For a Group of Hardworking Designers, Serena & Lily Hosts a Summer Sunday Cruise

Designer Nathan Wold heads for the boats—cap, towels, and sunscreen at the ready.

Designers Iris Dankner and Jen Going, with Scott Formby in the background.

Designers Milly de Cabrol, Ani Antreasyan, Elizabeth Dow, and Tom Samet.

Lunch fixings included shrimp and mini lobster rolls from the Seafood Shop in Wainscott and slices of fresh watermelon.

The boats were dressed to the nines in Serena & Lily’s fabrics and soft goods, as well as tableware and serving items.

Lunch fixings included shrimp and mini lobster rolls from the Seafood Shop in Wainscott and slices of fresh watermelon.

An American flag waving in the wind as the designers got ready to set sail.

The designers set off on two Hinckley yachts (one 36 feet long, the other 44), part of a fleet of vessels owned by Barton & Gray Mariners Club, a private yachting excursion club founded in 2006. The company runs 12 yachts out of 13 harbors along the Eastern Seaboard—from Nantucket to Greenwich to Sag Harbor to Miami—and uses only Hinckley yachts, either the Picnic Boat or the Talaria. “These boats are custom made in Southwest Harbor, Maine, and are top of the line,” says Wil Lockman, director of business development for Barton & Gray Mariners Club. The Down East–style lobster boats are powered by jet drives instead of standard propellers—almost like big Jet Skis—and don’t lie as low as traditional craft. Because of this design, it’s easier to pull into knee-deep water if passengers wish to board or disembark—or just take a quick swim on a hot summer day.

After meeting at the Sag Harbor Cove Yacht Club, the designers divided into two groups and boarded a pair of Hinckley yachts belonging to Barton & Gray Mariners Club, then set off on their lunchtime cruise.