Fractious seas foil grandma’s ride

Deirdre Newman

While some 86-year-olds may look upon hydro-foil water skiing as some

newfangled sport for young whippersnappers, Mary Murphy embraced it.

Her son Mike invented the signature unit for hydro-foil water

skiing, known as the Sky Ski. The sport involves sitting on a seat

and holding a rope to steer, while your legs are attached to a small

ski.

For Mary Murphy, hydro-foil water skiing isn’t just a hobby, it’s

an attempt to set records. On Wednesday, the Los Alamitos resident

attempted to achieve a 23-mile, nonstop, open ocean endurance run

from Long Beach Harbor to the Newport Beach Pier.

Unfortunately, the waves were not cooperating.

Rough conditions limited Murphy’s run to half of her intended

goal, but that didn’t dampen her spirit. She received the red-carpet

treatment at Newport Dunes by Newport Beach City Councilman Steve

Bromberg. Then, she and Bromberg hopped into an amphibious cherry red

Camaro, like James Bond and one of his female cohorts off to nab a

villain. The Camaro cruised into the bay so Murphy and Bromberg could

cut the ceremonial ribbon for the opening of the Southern California

Marine Assn.’s 2004 Boat Show.

“It was very exciting,” Bromberg said. “Twenty percent of our

population is 60 or older. Mary has raised the bar for all of us. She

is definitely an inspiration and we had a lot of fun.”

Murphy has been drawn to water sports since she came out with her

family to California around 1952, she said.

“We stood at the ocean and watched the boats,” she said. “It

looked like fun. We bought a little kid boat. That was the

beginning.”

She has the natural elegance of Katherine Hepburn and her slender,

strong physique belies her 86 years.

The great-grandmother of three learned to water ski first and has

been doing it for 48 years. She has been using a hydro-foil water ski

for about 10 years.

The feeling of using a Sky Ski is hard to describe, she said.

“The first sensation is ... something different,” she said. “It’s

out of this world.”

She already set a record in 2002 for the fastest and longest

distance ever traveled nonstop on a hydro-foil water ski. She skied

from the fantail of the Queen Mary in Long Beach Harbor across the

rough channel waters to Avalon Harbor on Catalina Island and returned

-- a distance of 62 miles -- in five hours and 17 minutes.

On Wednesday, Murphy was foiled by the 4- to 6-foot swells and

rode back most of the rest of the way in a boat navigated by her son

to the Dunes. She did have one extended run near the Newport Pier.

Wearing a multi-colored swim cap, a purple wetsuit and black gloves,

Murphy glided like a queen atop a parade float with a demure smile on

her face.

“It was rough, but I feel great,” she said back on the shore of

the Dunes.

The 60-degree water temperature didn’t bother her at all, she

said.

“I think I don’t think about the weather at all, I just enjoy the

ride,” she said. “If it’s cold, I wouldn’t notice it.”