History of Cowes Yacht Haven
The rapid growth in the number of sailing boats and yachts in and around the South Coast plus the renewed interest in marine activities have all added to the swelling numbers wanting to come sailing in the Solent, off Cowes. This demand has escalated the provision of onshore facilities especially at a busy time like Cowes Week. Cowes has responded to this demand in many ways not least in the rapid development of facilities at Cowes Yacht Haven, known by many as Cowes Marina.
Whilst there is, in fact, no such thing as Cowes Marina the name has been used colloquially for the area which is now Cowes Yacht Haven and dates back to the inception of the marina facility in 1970. As the largest and most prominent marina in Cowes, serving the Solent area, south coast and the Isle of Wight, it would seem obvious that the name Cowes Marina should have been adopted formally, however this has never been the case.
Aside from Cowes Week the Solent has for many years been a popular venue for cruisers and racers alike. As it has become more internationally known the need for berthing facilities has increased and by the early 70s the international race entry had swollen to a level that meant that there was a growing need for a marina in Cowes. Groves and Gutteridge, a working boat-yard, set on the site of what is now Cowes Yacht Haven, and were under pressure to provide berthing as well as the lifting and repair services that were already in place. Visiting yachts moored in the harbour mouth, up the Medina River and along Cowes Green with extra mooring buoys put in place by the harbour authority to cope with the extra visitors. The need for more facilities in the marina at Cowes escalated because of not only, the international racing element but because of the great influx of the international cruising fraternity.
Groves and Gutteridge continued to develop, both berthing and onshore facilities, improving year by year.
Cowes Marina has changed hands twice in recent history, firstly becoming Ancasta Marina and more latterly Cowes Yacht Haven, part of the Cowes Town Waterfront Trust.
The Cowes Town Waterfront Trust is a charitable organisation whose prime objective is to rejuvenate Cowes Waterfront, and in particular the Cowes Yacht Haven, with particular regard to its visual integrity. In 2000/2001 this most important Cowes marina underwent a £2.1 million facelift providing 3,000 square metres of hard standing and upgrading the mooring facilities. The Cowes Town Waterfront Trust owns the Cowes marina site and invests all the income generated by the marina back into its future. The newest development at Cowes Yacht Haven is the Haven Events Centre, opened in June 2005, and funded by a grant from the Rufford Sir Maurice Lang Foundation. The aim of this construction is to ensure the position of Cowes Yacht Haven as a first class event venue for years to come.
Since its formation in 1991 over £3.5 million has been put into the construction of new buildings and improvements to the facilities. Cowes Yacht Haven has evolved into a prime event location, not only hosting many of the Skandia Cowes Week visitors, but providing year round facilities for other regattas such as the Little Britain Challenge Cup, Cowes Classic Powerboat Festival, Commodores Cup, Admirals Cup and many corporate team building and training events.
The onshore life of Cowes Yacht Haven, during the Summer months includes the construction of a huge bar and performance stage for the Cowes Week Regatta, currently sponsored by Skandia and re-christened Skandia Cowes Week. This becomes a central attraction of the town with live bands playing in the afternoons and evenings. There is a shopping village around the central area of the marina and corporate hospitality marquees scattered liberally across the rest of the yard. Amazingly, during Skandia Cowes Week boat services continue as usual despite the huge numbers of yachtsmen and spectators that gather daily.
Cowes Yacht Haven offers full services including launches, lift out and winter storage with facilities for overwintering in excess of 100 yachts and the Haven Events Centre, erected on the site of one of the original old boat sheds, certainly offers a spectacular facility for hosting conferences, business meetings, receptions, prize-giving ceremonies and private parties within Cowes Yacht Haven and it is hoped that it will become the focus for even more events throughout the year.
