Scene at the beach in front of the Crow’s Nest Hotel on Saturday (photo: Steve Eichner)

What does Chanel have in common with lobster rolls, french fries, and American volleyball? Basically nothing, until you consider  surfer Laird Hamilton, the brand muse behind the new Chanel J12 marine watch. To fete the very Yankee association, a Chanel-themed beach party enlisted Hamilton, his wife volleyball champ Gabrielle Reece, and a good smattering of movie stars including Angelica Houston, Richard Gere, and Rachel Weisz at the Crow’s Nest Hotel in Montauk. With socialites, artist filmmaker Julian Schnabel, Jimmy “Margaritaville” Buffet, and several guys in checkered shirts mixed in, if it weren’t for the Chanel surfboards — that were quite cool — you’d swear that Ralph Lauren had presided here instead of the French luxe house.

By twilight, the celebration became a cocktail swilling benefit dinner for the Surfrider Foundation, which preserves the ecosystem of beaches; and the fare turned from fries and seafood salads to steamed clams and grilled peaches. If only they gave away those black and white Chanel surfboards, it would have been a perfect day! I could totally ride one of those babies in a pair of Hudson denim shorts!

Movie stars chow down on beach food in Montauk (photo: Billy Farrell)