The heart of Chicago finally has a new marina, capable of accommodating a range of yachts to 183-foot (55.8-meter) megayachts. Just in time for the summer, the Navy Pier Marina has officially opened alongside the renowned landmark bearing the same name.
Dating to 1916, Navy Pier has seen military use during both world wars and transformed into an entertainment space. In fact, the ChicagoFest summer-music festival from the late 1970s into the early 1980s helped attract visitors from around the country. A reconstruction project in the early 1990s led to the addition of the equally iconic Ferris wheel. Known as the Centennial Wheel, it complements art installations, a museum, shops, restaurants, and more. Visitors also flock here every Fourth of July for the fireworks display over Lake Michigan.
Megayachts such as the 198-foot (60-meter) Blue Moon have frequented Chicago over the decades, docking elsewhere in the city. Notably, the idea for Navy Pier Marina—Chicago’s only dedicated transient marina—first came up in 2015. Randy Podolsky, a local developer, proposed it. “Ever since I began boating in 1983, I’ve felt Navy Pier was the ideal site for a marina,” he says. Bureaucratic and political red tape, though, led to delays.
The north side of the pier, where the marina sits, already benefitted somewhat from a large rock breakwater. However, wave action and wakes could still enter, creating uncomfortable chop. Therefore, the facility includes a 300-foot-long (91.44-meter-long) concrete wave-attenuating breakwater. A wave fence is in place, too. These protect the floating aluminum docks further sitting against the pier itself.
Overall, the marina offers short-term and overnight dockage and is pet-friendly. While it has power and water hookups, pumpout services, wifi, and 24-hour security, it doesn’t offer on-site fueling. This is due to an adjacent water-treatment plant.
“We have built a truly great marina where recreational boaters can finally experience everything Navy Pier has to offer,” Podolsky says.
Navy Pier Marina navypiermarina.com
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