Safe Harbor Essex Island & Dauntless Marina

Dock
$5.85/ft

Mooring
$85

Day Trip
First-Come, First-Served

11 Ferry St
Essex, CT 06426

Check-in after 01:00 PM
Check-out before 11:00 AM

+1 860-767-2483

VHF 9

Book faster with the free Dockwa app

406 Reviews

by Art Z. - Verified user on Oct 13, 2024

Essex Island is a special place, a unique cruising destination, where everyone does whatever they can to make your stay enjoyable. Thank you Adam and crew for all you do.

by Thomas M. - Verified user on Oct 11, 2024

Nice marina. Easy in and out and Essex is a terrific little town.

by Peter B. - Verified user on Oct 06, 2024

Staff very friendly and helpful. Had a fantastic time

by Jeffrey Z. - Verified user on Sep 29, 2024

Excellent help at the dock, the facilities are gorgeous!

by Richard W. - Verified user on Sep 29, 2024

Enjoyed our short stay. Nice facility. Will be back next year!

by Paul P. - Verified user on Sep 29, 2024

Excellent stay, staff was amazing.

by Christopher F. - Verified user on Sep 17, 2024

Everything was great

by ALFRED F. - Verified user on Sep 16, 2024

Marina was great. The showers could use an update or at least a good cleaning.

by Kenneth W. - Verified user on Sep 15, 2024

Guest boats are crammed together. Biting bugs all over the place. Internet was down "because a rat chewed through the wire."

by edward h. - Verified user on Sep 15, 2024

Dockmaster Adam was great as well as his assistant. Had great location to dock. Only issue was wifi was not available seems raccoon ate the wires.

by John P. - Verified user on Sep 13, 2024

Fabulous! The staff was very accomadating and friendly. Thank you

by David l. - Verified user on Sep 13, 2024

Very friendly Clean Helpfull

by Drew D. - Verified user on Sep 12, 2024

Another great stay ! Dock hands were excellent , clean grounds and fantastic location.. Dinner at Noah’s was good . Love it here and one of our yearly must visits.

by Andrew B. on Sep 11, 2024

Marina was in great condition and staff were kind and helpful

by Terri R. on Sep 05, 2024

I would give 6 stars if allowed. They do everything right. They accommodated our request for a T head . Showers are terrific. The grounds and amenities are spotless. The staff is professional and very responsive. And the Dauntless Boatyard was terrific. We had to have some repairs done and they were prompt, professional and did exactly what they promised. The marina is set on a lovely little island accessible by a ferry that runs all day and takes about a minute to downtown Essex.

by Kevin T. - Verified user on Sep 03, 2024

Mooring far from town. Out near channel in unprotected water and wakes. Not happy for the premium price paid. Launch service was fine .

Marina Response:

We’re sorry you were unhappy with your visit. Moorings are assigned on a first come, first serve basis and assignments are determined by the size of the boat and what moorings are available with an anchor best suited for the safety of the vessel. We do our best to accommodate change requests but are not always able to do so depending on the volume of transients and the size of those vessels. We appreciate your feedback and hope you will give us another try on a quieter weekend.

by Joseph W. - Verified user on Sep 02, 2024

Another nice stay! Very quiet on a weather-challenged Labor Day Weekend. Staff very attentive and friendly.

by Anne - Verified user on Sep 01, 2024

Service was excellent, and friendly

by Charles M. - Verified user on Aug 30, 2024

We stay here every year for the beautiful, immaculate grounds and amnenities. The staff are friendly and knowledgeable, and you have access to the quaint town of Essex. Can’t ask for much more than that!

by Gennady M. on Aug 28, 2024

Our favorite place in Long Island Sound. Very helpful people, great mooring field, very cute New England town. Everything walking distance. We visit every year and never disappointed. Recommend totally!

by Gary G. - Verified user on Aug 27, 2024

Having stayed at Essex Island as a kid nearly 40 years ago, I wanted to bring my family there for their first boat trip. We were not disappointed. Excellent radio communication prior to check-in, helpful and friendly dock staff, and super clean, convenient facilities made our trip wonderful. We enjoyed our meal at Siren, used the pool (cold but clean!), took advantage of the convenient ferry service into Essex village, where even our dog got a treat from the ferry operator, and sat around the fire pits and hammock playing lawn games. All in all, we couldn’t have had a better experience. We fueled up at Dauntless prior to our arrival and the staff there was friendly and helpful as well. We took a few day excursions by boat up to Gillette Castle and Hamburg Cove and the dock crew was always there to help cast off or re-tie us at the dock. Thank you for a memorable stay! I assure you it won’t be 40 years before our next visit!

by Jennifer O. - Verified user on Aug 27, 2024

Beautiful facility. Would definitely return.

by Joe A. - Verified user on Aug 26, 2024

Nice,pleasant staff. Beautiful grounds. Nice dockage, will go back next year.

by Paul j. - Verified user on Aug 26, 2024

Staff was superb, marina was very clean

by Jon S. - Verified user on Aug 26, 2024

Henry and crew did a great job. Very friendly and accommodating. I was glad to see that the restrooms were spotless once again.

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About Safe Harbor Essex Island & Dauntless Marina

PLEASE NOTE

We have merged Dockwa profiles and Safe Harbor Dauntless + Safe Harbor Essex Island reservations will ALL be made through Safe Harbor Essex Island. That includes ALL moorings + slips for Safe Harbor Dauntless. Though we share a Dockwa profile for the purposes of reservations, access to amenities is limited to the location you've requested your reservation--transients at Dauntless Shipyard and Dauntless Marina do not have access to Essex Island amenities.

*For mooring reservations at Safe Harbor Dauntless, please make them here and be sure to select 'mooring' from the drop down when making your reservation. Also, please make a note in your reservation that you are requesting a mooring.

*For transient slip reservations at Safe Harbor Dauntless, please make them here and be sure to select 'slip' from the drop down when making your reservation as well as adding in a big note stating your request for a slip at Safe Harbor Dauntless.

Safe Harbor Essex Island is a true boating retreat for rendezvous gatherings, yacht club festivities, and more. Quietly placed on its own 13-acre island, Safe Harbor Essex Island is a waterfront destination for locals and cruisers alike. Unwind by the oversized pool, enjoy a game of volleyball with family, or explore the vibrant village atmosphere in nearby Essex.

ALL special requests (slip preference, boats you are traveling with, special electric needs, handicap needs, boat accessibility, etc.) NEED to be told to marina staff BEFORE your arrival. Day of arrival changes/add-ons may not be able to be accommodated. Thank you!