The Peconic Baykeeper and Waterkeeper Alliance threw a first class event, Benefit for the Bays, aboard the 122-foot yacht luxury yacht, Mariner III, in Sag Harbor as a storm threatened to descend on the festivities. The benefit celebrated Baykeeper’s 15th anniversary raising awareness and funds to keep “local and international waters swimmable, drinkable and fishable.” Guests explored the 1926-built, all teak ship owned by Sean Kennedy and based at Chelsea Piers in New York in the summer and West Palm Beach in the winter.
Nattily attired in an octopus tie, Phil Smyth, recently joined the Baykeeper’s board because he believes that “the watershed is the number one issue on Long Island.” South Shore Bays, he says, are in trouble with brown tides killing off shellfish. “Our aquifer is an incredible resource.”
Atlanta surgeon Heather Richardson flew in to attend the event. On the Baykeeper board of trustees, Richardson believes that the Peconic Bay is an integral part of the Hamptons community that is often overlooked. The Baykeeper, she says, provides “a voice for the silent waterway – the plants, animals and water” that are being threatened.
The cocktails and a one-of-a-kind three-course cruise dinner was created by Michelin starred chef, Gustav Tragardh, of the internationally renowned Swedish seafood restaurant, Sjomagasinef and sponsored by the Swedish Culinary Group. Wonderful auction items were featured, including travel packages to Sweden as supporters sipped local wines and Xante.
For more info go to: peconicbaykeeper.org
By Debra Scott
Photos by Lauren Clarke-Bennett
