Atlantis Marina slips back into full service

The new boat slips at Atlantis Marina in Winthrop.

By Seth Daniel
For the Transcript

The lost marina of Atlantis has resurfaced.

As boating season begins this month, residents of Winthrop and the surrounding area will have a new option when looking to dock their boat – a new option that is quite old.

The new-look Atlantis Marina is back up and running this season in full force and the new management is looking to lease or rent slips on the state-of-the-art facility. They’re now hoping to bring back Winthrop boaters.

“This is the first season we’ll be open in earnest since the development,” said Dustin DeNunzio, manager of the marina operations. “This has been a marina for a long, long time, and when we developed the units in 2007, which we finished two years ago, we emptied out the marina…We hope all the people who used Atlantis Marina for a long time before will come back and make it their home once again.”

The marina is the site of an historic boat works, Reid & Son, that put out boats from Winthrop many years ago. After that, it became the old version of Atlantis Marina.

A few years back, the marina developed several residential condominiums in a brand new building located on the front of the site, currently known as the Residences at Atlantis Marina. While the condos are located basically next door, they are separate from the marina and Harborwalk section of the development.

The new marina has four docks that contain 91 slips of varying lengths.

Boaters who do return, or who engage the marina for the first time, will notice a big difference – modern facilities with a traditional look.

The marina offers state-of-the-art electric service at each slip, new plumbing, brand new pilings and on-site management. Former customers may also recognize one familiar face, that of Frank DiBicarri, who will coordinate the marina’s operations on a day-to-day basis.

And for this first season, they’ll be offering slips at a rock bottom price, anywhere from $69 to $89 per foot, depending upon boat length and services needed. They also can accommodate larger boats and already have an 80-footer docked on the marina.

“We do have the lowest price anywhere,” said DeNunzio, noting that the Atlantis ownership also owns the Crystal Cove Marina located on the other side of town. “We want to get our customers back. We’ve had a ton of interest so far, and the people who rented here for years are coming back. We want to offer an incentive for them to come back, so we’re very reasonably priced…You get, by far, the best product out there now because there aren’t any other brand new marinas. The price is also right.”

One of the big draws to Atlantis Marina is its location on the western shore of town. Because it is located in a deep water cove, things are a little calmer than at other marinas in Winthrop or Boston Harbor. Some have even said that in a northeaster, the area is as calm as a pond.

“We have very deep water compared to other marinas,” said DeNunzio. “All the other marinas have shallower water, and they can’t accommodate the bigger boats. This is also a very protected marina. You don’t have the waves or rocking that occur at many other marinas and that can damage your boat. That’s made Atlantis very appealing to people in Boston who have expensive boats and don’t want the rocking that you get in Boston Harbor.”

They also offer free parking for marina customers in the open lot behind the residential units. Additionally, the ownership has created a Harborwalk – as mandated by the state from most waterfront developments – and it is quite a setting to enjoy a sunset or a view of the Boston skyline. The Harborwalk is open to the public, and DeNunzio encourages neighbors to come down and enjoy a stroll or spend some time on the benches.

“It’s really a nice place to be in the summer months,” he said. “We’ve gotten a lot of interest so far, so we do expect a much busier boating season than in the past few years [when gasoline was much more expensive]; and we think it will only get better…This is a big deal for Winthrop, just knowing Atlantis is up and running again.”