THE RISE OF LIFESTYLE CLUBS

THE RISE OF Members-only meccas for enthusiasts on land and sea LIFESTYLE CLUBS

Kids enjoy a familyfriendly private outing aboard a Barton & Gray Hinckley Talaria.

Celebrated Miami chef Brad Kilgore oversees the Concours Club’s flagship restaurant, Verge. Buildings at The Concours Club, Miami’s new luxury autoracing club, were designed by DMAC Architecture.

Wby Shaun Tolson WHETHER YOU PREFER a coastal escape on a captained yacht or slipping behind the wheel of a sportscar to race on a professionally designed track, there’s a lifestyle club that caters to your favorite pastime. Thanks in part to the sense of safety that comes with exclusivity, leisure-focused clubs where the affluent can indulge their passions—and share them with fellow enthusiasts—are gaining popularity. Elliman explores some of the best.

Barton & Gray cruises allow ample time for a swim or snorkeling.

Barton & Gray’s Celebration, a 36-ft. Hinckley Picnic Boat, accommodates six passengers.

Barton & Gray’s Surfside, a 44-ft. Hinckley Talaria, seats 12 passengers.

SMOOTH SAILING

Fifteen years ago, Tim Barton and Doug Gray combined their love of boating with inspiration from the emerging private aviation industry. The result was Barton &

Gray Mariners Club (617.728.3555, bartonandgray.com), a membership club dedicated to the boating lifestyle, one centered on a fleet of Hinckley motor yachts and Picnic Boats—elegant and timeless cruisers whose beauty has captured the attention of nonboaters for decades and whose performance, maneuverability, and build quality have long enticed experienced sailors.

The club began operating from a harbor in Nantucket but over the years has expanded along the East Coast and into the Great Lakes. Barton & Gray now operates out of five New England harbors, eight ports of call around New York and Long Island Sound, and 11 harbors along both coasts of southern Florida as well as three mid-Atlantic ports and two harbors on Lake Michigan. Its fleet has increased yearly and now includes more than 60 vessels. Soon to come are two custom-built, 48foot Hinckley Daychasers—vessels designed specifically with members’ use in mind.

Barton & Gray currently serves more than 600 members—and the club continues to expand by about 30 percent every year. Growth comes predominately through referrals and word-of-mouth advertising. Part of its popularity stems from the fact that it delivers all the perks of boat ownership without the hassles—a membership experience that easily sells itself, with annual dues ranging from $39,500 to $114,500 (based on the level of membership), along with a $20,000 initiation charge.

“You get to spend a day on a million-dollar vessel and not have million-dollar headaches every night,” says Douglas Elliman’s Michael Lorber, a longtime member who grew up sailing 13- and 15-foot powerboats. “When I joined Barton & Gray, I was living in Nantucket for the summer and going back and forth to New York City. As a member, I could go boating for three days and then not think about it or worry about it.

Champagne and refreshments are offered onboard.

“We’re an extension to a living room cocktail party.”

— Jonathan Jenkins, senior vice president at Barton & Gray

Lustrous teak decks, comfortable seating, and libations invite members to enjoy a blissful afternoon on the water. The stage is set for a private picnic on a secluded beach.

“Boating is a very stressful thing,” he continues. “They always say the best two days of boat ownership are the day you buy your boat and the day you sell it.”

Despite that sentiment, Lorber’s experience with the club recently motivated him to become a Hinckley owner himself. “Being a Barton & Gray member for years was like getting a master’s degree in ownership and maintenance for a Hinckley,” he says, explaining that the club’s captains are both adept at sailing the boats and willing to share their knowledge with members. Although Lorber stepped away from the club during his first year of boat ownership, he has plans to renew his Barton & Gray membership this season, since the price of membership rivals the cost of transporting his boat to Florida and maintaining it there during the winter.

Whether it’s sunset cruises around Manhattan, dinner trips from Miami to the Florida Keys, or excursions from Naples to Marco Island for beachside lobster boils, the experiences that Barton & Gray members enjoy on the water are what make the club unique. “This is a way for members to entertain their friends and family on the back of our Hinckley boats,” says Jonathan Jenkins, a senior vice president at Barton & Gray. “We’re sort of an extension to a living room cocktail party. It’s an extremely convenient way to boat.”

Members can drive their own vehicles or choose one from the club’s fleet.

Members can store their sportscars in a private garage onsite or drive to the club. Above: A Ferrari passes the guardhouse.

“It’s a who’s who of the Miami car culture.”

— Aaron Weiss, Concours Club president

RIGHT ON TRACK

Around the same time that Tim Barton and Doug Gray were conceptualizing their boating model, the notion of exclusive automotive and driving clubs began to gain momentum. The Monticello Motor Club, located about 75 miles north of Manhattan, was among the first. Since then, a slew of others have popped up at private racetracks around the country, including The Thermal Club in Southern California, about a two-hour drive east of Los Angeles.

The newest contender in this category, The Concours Club (theconcoursclub.com), has in many ways raised the bar for what an exclusive driving club can be. The club’s revolutionary impact begins with its location. Set 20 minutes north of downtown Miami and adjacent to an executive airport, The Concours Club offers something no other driving club can match: accessibility. While travel times to popular motor clubs in New York and California can approach two hours by car or an hour by helicopter, Concours Club members who live in Miami can be onsite in less than half an hour. Alternatively, those coming from farther away can step off their private jet and be sitting in the driver’s seat of their highperformance sportscar at the club within minutes.

“We have a custom app that is a single touch point for our members for anything that they need related to the club,” explains Aaron Weiss, Concours Club president. “It offers them automatic access through the front gate, and it alerts our computers that they’re onsite. If their preferences are already set, we’ll have their car ready for them and in a pit lane so they can get right in the car and go.”

The circuit itself is equally advanced when it comes to technology. The two-mile-long, 46-foot-wide track was built to the standards and specifications of the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA)—the

The track provides seven configurations and multiple elevations.

global governing body for motorsports—and it offers multiple configurations with various elevation changes. Even the driving surface is unique: It was constructed from a custom asphalt mix engineered to excel in South Florida’s climate. “We’ve attained that coveted characteristic of high grip and low tire wear,” Weiss says.

The circuit is also digitally marshalled, which means electronic flagging software assesses the activity on the track at all times and warns drivers in real time of any accidents or issues on the circuit ahead that require cautious driving. Additionally, vehicles are equipped with GPX Stream live camera systems that allow the club’s instructors to coach drivers in real time without being seated in the passenger seat. Such a system produces greater and faster progress for drivers of all ability levels.

Elsewhere, the club’s flagship restaurant, Verge, is overseen by Chef Brad Kilgore, named the “best new chef in America” by Food & Wine magazine in 2016.

A limited number of founding memberships at The Concours Club have already been sold, and there is now a waitlist for aspiring automotive enthusiasts yearning to join. Currently, the cost of membership is available upon request and is likely to increase as the club puts the finishing touches on new amenities, including private member garages, which will be completed during the next phase of construction.

“It’s a who’s who of the Miami car culture,” Weiss says of the club’s founding membership rosters, “and those private garages are going to create a small village of auto memorabilia where members can open their garage doors and mingle with other like-minded individuals in the paddock, the restaurant, and on the circuit itself.”

The Concours Club’s Pininfarina motorsports events center

Sushi from Verge

The club offers plane-side dropoff and pickup.