Where the big kids play.
It’s Saturday morning and we are on a mooring here in Sag Harbor, “the” harbor in The Hamptons, where the big money plays and play they do.
Sag Harbor has been off limits to us or many years as the harbor has the distinction of being the most expensive place on the east coast to get a mooring, even more expensive than Nantucket. The moorings here are $2/ft per day. So, for Pandora’s 47’, that would be close to $100 per night and we’d still have to make your way ashore in a rubber dink. Horrifying.
However all is not lost. Essex Yacht Club maintains two moorings here in the harbor so we can camp out here for a few days and we don’t have to pay anything for the privilege of being here. Well, we don’t have to pay till we go ashore at least as nothing is free in this town.
However, I think it’s safe to assume that we are about the ONLY ones not paying, and I am sure that they are plenty happy to pay big for the privilege of “being seen” among the “glitterati”, the “who’s who” of New York Society and entertainment.
The local “rag” Dan’s Papers, lists benefit events being held and there are literally dozens each month, offering many opportunities for the 1% set to show that while they don’t pay taxes, they are willing and able to support any number of causes and happy to be seen doing it. I’ll bet that this area is the ONLY one in the U.S. where there is a local paper that actually lists the top billionaires that keep a home here, include their picture, the name of their “current” wife, note what they paid for their home and how much they are worth.
Want to know who’s the “fairest” of them all? Well, it’s Mayor Bloomberg at a cool, make that a very cool, $48.3 billion and his home here is a 22,000 sq/ft on 35 acres. You should feel sorry for Lloyd Blankfein, the CEO of Goldman Sachs, as he’s only worth a paltry $1.1 billion. Poor Lloyd.
Anyway, no shortage of folks with plenty of green to spend and spend it they do. Poor little Pandora among the big kids. And, some of the “kids” look pretty grown up to me.
How about this one? She carries her own Mini, complete with the name of the yacht, Indiscretion on the side. 
I’ll bet that it’s safe to say that their dink has more HP than the Mini. “Honey?” “Yes, Buffy, what is it?” “Oh, I think that our Mini looks just adorable aboard Indiscretion but I just don’t feel comfortable as it was your ex that chose the color”. “That’s nice honey but can we talk about it when I’m finished reading Baron’s?”
And the “dinks” on some of these “megas” are quite impressive. If Darth Vader wanted one I’ll bet that he’d pick this.
How about this lovely? She’s well into the “mega” range and yet has the lines of a small sport boat. Note the crew on the bow. They look totally teeny tiny up there. I’ll bet her “carbon footprint” could squash a billionaire like a gnat. 
However, all the yachts here aren’t “mega”. How about the latest in a line of beauties owned by Billy Joel, Argos. I recognized the guy who takes care of Billy’s boats from an article I saw a few years ago in Soundings, a boating newspaper. Billy has very nice taste in boats. 
From any angle.
Scout, which I have seen in Newport, is a beauty. Yes, I’d enjoy a G&T aboard her.
And, if you can’t afford MEGA you can always put mega HP on your micro yacht. This one has 1,400hp. I’ll bet that she can outrun all but the fastest 1%.
In the parking lot near the marina there are some very nice cars that fit just fine in the neighborhood. Love these two, the Aston Martin and the beachy thing. Note the mega hydrangea behind them. It seems that flowers love the climate here too. 
The florist in town was getting ready for the weekend. All of these phalaenopsis orchids were in a room that said “all the flowers in this room are sold”. White sells well here.
Not to worry, there were plenty still ready for you to take home. 
The staff had to work out on the front lawn to arrange all the flowers that had been ordered. There were many dozens of red rose arrangements being prepared for just one Friday night party.
I don’t know anywhere else that celebrates white like the Hamptons. We saw a number of stores that only had white. It’s tough to be a “mega consumer” so one less decision about color is a big time-saver. 
While it wasn’t white, a very nice mega planter in downtown Sag Harbor. I wonder what the statue guy thinks of what Sag has become? I’ll bet that he wishes he had held onto the property he owned longer so he could afford something mega himself. 
Nice view down main street for him though. 
And speaking of flowers, which I sort of was, we rented a car and drove around and visited some wineries. Along the way we spied this amazing field of sunflowers. I nearly rear-ended someone who had stopped to take a photo too. 
No, we hadn’t had too many tastings, not yet anyway. I’ll admit that we visited our first winery before noon. But, it was only a very little taste. Ok, it was just a little tastes of five different lovely whites. Just five or was it ten sips? Whatever… Besides, we had to be absolutely certain that we liked it.
It was also good to confirm that the wines were made in a very clean winery. Love the stainless. 
No dirty wooden barrels in sight. 
What a relief. We only drink hygienically made wine, of course.
“Look Brenda, I’ll bet these are wine grapes!”
We drove along the south fork, up the north fork, took two ferries across Shelter Island and back to Sag Harbor. 
Let me tell you, it’s the most expensive per mile of any ferry that you will ever take. Each ride takes less than ten minutes, including docking. Total, one way, $30
Impressive? Don’t forget “if you have to ask what it costs, you can’t afford it”. Well, I can for one day. After that, not so sure. We stopped for yet another glass of wine at this lovely hotel on Shelter. What a spot. 
Can’t recall the name but where else can you have two glasses of wine on a lovely afternoon and spend $40, with tip of course? However, if you are willing to have sparking water, it’s only $10++. Such a deal.
Yes, Sag Harbor is a very nice spot indeed and it’s fun to be here hanging out with the big kids even if we only sort of fit in because EYC maintains a mooring here. Well, I expect that there are plenty of others that only look like they fit in.
Tonight, dinner at the American Hotel. In the garden room…of course. 
After that, well, we’ll be out of money and have to head home. Yes, this is indeed the playground of the “big kids” and I while I have more in common with the “little people” I do have a boat. Besides, my mom has always told me that I’m big and not even a little bit grey.
Thanks mom…
There is an amazing amount of hand labor that goes into one of their boats. Each little piece of fiberglass is hand cut and put into place. 
Interestingly, they don’t steam bend any materials, even the most complex curves. This was our guide explaining the way that they form the most demanding shapes using very thin veneer type “flitches” with glue between each “slice” and then they clamp the glued up part into a special form and left there until the epoxy sets. Don’t try this at home. Well, you could actually. The concept is simple, but like much in life, complicated to do when you get right down to it. 
Many of the most complex assemblies are cut out on a computer controlled milling machine. This is a remarkable piece of work, the dashboard to go into a 
And, speaking of Picnic Boats, and they coined the name, even Martha Stewart has one. Reportedly, this is a shot of her cockpit. 
Her boat is a lovely tasteful light green. Would you expect anything less from the “queen of style”? Personally, I was hoping for a more “stylish” photo from Martha herself. I snagged this from a 2010 post on a blog that she keeps. I wonder if she employs someone to write her blog. 
Anyway, I digress. Back to how they make these beautiful boats. Where was I? Oh yeah, about making parts with a computer controlled milling machine. As I was saying, even parts with very complicated compound curves are possible. It would take days to carve something like this out by hand. And they can make a shape like this out of most any material, granite, plastic and metal along with wood. 
These are port hole trim pieces. There is no way that an owner would be capable of maintaining a boat with this much wood unless they never used the boat and kept it under cover all of the time. Even then, I doubt that anyone would be willing to take the time to keep it just so.
Even keeping the cabin sole in this sort of perfect condition would be tough.
I don’t know how many coats of varnish they use. Our guide described the number of coats of varnish needed as “enough”. These doors clearly don’t have enough quite yet. 
Notice the sign on this boat under construction.. “no shoes on board”. For some reason, even when I ask, most guests aboard Pandora seem to forget that street shoes are for streets. To me, boat shoes don’t belong on Pandora if they have been worn on shore. Perhaps Pandora just doesn’t look yachty enough. This one clearly does or at least the Hinckley folks think so. I expect part of it is that if things get messed up they have to fix it themselves. Perhaps I should hand a vacuum cleaner to anyone that tries to come aboard with shoes. 
Each job has to begin somewhere. The interior panels are composite materials to keep weight low. Pandora’s interior is constructed in the very same way. It makes a very sturdy, light but very expensive boat.
Then all of the interior is put together and finished prior to the deck being put on. That makes sense as it makes moving things around much easier than having to cram everything in through the cabin door or through a hatch. They also make sure that there is a way to get every piece of equipment out of the boat for repair down the road. I recall trying to get an old water heater out of my Tartan 37 and having to cut the tank up to get it through the aft hatch. Ditto for fixing a leaky water tank. I had to cut the bunk open with a saw. Not a very elegant process on a “yacht”.
They swear by the water jet propulsion system. It’s a hallmark of Hinckley. Certainly in Maine, with all those lobster pot buoys, it’s good to avoid the exposed propeller. Their “jet” propulsion is made by Hamilton Standard. I can only imagine what these cost.
Curious how one of these pumps work? Hamilton Standard, the author of this video, is happy to share. The entire video may be more than you want to know? It’s probably better for inquiring minds, like mine. Some remarkably beautiful engineering goes into the boats. I don’t know how this swim platform/boat lift, works but it sure looks complicated. I think it folds onto the upper platform with the steps in the inset section. You tell me.
When it’s all done and finished with it’s sea trials, the boat goes back into the shop for a final “million dollar paint job” as they call it. I wonder how long it takes for a new owner to give it a first scratch. Alas, not to worry, if you can afford a Hinkley, you can afford to have it fixed.
On the last night of our cruise, we enjoyed a jacket and tie affair. I was ready to go and sporting one of my favorite bow ties as documented by my crew Rodney. Don’t I look like a guy who should have a Hinckley? Never mind, Pandora can outrun most any of them. 
Well, not every one. This new Hinckley 50 design would certainly leave me in her wake. 
Sadly, in spite of many boats under construction at the shop, every last one was a powerboat.
The table was set up banquet style and was beautifully appointed with decorations evoking Cuba. 
What a lovely view. 
Pandora wasn’t alone looking fabulous in the sunset glow. I just love this lovely yawl. However, I can’t say that I have ever seen her off of her mooring. She’s a looker to be sure. 
It was an intimate gathering and everyone seemed to have a great time. I was touched that they paid a “pretty penny” to raise funds for the museum and came out on a sultry summer night to hear our story. 
All and all it was a perfect evening and one that Brenda and I were honored to be a part of it. Oh yeah, and nobody fell asleep during my talk. Whew!