Essex Island Marina: July 24th & 25th, 2009
Posted: Mon Aug 25, 2008 7:57 am
Last year we did a day stop at Essex Island Marina http://www.essexislandmarina.com and liked it but it was too short a visit to appreciate the place. So this year we stayed at EIM for four days and we absolutely loved it.
Although Montauk was a place of strong interest, I had been to Montauk enough to agree with all points made by John/jointventure (see “Location” topic) and figured after my 4 days at EIM I’d have a better feel for the comparison of the two.
For our purpose, EIM is perfect. It’s a “resort” atmosphere as opposed to “nice marina” atmosphere like most place.
As explained in the “Location” topic there is a large pool with plenty of lounges, covered deck area with a ton of tables & seating, bbq's with tables & chairs in all parts of the marina, deck shuffleboard, horseshoes, gameroom, billiards, ping pong and an adult lounge. The heads/showers were clean & plentiful.
The ferry off of EIM ran 7:30AM to 11:00 PM when we were there Mon-Thurs, may be later on weekends. It runs continuously and there is no charge. The Main St town is right there when you get off the ferry and offers numerous shops, a grocery market, coffee shop and two pub/restaurants, the Black Seal and the Griswold Inn. http://www.griswoldinn.com The Griswold is a B&B so if there are any roadies or guests this can be quite accommodating.
We kayaked around the island with the girls and caught some catfish off of the floater. There is also a great swimming hole, Hamburg Cove, just up the river. We took a ride approx. 9.5 miles up the river to the East Haddam Bridge and passed Gillette Castle & the Goodspeed Opera House.
There is a breakfast & lunch cafe on the island which also includes a mini grocery store. However, with all of the grills available and the conveniece of town we did not eat or shop at the cafe.
After 2008’s Northern location it was agreed to bring this years event to the South. Geographically, EIM is a fine central location for CT, NY & RI and not too far south and west for those from MA, and beyond, or even NJ.
So when I was checking out of EIM I asked to speak to the reservationist who handles group events. I was surprised to see how many events were already booked for 2009 and learned to find out that many groups are booked 3 years in advance.
For reasons explained in “Location” and in order to keep the group together as opposed to scattered and fit in all around the marina, I have reserved an entire floater/basin for the Fri & Sat, July 24th & 25th.
There is absolutely no commitment or any financial obligation at this point in time. Therefore, seeing how the owner’s group weekends were starting to fill up I felt it was best to secure our spot. I reserved the “B” floater with an estimated 15 boats to be attending. I will adjust the count if needed but wanted to keep the number hopeful, yet realistic. The “B” floater is the furthest North on the cove side of EIM. Therefore the boats back up to a beautiful view.
Hopefully getting this on everone's calender well in advance will keep away those conflicting commitments....
Here are some photos and please post some feedack. (All positive feedback will be welcomed, all negative feedback will be deleted
)
Overview of “B” Floater Basin:
View behind the boats:
Additional dockage alongside basin that also include elec/water:
Several grills, tables & chairs near “B” floater:
More grills, tables & chairs and shuffleboard at poolside:
Pool area:
"The Deck" reserved for AOG Sat night:
Adult lounge:
Game room w/ping pong, pinball and video games:
Ferry:
Although Montauk was a place of strong interest, I had been to Montauk enough to agree with all points made by John/jointventure (see “Location” topic) and figured after my 4 days at EIM I’d have a better feel for the comparison of the two.
For our purpose, EIM is perfect. It’s a “resort” atmosphere as opposed to “nice marina” atmosphere like most place.
As explained in the “Location” topic there is a large pool with plenty of lounges, covered deck area with a ton of tables & seating, bbq's with tables & chairs in all parts of the marina, deck shuffleboard, horseshoes, gameroom, billiards, ping pong and an adult lounge. The heads/showers were clean & plentiful.
The ferry off of EIM ran 7:30AM to 11:00 PM when we were there Mon-Thurs, may be later on weekends. It runs continuously and there is no charge. The Main St town is right there when you get off the ferry and offers numerous shops, a grocery market, coffee shop and two pub/restaurants, the Black Seal and the Griswold Inn. http://www.griswoldinn.com The Griswold is a B&B so if there are any roadies or guests this can be quite accommodating.
We kayaked around the island with the girls and caught some catfish off of the floater. There is also a great swimming hole, Hamburg Cove, just up the river. We took a ride approx. 9.5 miles up the river to the East Haddam Bridge and passed Gillette Castle & the Goodspeed Opera House.
There is a breakfast & lunch cafe on the island which also includes a mini grocery store. However, with all of the grills available and the conveniece of town we did not eat or shop at the cafe.
After 2008’s Northern location it was agreed to bring this years event to the South. Geographically, EIM is a fine central location for CT, NY & RI and not too far south and west for those from MA, and beyond, or even NJ.
So when I was checking out of EIM I asked to speak to the reservationist who handles group events. I was surprised to see how many events were already booked for 2009 and learned to find out that many groups are booked 3 years in advance.
For reasons explained in “Location” and in order to keep the group together as opposed to scattered and fit in all around the marina, I have reserved an entire floater/basin for the Fri & Sat, July 24th & 25th.
There is absolutely no commitment or any financial obligation at this point in time. Therefore, seeing how the owner’s group weekends were starting to fill up I felt it was best to secure our spot. I reserved the “B” floater with an estimated 15 boats to be attending. I will adjust the count if needed but wanted to keep the number hopeful, yet realistic. The “B” floater is the furthest North on the cove side of EIM. Therefore the boats back up to a beautiful view.
Hopefully getting this on everone's calender well in advance will keep away those conflicting commitments....
Here are some photos and please post some feedack. (All positive feedback will be welcomed, all negative feedback will be deleted
)Overview of “B” Floater Basin:
View behind the boats:
Additional dockage alongside basin that also include elec/water:
Several grills, tables & chairs near “B” floater:
More grills, tables & chairs and shuffleboard at poolside:
Pool area:
"The Deck" reserved for AOG Sat night:
Adult lounge:
Game room w/ping pong, pinball and video games:
Ferry:
