Safe Harbor Dauntless

Very nice people Bathroom clean Stayed on a mooring Essex is quite nice

Just a great place to enjoy a peaceful atmosphere. Rachael is a great doc master.

Helpful, professional staff. Founds well kept, and clean. Restaurant is excellent

Rachel was very accommodating for our need of a mooring ball close in as our outboard was not working. We very much enjoyed our time in Essex waiting for hurricane Lee to pass. I would have given 5 stars but the hot water in the showers was on warm.

2nd year now we have spent the weekend at Dauntless. Great spot to spend the weekend. Nice people good time! Great staff, clean showers… close to town. We will be back

We had a wonderful stay (on our very first Mooring Ball visit) at Dauntless Marina! The staff was friendly and super helpful! We used our own tender to get back and forth from land and docked on the dinghy finger. The proximity to town is delightful...just steps away from The Griz! And of course no trip to Essex would be complete without an ice cream cone from Sweat P's! And the weather was outstanding (in the 70's) and even cooler at night. Very quiet and peaceful! Thank you for an outstanding experience!

it was very quite and a nice spot on the mooring. The cold showers was not ideal, not sure why there was no hot water.

Great location, convenient launch service, friendly staff

nice little marina....great staff....beautiful bathrooms

Good communication. Launch was free and timely. Staff were super friendly.

Helpful, courteous staff. Extremely picturesque town with restaurants close by. Currents in river will sometimes run opposite the wind, so you may want to rig your own bridle to fit your boat so that the mooring ball doesn’t end up somewhere under the hull. Worth the effort, though. Also, weekday experiences on the river always far superior to weekend experiences.

The staff here is excellent. They are very pleasant, friendly, attentive and most of all competent! They don't wait to be asked, they look for ways to help. The only negative was no hot water in the showers.

Got a mooring where we wanted Launch driver was friendly Great time and perfect weather

Excellent service provided by Hamilton, Olivia, and one other young man. They were all very helpful, prompt and very good launch handlers. We enjoyed our stay.

Very nice staff. Very close to town.

Staff was extremely helpful and attentive. Location just a short walk from the village was perfect… thx!

Nothing but good to say about our stay on a mooring here. Will definitely stay here next time we visit Essex.

Great location, great staff, friendly neighbors. Had a blast getting to know the quintessential New England town of Essex.

Everything was great!

Overall it was fine. The young women launch drivers and on the fuel dock were wonderful. But I could not find the launch hours on your website and no one answered the listed phone number. For the significant price increase for our mooring to 80.00 a night (we stayed 4 nights) I would think the launch would run later than 9pm weeknights. We had family here from out of state and we had to cut our visit short because the launch only ran until 9. I also looked on the website for contact email or to leave a message but nothing was available. Thank you

Beautiful harbor, friendly staff and great amenities. Great town to walk around. We thoroughly enjoyed our stay.

Very nice and accommodating. Good albeit brief visit. Friendly and helpful staff

Very nice facilities, great locker room, pleasant staff....good launch, moorings need work..

Excellent service and facilities just very over priced for transient mooring. We have never paid over 40 even in resort towns like Martha’s Vineyard or bBlock Island.

Harbor launch crew is friendly and helpful. Lovely shower facilities.

Excellent stay, as always.

Just very easy. Dinghy dock is close, launch service is nice, easy to throw out trash.

We enjoyed being out on the water and the staff were very helpful

Great crew and staff.

Dauntless: Staff are excellent and very friendly. Facility is always spotless. We make a point of staying here at least once or twice each season. Very comfortable evening. Bill

Marina was excellent, trouble with mooring because of current in river.

While the launch driver was very nice, I was not impressed with the manager. We asked to be moved to another mooring closer to our friend's boat and were told by the manager that they could not do that. Now they have 15 transient mooring listed and there were only two boats using the moorings all weekend. Plus, the current is very strong where we were moored, and it was difficult to pick up the mooring. I also asked if I could come into the service dock for water and was told I needed to check with the manager who was not available. While I saw regular customers using the service dock, it appears that this facility caters to their regular customers and has little to no interest in transient customers. I would not suggest this facility for an enjoyable stay in Essex.

Two nights on a mooring while attending the CT Sea Music Festival. Helpful staff. Launch operation until 11pm Fri & Sat allows enjoying the concerts to the end and leisurely walk back.

Nice location. Friendly and helpful staff. Essex is a charming town.

We stop at Essex every year and love the marina and staff including the village of Essex. This Fall we were delivering a boat from Annapolis, MD to Portland, CT. I told the boat owner we should stay at the marina allowing everyone some needed rest and long hot showers. I was very disappointed to learn there was no hot water because the propane delivery was delayed for several days. Had I known we would have anchored and saved the mooring fee.

essex harbor is spectacular in the fall and the amenities were first rate - great access to all restaurants

Launch driver, gas attendant and manager were all friendly, welcoming and knowledgeable. Launch driver went out of his way to be helpful and was a great conversationalist. Very pleasant experience.

We had a lovely stay! My wife cracked a rib leaning over the pulpit to grab the pickup on the mooring, and the very nice launch operator stopped by to check on her. What a nice man!! The younger launch operators were very friendly and helpful as well!!

Always a pleasure - Cy and his staff are always professional and friendly. We visit every year.

Fine facility, welcoming and helpful staff.

Launch driver was great. Very nice and efficient dock staff on the fuel dock. Great location, short walk to town. Will definitely stay here next trip to Essex.

Quiet, not crowded, and beautiful. Easy walk to Gris and other restaurants. Great launch crew and never had to wait more than a few minutes. Bonus was $3.35/gal for diesel.

We've traveled to Essex by car a couple of times for the Seven Seas Cruising Association Gam; it's nice to finally arrive by our boat!! The staff is pleasant, helpful, and very capable. The facilities were very clean; the main dock has everything there for your convenience. Essex itself is stunning. Go visit the museum, the shops, enjoy the wonderful dining options, and if you time it right...music in the park!

Always nice. Facilities are clean and staff is really helpful.

Always a pleasure. Very personable dock and launch staff, nice showers and laundry.

Great service. Calm harbor. Essex is beautiful and the people are very nice. The employees were all so helpful and polite. TIP: they have laundry at $5.00 a load (wash/dry) but you need quarters! Bring a few rolls with you if you plan to use this service. They were not easy to acquire.

We took a mooring so comments apply to the mooring side. Launch runs until 9 p.m. now on weekdays. Wifi is adequate (3 or 4 mps) on near mooring we had. Competent dock and launch staff. New (to us) showers, head and laundry are very nice. Over and under laundry machine does not allow dryer and washer to work at same time. Altogether good experience.

Wonderful! Clean private showers. Nice staff.

Very nice, well managed, and clean marina. It was a perfect vantage from which to explore Essex. The launch crew were prompt, efficient, and polite. Highly recommend.

Would recommend...excellent location.. Very friendly staff..launch service is prompt and included in mooring fee.. Will definitely visit again next year ..

Upon arrival the dockmaster answered the VHF instantly and described the mooring location. I was amazed the mooring rates were such a value. We did not use the launch, but it seemed to respond to others quickly. The facilities very good. We spent a quiet first night and it is interesting to watch the strong current move the boats against a fair breeze all around. We took a walk around town the next day and made arrangements for takeout from Sirens, a restaurant on Essex Island. The food was good! I hope they stay it is easy to reach by dinghy, and with COVID nice to bring it back to the boat. In the evening the wind picked up from the NNE and with a pretty good fetch upriver the mooring area got a little bumpy. However, good visit.

Wonderful Staff...they guide you to your mooring. The Marina is in an amazing location, for nature photography. There is everything: jumping bass, bunker, herons, swans, seagulls, cormorants, and many Osprey. This is a gorgeous Marina!!

Beautiful facility with incredible views of the CT river. Friendly and attentive staff, charming village. We will be back.

Lovely stay in Essex! Facility was clean, well maintained and friendly staff. Laundry facilities are lacking though with only ONE WASHER & ONE DRYER!

First class secure friendly clean marina facility equal to the best on the East Coast. In an idyllic country setting with splendid vistas. Has all the amenities with courteous office, dock and service staff. Most attractive facility on the CT River equal to the best in New England. A secure “hurricane hole”. Just a few steps from Essex - the premier CT River town with a notable history. Those who visit for a “short stay” tend to stay quite a while ! Some time for years.

We have stayed many times and always a good experience. The code to the showers and heads in the welcome email was incorrect so you should check with staff first. That may mean walking out the dock as the office is closed in what seemed like a Covid precaution.

We had a very pleasant 3 night stay at Safe Harbor Dauntless on a mooring. The Dinghy Poker Run activity was a lot of fun!

Another enjoyable visit. The staff was pleasant, engaging and helpful in every interaction. Esuring set up was appropriate, safe and allowed for easy options for all we needed. Location is wonderful of course.

Wonderful people. All went as planned. Facilities were very clean. Looking forward to going back after the town opens up more.

We were promptly greeted by Cy and he brought us to a mooring. The launch was quick to pick us up and bring us back to the boat when we called. Showers and bathrooms were well lit and spotless. This was a great location to be close to downtown shops and restaurants. We stay at Safe Harbor Dauntless every fall. Great place, and great staff!

Great stay! Great staff! Clean, up to date facilities. Great launch service. What more could you ask for?

Great staff. Very accommodating, and anice experience overall.

Great location on the river. Directed to a mooring by the launch. Launch driver made sure the pennant was clear of tangles. Prompt launch service. Fuel dock easy to approach and dock hands helpful with lines. Fuel, water, and pump out at the dock or call CT pumpout boat for service at the mooring. Laundry and showers available.

Everyone treated us so well. What a great time we had. The club, the town, the pool. Amazing.

Absolutely great! Highly suggested stop.

Great location. Launch service excellent

Worst marina experience we've had in 18 years of boating. We booked a transient reservation to stop overnight on way to winter storage. I checked the website to verify it was a deep water marina -- we need 5' 3" -- and they list 11 feet. I called ahead to verify the pumpout was working to avoid a $150 fee for pumping it out after hauling. As we are backing out of the slip the shipyard employee yells at my wife on the helm that she'll run aground if she back to the right (the logical way), and then continues to mansplain to how to manuever the boat (she's been doing this for 18 years). When we get the dock he says "Oh the pumpout is broke." When I asks what he suggests we do, he says "Should've pumped out yesterday," which wouldn't have worked since we stayed on the boat overnight. --- Update: Manager of Essex facilities reached out to me following review and has offered a future night stay as compensation and agreed to address the employee behavior (turns out we could have gone to the Dauntless Shipyard facility for the pumpout).

Great staff. Very personable. Everything is ship shape and very punctual.

Launch service was great with friendly helpful staff. Mooring was near Essex Connecticut Museum. Showers were clean. Took taxi to Essex Steam train for ride up river and ferry to Gillette Castle. Griswalds Resturant is walking distance with great food.

We got fuel here and were assigned our mooring ball by the woman who gave us fuel. They were helpful, telling us about local eateries and they had a launch service that only ran until 9:00 p.m., and so we chose to use our dinghy to go to dinner in town. It was a short walk to town from this marina.

Very accommodating. Great launch service

Excellent service. After hailing them on Channel 68 they immediately sent launch to guide us to our mooring which was well maintained amd had a large pennant. The restrooms were lean. The young staff was cheerful and offered to help with everything.

One of our favorite stops. Excellent, clean facilities and a friendly, helpful crew.

We had not been to Brewer Dauntless for three years but nothing had changed. Everyone was just as friendly and helpful as they were before, with the same harbormaster and the same great launch service. Hope to don't have to wait another three years before we make it back!

Brewers Dauntless in Essex is a beautiful, well maintained marina. Great facilities. We met wonderful neighbors at our slip and enjoyed a night out with them. We are looking forward to returning in July.