Mooring at IoW Festival?

[stefan_r]

First time going to the festival this year....any ideas about mooring? Looking on GoogleMaps there seem to be a few moorings....but nothing "official".

Any ideas???

 

[jhr]

Island Harbour, if there is still any available space; it tends to get booked up well in advance and they will insist that you book for a minimum period (4 nights, I think?). Most of the moorings around there are private but there are council owned pontoons off the Folly. They will fill up fast, I suspect.

Lots of people anchor off the festival site in small craft and watch/listen for free, but woe betide you if you block the channel; the Harbourmaster will have your bollocks on a platter.

L'Escargot keeps his boat somewhere up the Medina, iirc, and can give you more detail.

 

[oGaryo]

we've booked ourselves in to East Cowes for the weekend but got in there on the 2nd Jan so spaces might not be available this late on... can, bus or water taxi to the event each day

 

[henryf]

When we asked Island Harbour wanted the price of a small house to moor up. So we moored in Cowes Yacht Haven for the normal price and got a taxi up there for under twenty quid and it wasn't that far. Dropped us off a 5 minute walk from the gate.

As has been said a lot of people drop the hook just by the venue and dry out. I'm assuming you have tickets though.

Henry

 

[l'escargot]

Folly or Newport (if you can take the ground) you can take your chances and you will be rafted at both, don't think they up the price but bound to happen eventually.

Island Harbour, if there are spaces left, £33.33 per metre for the 3 nights - it's on their website http://www.island-harbour.co.uk/iowfestival.asp

If you anchor off the festival site you won't see much more than a badly angled big screen, they don't like the "freeloaders" as they call anyone on the river side and the stage has been turned progessively away from the river with each year and the trees have grown. You will also need to be self sufficient as you will be sat on the mud for 14 out of 24 hours and unless you want to go mud skipping you won't be able to get off. The Cowes harbour master will try to charge you a fiver "harbour dues" for anchoring. Can be up to a couple of hundred boats there when the tide is in from tenders to 40' Sunseekers and as has been said don't block the channel, the gravel boat will still get through to Newport that weekend no matter how many boats he has to barge out the way.

There was an article on visiting by boat in a certain sailing a magazine a couple of years ago, if you want a pdf copy pm me an email address.

Personally, if I was visiting, I would book a space in East Cowes marina and travel backwards and forwards each day. Transport is pretty good that weekend.

 

[oGaryo]

Personally, if I was visiting, I would book a space in East Cowes marina and travel backwards and forwards each day. Transport is pretty good that weekend.

Good call... tis exactly what we're doing