call me Huey") Long, 46, suffers from seasickness. It is certainly their only consolation, because Long, a Manhattan ship broker, is the world's most successful ocean-racing skipper. Between 1960 and 1967, Long and his 57-ft. yawl Ondine logged 150,000 miles, entering 66 races that ranged in distance from 19 miles to 3,190 miles --and winning 44 of those races either outright or on corrected time. That Ondine, rechristened Severn Star, currently serves as a training boat for cadets at the U.S. Naval Academy.

Long now has a new Ondine, a 73-ft. 6-in. ketch that is the prettiest, most opulent and--on the chart of her first two races--the fastest-racing yacht on the high seas. Last February, in her competitive debut, Ondine clipped two hours off the course record for the Buenos Aires-Rio run, covering 1,200 miles in less than 190 hours. Two weeks ago, in the 635-mile Newport-Bermuda race, Ondine was becalmed for twelve hours, but still led the 151-boat fleet across the finish. Her time--83 hrs. 12 min.--was a full hour faster than the second boat. Strictly for Power. Unlike most ocean-racing yachts, which are designed to compete on corrected rather than actual time (under a labyrinthine handicapping formula), Ondine is built strictly for brute power. "The only things we're trying to prove," says Long, "are that we can finish first and break records doing it." And hang the expense. Designed by Long Island Architect William Tripps, Ondine has a hull and masts entirely constructed of aluminum; her rigging is stainless steel. It takes 27 winches to handle her 2,900 sq. ft. of sail--including two huge Graydon Smith "coffee grinders" that are improved versions of those used on last year's America's Cup winner, Intrepid, and cost $20,000 apiece. Ondine has two cockpits (to keep other crewmen from interfering with the helmsman), and just about every navigational device short of radar: VOR, Loran, ADF, four wind indicators. Sailing Ondine takes a total crew of 20, including a professional captain, a ship's doctor (who doubles as cook), an engineer, a navigator--Long himself-- and 16 deck hands who work in shifts or watches of eight at a time. "Logistics are a substantial problem," admits Long. "Just feeding 20 people and arranging for stores and spare parts is an awesome task." But when it comes to creature comforts, life aboard Ondine is luxurious indeed. The boat can sleep 14 at one time, and all cabins are heated and air-conditioned. There are two showers (one freshwater, one salt) and a genuine Finnish sauna bath-- which, when unoccupied, is used for drying spray-drenched clothes.

The creature least comforted by those luxuries is Owner Long whose total investment in Ondine is estimated (he is not saying) at $500,000 to $1,000,000. Long's chores keep him below decks much of the time, poring over charts-- an occupation that undoubtedly contributes to his mal de mer. "I don't see how Huey enjoys sailing," says an Ondine deck hand. "He's seasick all the time. During the whole Bermuda race, he only ate a couple of pieces of bread and drank a little water."

With the schedule Long has planned for Ondine, he had better corner the Dramamine supply. Last week, only days after the Newport-Bermuda contest, Ondine was racing again, on a 3,700-mile course across the Atlantic to Travem"unde, Germany--a voyage that will take most of a month. After that, it's off to the Pacific for two more long races. What makes Huey sail? Publicly, he talks like John Masefield. Privately he admits: "My only fun is winning."

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