Freedom Boat Club opened new locations in Stratford and Branford, Conn.
The additions bring the number of Freedom Boat Club facilities in the Nutmeg State to six. Five are based in Brewer Yacht Yard Group marinas, which are now part of the Safe Harbor Marinas group.
Freedom Boat Club franchise owners Richard Cromwell of Rhode Island and Peter DeVilbiss of New York teamed up to jointly open the new locations. The new clubs will officially open on Monday for the 2017 season and will launch with three new boats each, according to Cromwell and DeVilbiss.
The new models will complement the 20 club boats already based in Connecticut. Boat brands featured in the state’s clubs include Key West, Starcraft and Cobia.
“Strong demand for club expansion by Connecticut boaters has led to the launch of these new locations,” Cromwell said in a statement. “We are very pleased to facilitate and accommodate the growth in these key markets and are happy to base our operations in conjunction with Brewer’s marinas, which are undisputed industry leaders.”
“It’s great to be part of a strong growth organization and to see the continued expansion of the boat club model in today’s sharing economy,” said DeVilbiss, who opened an additional club in Long Island this year. “We’re looking forward to welcoming new boaters and seasoned boaters alike to our new locations and expect this to be a very robust season of boating activity.”
The new clubs are based at Brewer Stratford Marina in Stratford and at Brewer Bruce & Johnson’s Marina in Branford.
Freedom Boat Club President and CEO John Giglio praised Cromwell and DeVilbiss, saying they “bring a great deal of experience in owning and operating successful boat clubs, so we are very pleased by their collaboration and partnership on these new locations in Connecticut. The combination of their leadership, coupled with club locations in prime marina facilities, offers a win-win for boaters in these markets.”
Freedom Boat Club is the largest and oldest boat club in North America, with more than 15,000 members boating out of 130 franchise and corporate-owned clubs in 23 states and Canada.
