Island Harbour, IOW

T

TheCoach

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Hi,
we are in the process of selling/moving house and have been looking at the possibility of picking up a marina property with mooring.

Went to look at Island Harbour a week or two ago when on the IOW and quite liked it. I know a few on here have moored/have berths there and just wondered what it was like as a long term berth/base
- what's access like (tidal lock, queues etc)
- what's the trip down the river to Cowes like - does it become a faff or just a nice relaxing start/end to the day
- any experience of marina facilities/boatyard - friendly and helpful or........;)

Also I realise its less likely but anyone have any experience of actually living here?

We had also considered Port Solent but pretty close to motorway etc and Hythe which is nice but pricey. Island Harbour seems reasonable prices if you don't mind being "on the Island" :)

Cheers,

TC
 
I guess access depends on draft of your vessel? We have been in their in 1.85 and could squeeze in at just under 2m but doubt much more. Can you live in the marina properties full time ? Having grown up sailing a centaur from the folly never found the trundle down the medina a particular issue from folly but we had all states tide whereas island harbour is tidal so I guess it depends on your sailing time as to whether being locked in is a pain or not. Much like staying at Bembridge marina. My impression is facilities in boatyard are well regarded by locals. There is a medina mariners association who go by MMA name so one of their members might be a good source of info.
 
Only visited by boat in August but the trip up the river isn’t particularly long and we found it enjoyable. Access is tidally restricted so whether that and the river trip is seen as a faff or not depends on personal perspective I guess, but it wouldn’t put us off.

The location is pleasant and there is a nice walk one way along the river to Newport (which wasn’t particularly pleasant) and the other way to the Folly Inn (which was pleasant but not what it was in days of old apparently).

Behind the restaurant is what I assumed were more houses in build, but it turns out that the developer went bust and they have been left to deteriorate - a bit of a mess unfortunately. There are some occupied places next to them but the derelict site and the ventilation from the restaurant would put me off living at that end.

The main housing area looks nice enough but we didn’t get close as it is gated. Obviously no idea what living there would be like.
 
Re Island Harbour

The boat yard, Richardsons, is well regarded locally, and probably the best chandlery on the Island by some distance . They‘ve looked after my boat, and my parents, well, and try and go the extra mile. A good attitude.

For some reason Island Harbour and to a degree Folly Reach, is a wind hole - can be clam elsewhere but always seems to be blowing old boots! And inside Island Harbour is the only place I’ve ever known a boat stop short of the pontoon due to winter ice - guess there must be some fresh water In the mix.

The Breeze restaurant serves a good, if slow, meal.

And you’ve got the Spice Bus. So tell me what you want. what you really really want?
 
We live there, not ashore mind but quite a few do and afloat (but limited in numbers). word is the unfinished building area is because the developer took all his workers and gear off to build halls of residence on another project with penalty clauses. H avs noticed a bit more work has started very rcently. maybe only now build to order? The posher end have berths included I believe. It is a lovely location, misses most of the really heavy rains. We have no transport but Newport is but 2.5 mls away by bike, taxi or shank's pony. The boatyard and Richardson's are excellent, well stocked chandlery and small grocery/provisions area. The lock is not a real pain and free flow allows easy peasy transit, In gales, being behind the gates is good. Annual rates are probably the best in the Solent and the staff by far the most friendly and helpful. The Breeze onsite bar/restaurant is ok, gourmet pub style, though mostly we order in takeaways delivered if celebrating or I (head chef) feel lazy. The water is brackish behind the lock gates so anodes tend to last longer and bottom stays a bit cleaner longer. The spice bus is set up as a holiday rental and is quite popular. Correct comment above about the winds funnelling, we are close to the lock area and known as windy corner, that is gusty not wavy though. IHYC membership is cheap and open to all and gets discounts at the bar and Richardsons chandlery.

Island Harbour Marina – A Unique Waterside Lifestyle
IHYC – For all who love boats and the sea
 
That's great, thanks all for the replies, really helpful.

@Robin are you liveaboard or just living locally if you don't mind me asking?

We would be looking at the original development of town/terraced housing rather than the new apartment builds. Had a walk around the site when we were down and it seemed very well looked after and quite quiet when the rest of the Island was still busy with tourists.

I am presuming there is a lot of holiday properties and it is less occupied during the off season - would this be fair?

The properties all seem to come with 10 - 11m moorings - not sure how "strict" a measure that is or if there are options to upgrade the size of the mooring but will find that out as the investigation goes on.

Don't seem to be that many come up for sale each year, although this year has seen more than most it looks like.

Cheers,

TC
 
We live aboard, don't know much re the original housing area. As I understand it some homes have full residential status some are holiday homes, if you goto the website it has a marina map showing berth sizes, residential ones may be different sizes, not sure. We occasionally see big boats 15m + in our end. Off season is very quiet as in lockdown except for lots of walkers starting their 'walk' from here, same with cyclists. Busiest time if for the IOW Festival (cancelled this year) as this is very close by, RTI Race weekend is busy in the marina with the more cruise orientated boats especially where crews may changeover for the race itself, Cowes week not so much. There is no for sale board in the main marina so no ide of what is available shoreside.
 
Robin said:
We live there, not ashore mind but quite a few do and afloat (but limited in numbers). word is the unfinished building area is because the developer took all his workers and gear off to build halls of residence on another project with penalty clauses. H avs noticed a bit more work has started very rcently. maybe only now build to order? The posher end have berths included I believe. It is a lovely location, misses most of the really heavy rains. We have no transport but Newport is but 2.5 mls away by bike, taxi or shank's pony. The boatyard and Richardson's are excellent, well stocked chandlery and small grocery/provisions area. The lock is not a real pain and free flow allows easy peasy transit, In gales, being behind the gates is good. Annual rates are probably the best in the Solent and the staff by far the most friendly and helpful. The Breeze onsite bar/restaurant is ok, gourmet pub style, though mostly we order in takeaways delivered if celebrating or I (head chef) feel lazy. The water is brackish behind the lock gates so anodes tend to last longer and bottom stays a bit cleaner longer. The spice bus is set up as a holiday rental and is quite popular. Correct comment above about the winds funnelling, we are close to the lock area and known as windy corner, that is gusty not wavy though. IHYC membership is cheap and open to all and gets discounts at the bar and Richardsons chandlery.

Island Harbour Marina – A Unique Waterside Lifestyle
IHYC – For all who love boats and the sea
Click to expand...
With regards to public transport, we occasionally walk up to the main road (5-10min walk) and take the bus either to cowes or Newport (which is the bus hub for the island), but most times we like the river walk again either way.

Weekends during the summer can be very busy and Saturdays evenings can be noisey from the bar with loud music for things like weddings (but not often), so I try to get a berth away from being too close to the bar.
 
Beware about the moorings.
Your post inspired me to investigate a house there myself. I also reckon it would be nice to live there and have been familiar with the place since it was built. The mooring length limits are ‘strictly enforced’. My boat is 12.4m and I was told I would not be allowed to keep it on any of the private moorings(the biggest is 12m). There is a house for sale at £600k at the moment that lists a 46’ pontoon(14m); I was told this is actually only a 12m berth despite the length of the pontoon.
 
jmnapier said:
Beware about the moorings.
Your post inspired me to investigate a house there myself. I also reckon it would be nice to live there and have been familiar with the place since it was built. The mooring length limits are ‘strictly enforced’. My boat is 12.4m and I was told I would not be allowed to keep it on any of the private moorings(the biggest is 12m). There is a house for sale at £600k at the moment that lists a 46’ pontoon(14m); I was told this is actually only a 12m berth despite the length of the pontoon.
Click to expand...
The private mooring area can be tight, so it very much depends on the location, but the marina will do their very best to accommodate a solution, just don't take anything for granted .. There is a no multihull rule too.
 
burgundyben said:
You also have to remember that at the current time Richardsons boatyard is full. Its the closest yard to our house so I wanted to put my boat there, no can do!
Click to expand...

Might be worth trying again as there seem to be a lot of short termers lifting out and relaunching to go back afloat on river moorings or winter layup marina berths? I had an email from CHC touting winter layup space so perhaps they lost business to Richardsons?
 
Robin said:
Might be worth trying again as there seem to be a lot of short termers lifting out and relaunching to go back afloat on river moorings or winter layup marina berths? I had an email from CHC touting winter layup space so perhaps they lost business to Richardsons?
Click to expand...

Maybe.

I spoke to Richardsons yesterday and I was 6th on the waiting list.
 
Well as an update yesterday we exchanged on our house sale after a rather challenging 6 months!:p

We now have 8 weeks to move out during a national lockdown:rolleyes:

We are moving temporarily in with my son in Hampshire whilst we work out our next purchase but Island Harbour is definitely on the list of possibilities so if anyone hears of anything coming on the market then feel free to ping me(y)

Also looking at Hythe Marina but might start another thread about that....

Cheers

TC.
 
Bought our boat from a couple who live in Hythe marina - nice place but as with many marinas with housing you tend to live a bit ‘cheek by jowl’ with your neighbours. Also be aware that most paces with moorings are restricted to around 10m boat length if memory serves (the couple we bought from had one of only two places with bigger moorings apparantly)
 
Hi @greg, yes the accommodation is a bit different, we are coming from a C18 farmhouse with an acre and workshops:eek: but are considering something quite different. The upside is it is affordable waterfront living with a boat berthed by your patio doors which would be a great chance to stick our toe in the water, quite literally, of a more boat oriented life.

A compromise would be boat size, so rather than the larger trawler/broom/flybridge boats we were looking at on my other thread, we might start with a sub 10m Merry Fisher/NC9 type and spend a couple of year more local rather than venturing further abroad.

Would be a good way to get us lots more hours at the helm as we start our "hard boat" journey.....

My biggest challenge is trying to find a commercial unit/storage for all my workshop contents:rolleyes:

Cheers,

TC
 
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