14 • March 11 - 24, 2016 • The Log


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NEWPORT BEACH — Mary Longpre has never been one to shy away from difficult situations. In 1957 it was the male surfers who tried to scare her away by flipping her off her board and telling her to go home. In her later years she and her female crew had to deal with sarcastic comments from male sailors displeased with women making their entrance into the racing scene.


“They were angry. There


were three to four guys that didn’t take well to any woman being out there let alone a whole boat full,” said Longpre. “I was used to that behavior.” Longpre, who celebrated her


73rd birthday on Feb. 14, was not deterred from the sport despite the pushback from some sailors. She simply persevered —


and showed the men not to mess with her and her crew. “One guy kept taking advan- tage because he knew I was too nice and wouldn’t do anything when he would come in on port, knowing starboard has rights,” she explained. “After three to four years of this behavior I threw up my protest flag.” As if being protested by an all-female crew wasn’t enough, the boat responsible for the infraction had to spend the rest of the race watching the protest flag flap in the breeze. The flag? A bright red 44DD bra. “He wouldn’t talk to me for a


good year,” she said proudly. Longpre’s ability to over- come difficult situations and stand her ground in uncom- fortable interactions has allowed the Balboa Yacht Club member to pursue what she loves. When she was told she couldn’t surf because she’s a girl, she simply kept showing up at the beach and hitting the waves. When some boaters told


“I’ve always liked photography but never took any classes in it,” said Longpre, who worked for Surfer Magazine after high school. “I just thought why don’t I take pictures for my friends when I don’t go out racing and started doing that.


Sailing Like A Girl


Mary Longpre pursued her love of sailing despite taunts, scare tactics.


Longpre Pontiac. “Bob was always off sailing on the


weekends and I was still stuck at home with the children all week and week- end,” said Longpre, “so finally I said ‘I want to learn to sail’ so I can get out there.”


Longpre’s early sailing


experiences echo those of many female’s first entrance into the hobby in 1978: they spent more time in the galley making lunch than they did actually sailing. It was not until she and a


group of five all-female friends took the boat out on their own that they really got to sail. “We were all kinda tired of our husbands yelling at us on the boat,” she said. “An all female crew gave me an opportunity to be with some of my girlfriends and gave us a platform to learn how to sail.” Bob gifted Mary his


Schock 525 so she had a ves- sel to learn and race on. “I didn’t take classes; I


learned from Bob and the girls I would bring along to sail with me,” said Longpre who was a member of Bahia Corinthian Yacht Club at the time. “I studied the rules and talked to people at the yacht club.”


Longpre raced the Schock 525 for five years before Bob surprised her with the ulti- mate gift on Thanksgiving Day in 1983. She was a little skeptical when she noticed a boat making its way to her dock, she recalled. Then she realized the Schock 30/30 was a present for her. “I was so excited I said the


heck with Thanksgiving din- ner,” she said, ditching the turkey roasting in the oven and the mashed potatoes on the stovetop to take the boat for a motor in the harbor. Valentine, named in honor


By Ambrosia Brody


her she didn’t belong out on the water; to go home and cook something, she said, “dinner’s already cooked; I made sure that was done before I came out racing today,” and continued on the course. That’s why it’s not surprising that when Longpre discovered a new passion for sailing photogra- phy several years ago despite not holding much experience in the field, she jumped in headfirst.


Mary Longpre has traveled to Melbourne, Australia to take photos of the Festival of Sails. The longtime racer will be shooting the Baldwin Cup in April


“Then I started getting calls from


The Log and Santana and other publi- cations. It became a real passion,” she added.


Longpre’s entrance into photogra- phy is similar to that of sailing with the 28-year Balboa YC member commit- ting to reading up on the hobby, listen- ing to others and learning by doing. “Now I go all over the world doing


photography,” she said. The seasoned racer, who grew up in


Orange County where she surfed at local surfing hotspots, did not get hooked on sailing until she married husband, Bob Longpre, owner of Lexus of Westminster and former owner of


of Longpre’s birth date, has served as her racing boat ever since. She estimates racing close to 55 races a year back when her calendar had less photogra- phy and travel-related commitments. “I love ocean racing,” she said. “You can get out there and really run.” Longpre’s racing knowledge has helped her photography, specifically when she’s on media boats. “Being a racing sailor myself as a


photographer I feel what’s going on and I understand what’s going on and I can anticipate what might or might not happen. And that’s given me a big edge over some of the field photogra- phers,” she explained, as many times the photo boat captain will ask the media where they would like the boat to be positioned.


Mary Lngpre photo


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