Sep
19
The Stamford Advocate
More from Greenwich
Mega-yacht prepares for guests, fundraisers
By Donna Porstner
Staff Writer
Published September 19 2007
STAMFORD - A floating art and antiques emporium is docked in the city’s South End while a crew prepares for its first show in Greenwich next week.
Dealers from New York, London, Paris, Munich and elsewhere around the world are setting up shop on the SeaFair Grand Luxe in coming days to prepare for its maiden voyage.
The custom-built 228-foot mega-yacht is at Brewer Yacht Haven Marina through Sunday, when it will move to Greenwich for the first port of a four-stop fall tour. The boat will dock behind the Delamar Greenwich Harbor Hotel.
David and Lee Ann Lester of Bonita Springs, Fla., veteran art and antique show organizers, said they have launched their new company, Expoships LLC, to bring the best of the world’s artwork, collectibles, antiques and period jewelry to collectors’ back yards.
“We’ve taken the business that we used to be in, which was art and antiques fairs, and put it on the water,” Lee Ann Lester said.
The couple founded the Palm Beach International Fine Art & Antiques Fair in 1997 but sold it in 2001.
Visitors to the Greenwich show, which will run Sept. 26 to Sept. 30, can expect to find first-edition books, Art Deco furniture, tapestries and Chinese porcelain.
“Each month, we change out the dealers,” Lester said. “Some will stay on; others will not.”
The Lesters sunk more than $30 million into the Grand Luxe, which has two deck bars, a restaurant and 28 exhibit booths for dealers. It’s the first of five boats that SeaFair ships has planned. The yacht is accompanied by a smaller boat that houses its 60-person crew.
The boat is expected to visit 36 affluent Eastern U.S. communities each year.
Charity events and fundraisers are planned for nearly every port the Grand Luxe enters, including two benefits for Greenwich’s Bruce Museum next week. Proceeds from a black-tie dinner aboard the boat Tuesday, tickets start at $1,000, and a cocktail party Wednesday, tickets start at $250, will benefit its education programs.
Former White House chef Walter Scheib, who has cooked up culinary creations for Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, will cater both events.
Mike Horyczun, the Bruce’s director of public relations, said the fundraisers coincide with the opening of the museum’s exhibit “Contemporary and Cutting Edge: Pleasures of Collecting, Part III” on Sept. 29. The exhibit will feature works from about 40 private collections, including the personal collections of several Greenwich residents.
Visitors who want to board must apply to become a member of the SeaFair Society at www.expoships.com.
There is no cost to join, though reservations are required just like when boarding an airplane or cruise ship because of federal regulations, Lester said.
From Greenwich, the antiques boat show will set sail for Port Washington, N.Y., and New York City, before returning to Fairfield County next month when it will dock at Norwalk’s Veterans Memorial Park.
The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk will unveil its new master plan during a cocktail party for supporters aboard the boat Oct. 17.
Copyright © 2007, Southern Connecticut Newspapers, Inc.