This report includes the name of the deceased, death/notified date, obituary
copy (if available) and next of kin (if known).
As your Alumni Records contact in the Alumni Association, I can help address
any questions or updates you may have about class affiliations, address
records, deceased alumni, etc.
Thank you keeping your classmates connected to MIT.
Sincerely,
Kimberley B. Balkus
Director, Alumni Records
MIT Alumni Association
600 Memorial Drive, W98-2nd Floor
Cambridge, MA 02139-4822
Phone: 617-253-8272
Fax: 617-252-1641
Email: kbalkus@mit.edu
Website: http://alum.mit.edu/
Deceased List for Class Year: 1947
---------------------------------------------------------------------------Death Date: 20111204
Notification Date:20120926
Last Name: Long
First Name: Sumner
Middle Name: Adam
Preferred Mail Name: Mr Sumner A Long
Spouse Last Name: McDonnell Long
Spouse First Name: Suzanne
Spouse Middle Name:
Spouse Preferred Mail Name: Ms Suzanne McDonnell Long
Committee: 1ERE - Fund Reunion Gift Committee,3HOE - Corp Visit Comm Ocean
Engrg,,,
Year of last known address: 2012
Last Known Home Address:
21 Wyngate Road
Greenwich, CT 06830-4032
Obituary:
Source: http://bermudasun.bm
Notes: Sumner "Huey" Long, an international yachtsman, shipping executive,
and winner of every one of the world's most challenging and dangerous ocean
races, died of lymphoma on Dec. 4, at age 90.
Creating a succession of hi-tech racing sailboats named Ondine, and spanning
the decades from the 1960s to the 1990s, Mr. Long won every major ocean race
in the world, including the Transatlantic Race on four occasions (a record),
the Bermuda Race (establishing a course record), the Sydney-Hobart Race
(establishing a course record), the Fastnet Race, and the Buenos Aires-Rio
Race (also establishing a course record).
Ondine II was the first all-aluminum ocean racer ever built. A 57-foot yawl
designed by Bill Tripp, she went on to win races against much larger
opponents, sometimes due to clever innovations by Mr. Long. One of these, an
ultra-heavy spinnaker, almost caused a mutiny when in a 50-knot Atlantic
gale, Mr. Long fought with his crew to get it raised, earning him the title
of "a modern day Captain Bligh" by Sports Illustrated. A subsequent yacht,
Ondine VII was designed somewhat ironically, by a first cousin of Che
Guevara named German Frers, a renowned designer from Brazil. That yacht won
the first Maxi Yacht World Championship in 1985, held at Newport, Rhode
Island. In that event, Ondine VII was victorious in the first on-the-water
protest hearing ever held, a practice that is now standard in world-class
match racing events.
Mr. Long helped boost the careers of many aspiring world class skippers who
crewed for him, including Ted Turner who went on to win the America's Cup in
1977, Bill Koch, the brother of David and Charles Koch, who won the Cup in
1992, and Mr. Long's son Russell who, under his father's guidance,
introduced corporate sponsorship to the Cup event, and became the youngest
American skipper in Cup history.
Long, the son of Lithuanian immigrants, was raised in Boston where his
family started a jewelry business. He graduated from Brookline High School,
received an appointment to the Annapolis Naval Academy, and after serving as
acting chief officer on a merchant marine vessel in World War II, received
degrees from Kings Point Merchant Marine Academy and the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology. This led to a career in shipping and ultimately
established Mr. Long as one of the most successful tanker brokers in the
world. Among his clients and friends were Aristotle Onassis and many other
prominent ship owners.
Mr. Long, who also had a reputation as somewhat of a bon vivant, would often
entertain celebrity guests on his yachts, some of whom crewed for him in
major ocean races. These included HRH King Harald of Norway (who was
addressed by the crew as "Harry the Hat" for the wide brims he wore to
protect his pale skin), HRH King Olav of Norway, HRH Prince Albert II of
Monaco, HRH King Juan Carlos of Spain, The Aga Khan, Teddy Kennedy Sr. and
Jr., and beauty queens such as Miss Australia and Miss Sweden. Mr. Long's
last boat, a 105 footer named Ondine VIII, built in 1988, was considered at
the time one of the world's most elegant sailing yachts, was co-owned with
Charles Evans, founder of Evans Piccone and the producer of Academy Award
winning film, Tootsie.
Mr. Long is survived by his second wife of 30 years, Suzanne McDonnell Long,
his sons Harry and Jack Long, and Russell Long, from his first wife, Jane
Bagley Lehman.
A memorial service will be held for Mr. Long at Kings Point Merchant Marine
Academy at 2 p.m. on Saturday, January 7.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------