BONITA SPRINGS, FLA.—Neither record snows, nor rain, nor three hurricanes could stop the inaugural sail of SeaFair’s Grand Luxe in September—though, admittedly, these challenges caused some scheduling delays.

An ambitious concept, this art-show-at-sea is a custom-designed, 228-foot yacht (below) housing 28 gallery spaces and hosting four- and five-day, ultra-luxe “lifestyle event” exhibitions at select East Coast ports. As veteran organizers of 44 art fairs, principals LeeAnn and David Lester enlisted dealers, lured top-tier chefs and researched locations, using their industry knowledge and contacts. Nature put their lack of shipbuilding experience to the test, however. “The construction schedule was launched just before Katrina,” says LeeAnn Lester. “A train-load of steel hull segments sat on the tracks outside Baton Rouge for eight days. Behind that came Wilma, and before that, Rita … then, we had two of the coldest winters on record.” The ship was built at Whidbey Island, Washington.

These challenges haven’t diminished the excitement surrounding SeaFair’s maiden voyage, from Greenwich to South Norwalk, Connecticut (Sept. 25 to Oct. 21). “I think it’s going to break the boundaries of the art fair world,” says Michael Goedhuis of Goedhuis Contemporary in London. “This was molded to attract the ‘young wealth’; to bring the best dealers to the greatest nuclei of wealth.” Among the items presented at this floating art fair are Alexej von Jawlensky’s “Madame Slutzkaja,” 1918, from Galerie Thomas, and a Georg Jensen Monumental Centerpiece, c. 1920s, from The Silver Fund.

Eleven more voyages are planned through July 2008. Because Grand Luxe has a capacity of 600 people, attendance is invitation-only. With 12,000 square feet of gallery/event space, two restaurants and an international fine art focus, SeaFair updates the traditional fair concept. “We’re like a theater, with a changing array of attractions and dealers,” says David Lester. For more information and a detailed schedule, visit www.expoships.com.