DAN'S PAPERS, February 22, 2008 Page 15 www.danshamptons.com
East Hampton’s Loss EH Says No to Big Art Boat, But Sag Harbor Says Yes. Here June 26-29. By Dan Rattiner What will surely be the largest private yacht to ever visit Sag Harbor, the 250-footlong SeaFair, will be right in the center of town at the end of Long Wharf between June 26 and June 29 this summer. The arrangement was announced by Mayor Greg Ferraris of that village. SeaFair, although built as a toy for a billionaire, is now owned by a Florida corporation that uses it to go from wealthy resort to wealthy resort, where, for a few days, the public is invited on board to view it and at the same time purchase highend art, jewelry and antiques that are for sale. Wherever it goes, it is accompanied by a 100foot-long support yacht containing, among other things, inventory. Also, a private dinner is served on the yacht daily. Wherever they are, the owners invite up to 350 dignitaries to dine aboard. In the past, attempts to bring this yacht to the Hamptons have been met with stiff resistance. It has never been clear whether the SeaFair will be an attraction bringing more commerce to the Hamptons or a distraction that brings crowds of people who wind up taking more money away from the Hamptons. The SeaFair was purchased by the Miami
Beach corporation in 2003 and applied in 2004 to come to either East Hampton or Sag Harbor. At the time, East Hampton Town passed a law specifically prohibiting the Yacht from coming here. Also, at that time, Sag Harbor Village, by voice vote, rejected the application of the SeaFair. Apparently, however, the SeaFair, as a concept, is a really good idea. During the past few years it has achieved considerable success,
Mullen and McCaffery, which is based in the Springs. And they put together two proposals, one for East Hampton, which was their preference, and one for Sag Harbor. In the opinion of this newspaperman, the one for East Hampton was a real knockout. The SeaFair would dock at Gann Dock in the Springs on Three Mile Harbor for three days. This is a large dock in a quiet marina away from the center of town that has plenty of parking, is owned by the Town and administered by the Harbor Police. Several fishing draggers dock there. It would inconvenience the draggers if the SeaFair came. But other accommodations could be made for them for the few days, all but one of which would have been on a weekend when they were often idle anyway. SeaFair, in exchange for permission to visit, would not only pay a dock rental, but would organize tours of artists studios in the Springs, offer lectures on art appreciation and education, donate $10,000 to the Artists Alliance of East Hampton, $10,000 to Guild Hall, $100,000 to the Town’s fire departments and, most interesting of all, $40,000 to the Town for the cost of the Grucci fireworks display that, for each of the past 31 years, has been set off from a
Aprivate dinner is served on the yacht daily. Wherever they are, the owners invite up to 350 dignitaries to dine aboard. visiting ports such as Miami, Greenwich, Charleston and Manhattan. And they have never given up on finding a place to dock somewhere in the Hamptons, which is, of course, the crown jewel of all the resorts in the world. So this year they tried again. And, as Mayor Ferraris said, they’ve gotten their act together. They hired the local public relations firm of
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