Harbours in Cowes (Isle of Wight): Getting there, harbour information and cruising destinations

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Cowes is situated at the mouth of the River Medina on the north coast of the Isle of Wight, in the middle of the Solent off the south coast of England. On the west bank lie Cowes Yacht Haven and Shepards Marina, opposite on the east bank in East Cowes is East Cowes Marina. Here you'll find out how to arrive in Cowes for the start of your trip, which marina is where, where to park and shop, what sailing weather to expect, which destinations in the Solent are nearby, and what skippers should bear in mind when berthing.

Which marinas are there in Cowes?

In Cowes, yachts berth primarily in three marinas on the Medina. Coming from seaward, on the west bank lies first Cowes Yacht Haven at the northern end of the town centre, then around 250 metres further upstream Shepards Marina just before the chain ferry. Opposite on the east bank is East Cowes Marina, a little south of the chain ferry in East Cowes.

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Shepards Marina is owned by the harbour authority Cowes Harbour Commission, which also operates the fuel berth in the river.

Arrival for the start of your trip in Cowes

You reach Cowes via Southampton and from there by ferry across the Solent. For the final leg, it depends which bank your marina is on: the fast boat arrives in West Cowes, the car ferry in East Cowes.

You apply for your ETA via the app or on the British government website. It is valid for multiple journeys for up to two years or until your passport expires.

From Southampton Airport to Cowes

Southampton Airport lies around 21 kilometres as the crow flies north of Cowes, but on the mainland. From Southampton Airport Parkway station right at the airport, you travel in less than ten minutes to Southampton Central. From the south side of the station, the Quayconnect shuttle bus takes you to the ferry terminals at Town Quay. With a ferry ticket you travel free; otherwise the return journey costs £2 (as of October 2026).

• Red Jet: The fast boat for foot passengers runs from Terminal 2 at Town Quay to West Cowes in around 28 minutes. In quiet periods it departs roughly every 70 minutes, at peak times roughly every 35 minutes. No need to book in advance.
• Car ferry: It takes around an hour to East Cowes and runs hourly from March to October, roughly every 90 minutes from November to February. Booking is strongly recommended for cars.

If you land at London Heathrow, around 100 kilometres as the crow flies away, you travel by rail via London Waterloo to Southampton Central: from Waterloo the trains take around 1 hour 20 minutes.

By car, train, bus or ferry

By car you cross from Southampton to East Cowes on the car ferry. From the ferry terminal in East Cowes you are around three minutes by car to East Cowes Marina. A second car ferry runs from Portsmouth to Fishbourne, from where it's around 20 minutes by car to East Cowes. By rail you travel to Southampton Central or Portsmouth Harbour. From Portsmouth Harbour a fast catamaran crosses to Ryde, from where bus route 4 runs to East Cowes Marina.

On the island, bus route 1 runs into the centre of Cowes, near Shepards Marina. East Cowes can be reached on routes 4 from Ryde and 5 from Newport. Taxis wait outside the Red Jet terminal in West Cowes.

The chain ferry (Floating Bridge) connects West Cowes and East Cowes across the Medina. It carries pedestrians and cars, and the crossing takes just a few minutes. Monday to Saturday it runs from 5 a.m. until 12:30 a.m., on Sundays from 6:40 a.m. When it is out of service, a small boat ferries pedestrians and cyclists across.

Which marina is mine?

The key is which shore. Cowes Yacht Haven and Shepards Marina are in West Cowes, roughly 250 metres apart, and are within walking distance of the Red Jet terminal. East Cowes Marina is on the opposite shore: after the Red Jet you cross on the chain ferry, or with the car ferry you arrive directly in East Cowes. For taxi or satnav: East Cowes Marina, Britannia Way, PO32 6UB.

Parking

From Cowes Yacht Haven it is roughly 170 metres to the public car park at Town Quay and roughly 320 metres to the car park on Consort Road. At Shepards Marina there are only a few spaces; the public car parks on Mill Hill Road (roughly 220 metres) and at Marina Walk (roughly 270 metres) are close by. East Cowes Marina has its own car parks for marina guests; the nearest public car park in East Cowes is roughly 800 metres away on York Avenue. At the waterfront promenade The Parade you can park with a ticket at the kerbside or in a car park above the beach.

Showers and sanitary facilities

All three marinas have toilet facilities with showers. Cowes Yacht Haven and East Cowes Marina also have a laundry; in East Cowes you pay for the washer and dryer by contactless card. Shepards Marina has accessible washrooms but no laundry of its own.

Shopping for the trip

From Cowes Yacht Haven it is roughly 150 metres to the Sainsbury's supermarket in the High Street and roughly 270 metres to the M&S Foodhall in Terminus Road. From Shepards Marina you reach Sainsbury's after roughly 320 metres. From East Cowes Marina it is roughly 800 metres to Co-op Food and roughly 900 metres to the Waitrose branch in Well Road at the car ferry landing. It is the largest supermarket nearby. Other large supermarkets are in Newport, roughly 5 to 6 kilometres away. At Shepards Marina and Cowes Yacht Haven you can also exchange gas bottles for the galley stove.

Doctor, pharmacy and emergency services

In West Cowes the Day Lewis Pharmacy is at 7 High Street, roughly 190 metres from Cowes Yacht Haven and 380 metres from Shepards Marina. A GP surgery is Cowes Medical Centre on Newport Road. From East Cowes Marina it is roughly 800 metres to Regent Pharmacy in Well Road and roughly 900 metres to East Cowes Medical Centre at Church Path, with GP surgery and Allied Pharmacy. The island's A&E is at St Mary's Hospital on Parkhurst Road in Newport, roughly 5.4 kilometres from Cowes Yacht Haven and 4.5 kilometres from East Cowes Marina.

• 999: emergency number for ambulance, police and fire brigade. In an emergency at sea you also dial 999 and ask for the Coastguard.
• 111: NHS medical advice when it's urgent but not an emergency
• At sea: VHF channel 16, where Solent Coastguard responds

Marinas in Cowes compared

The three marinas in Cowes at a glance:

Feature	Cowes Yacht Haven	Shepards Marina	East Cowes Marina
Bank	West Cowes, near the harbour entrance	West Cowes, just before the chain ferry	East Cowes, south of the chain ferry
Berths	260	Visitor and permanent berths, yachts up to 40 m	over 300, roughly 150 for visitors
Boat length up to	20 m	25 m, draught up to 3 m	30 m, draught up to 3 m
Boatyard/Crane	Crane 15 t, travelifts 25 and 50 t	Crane	Boatyard
Laundry	yes	no	yes
VHF channel	80	80	80
Phone	+44 1983 299975	+44 1983 297821	+44 1983 293983

Where is Cowes Yacht Haven?

Cowes Yacht Haven is on the western shore of the Medina at the northern end of West Cowes town centre. Ashore the marina is on the High Street, and the shops and restaurants of West Cowes are within walking distance.

Facilities at Cowes Yacht Haven

Cowes Yacht Haven has 260 berths with water and electricity, plus showers, laundry and Wi-Fi. With a crane for 15 tonnes and travelifts for 25 and 50 tonnes the marina can lift yachts out of the water, and sailmakers also work on the premises. The harbour radio on channel 80 is manned round the clock.

Where is Shepards Marina?

Shepards Marina is on the western shore of the Medina just before the chain ferry, only a few minutes' walk from the High Street and the ferry landings. The visitor berths are at the entrance to the northern and southern basins, and the wide fairways make manoeuvring easier.

Facilities at Shepards Marina

All the pontoons have electricity and water. There are also showers, accessible washrooms, free Wi-Fi, a barbecue area and bicycle stands. You can exchange gas bottles directly at the marina, and there is also a crane. Roughly 200 metres south of the chain ferry is the harbour authority's fuel pontoon with diesel and gas, open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in July, August and September, otherwise from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Where is East Cowes Marina?

East Cowes Marina is on the eastern shore of the Medina in East Cowes, some way south of the chain ferry. Coming from seaward it is to port. From the car ferry landing it is roughly a ten-minute walk; to reach the centre of West Cowes you take the chain ferry. In East Cowes the harbour authority is also building a new marina with 145 berths which, as of now (October 2026), is expected to open in early 2027.

Facilities at East Cowes Marina

The marina has over 300 berths on pontoons, roughly 150 of them for visitors with boats up to 30 metres. Water is free at the pontoons and electricity is included in the berth fees for visitors. Showers and toilets are in the reception building and open with a fob or code; there is also a family room, a laundry and free Wi-Fi. The marina has a boatyard and The Lifeboat waterfront restaurant, which is open all year round.

What is the weather like in Cowes for sailing?

The wind most frequently blows from the south-west. When a low pressure system passes through from the Atlantic, the wind usually sets in from the south to south-west and later veers to west or north-west. In spring, the wind comes more often from the north-east. From late spring through summer, a sea breeze sets in on sunny days.

The tides are a defining feature: off the harbour entrance the current runs at up to 3 knots across the channel, and outside in the Solent at up to 4 knots. Around high water, the water in the Solent stands almost still for two to three hours; the strongest ebb current runs during the last three hours before low water. The Met Office issues a strong wind warning in its coastal forecast from force 6 onwards and a gale warning from force 8 onwards.

Which destinations lie near Cowes?

From Cowes, the harbours of the Solent are close together; Hamble, Portsmouth, Yarmouth and Lymington each lie less than 10 nm away. The distances are rounded over-water routes on the usual course from the harbour entrance at Cowes; for precise planning the nautical chart applies.

• Hamble-le-Rice: around 6 nm to the north via Southampton Water to the mouth of the Hamble River. More in the profile of the Marinas in Hamble-le-Rice.
• Portsmouth: around 8 nm to the east through the Solent. In the harbour entrance listen to the King's Harbour Master on VHF channel 11.
• Yarmouth and Lymington: each around 9 nm to the west; Yarmouth on the north-west coast of the Isle of Wight, Lymington opposite on the mainland coast.
• Chichester Harbour: around 14 nm to the east to the harbour entrance.
• Poole: around 28 nm to the west, through the narrows at Hurst Castle and across Christchurch Bay.

What can you do on a harbour day in Cowes?

For a day off in Cowes:

• Waterfront promenade: From the Parade, the Princes Parade promenade runs past Egypt Point to the beach at Gurnard. At the eastern end stands the Royal Yacht Squadron in part of the former Cowes Castle, which Henry VIII had built as a coastal fortress. The Round the Island Race starts from in front of the clubhouse.
• Osborne: Queen Victoria's former country residence lies around one and a half kilometres south-east of East Cowes, accessible on bus routes 4 and 5. Victoria and Albert bought the estate in 1845; visitors can see the staterooms, the royal children's Swiss Cottage and the private beach.
• Classic Boat Museum: The museum displays historic boats at two sites, in the boatshed at Medina Yard in West Cowes and in the gallery at the Columbine Building in East Cowes. Open on Tuesdays and Fridays, the gallery also on Saturdays.

For skippers: Berthing and sea weather in Cowes

Call all three marinas before entering on VHF channel 80 or by telephone to request a berth allocation. You can reach the harbour authority as "Cowes Harbour Radio" on channel 69 (not round the clock) or on +44 1983 293952.

Registration and Berthing

At Shepards Marina you can book your visitor berth in advance online, by phone or by e-mail. During busy periods boats lie rafted up, so expect neighbours alongside. Call East Cowes Marina once you are in the Medina. The first pontoon on arrival is A1. Because the current runs through the marina, it is best to arrive half an hour to an hour before high water, or two and a half hours after, especially at spring tides.

Harbour rules

The harbour authority's regulations apply to the port of Cowes (General Directions, as of October 2026):

• Maximum speed 6 knots through the water in the inner harbour and up to 100 metres from the shore between Egypt Point and Old Castle Point. You must also create no wash there.
• If you are sailing in the inner harbour, your engine must be running and ready for immediate use.
• The chain ferry always has right of way on the river. You must also not impede the ferries to Southampton in the fairways.
• Keep at least 30 metres clear of the breakwater; you are not allowed to land there.

Approaching Cowes

Cowes can be approached safely from the north, east and west. From the north you cross the approach to Southampton with heavy commercial traffic: vessels over 150 metres have an exclusion zone of 1,000 metres ahead of the bow and 100 metres on each side, which you must not enter. To the west, watch for unlit buoys inside the north cardinal buoy at Gurnard and for regatta areas off the harbour entrance.

You enter the inner harbour between green buoy No. 1 and red buoy No. 2 and keep to the right in the fairway. Boats up to 20 metres may also use the narrow Eastern Channel when coming from the north and east; it is 35 metres wide at its narrowest point and dredged to 2.25 metres below chart datum. The fast ferry and the car ferry turn in the fairway; here you proceed with particular caution and monitor channel 69. With a draught of up to around 3 metres you can enter the harbour at any state of the tide, depending on water level.

Entering by boat from abroad

If you arrive by boat from outside Great Britain, for instance from France, you report your arrival through the British government's online service for pleasure craft. As soon as you cross the twelve-mile limit, hoist the yellow Q flag and only lower it once reporting is complete. Anyone on board who does not hold British or Irish nationality requires entry clearance from Border Force before going ashore. Details are in the British government's guidance for pleasure craft.

Which sea weather forecast applies in Cowes?

For Cowes, the Met Office forecasts apply: in the Shipping Forecast the sea area Wight, in the Inshore Waters Forecast the section Selsey Bill to Lyme Regis. Both are issued four times daily, the Inshore Waters Forecast on the Met Office website.

On the radio, BBC Radio 4 broadcasts the Shipping Forecast at 00:48 and 05:20 on long wave and FM, at 12:01 and 17:54 usually on long wave only. On VHF, Solent Coastguard broadcasts the inshore forecast and warnings on channel 62.

Trips from Cowes on Törnfinder

In October 2026 there are 5 trips on Törnfinder over the next twelve months departing from or arriving in Cowes. Most depart in July, August and September; 6 days is typical.

You can find all sailing areas and dates in the trip overview.

Frequently asked questions

How do I get from Southampton Airport to Cowes?

By train, shuttle bus and ferry: train to Southampton Central, Quayconnect bus to Town Quay, then the Red Jet in around 28 minutes to West Cowes.

Do all the marinas in Cowes lie on the same side of the river?

No. Cowes Yacht Haven and Shepards Marina are in West Cowes, East Cowes Marina is on the opposite bank. A chain ferry runs between the two shores; the crossing takes a few minutes.

Where do I park at the start of a trip in Cowes?

At East Cowes Marina in the marina car park. At Cowes Yacht Haven the public car park at Town Quay is around 170 metres away; at Shepards Marina the one on Mill Hill Road is around 220 metres away.

Do the marinas in Cowes have showers?

Yes, all three marinas have toilet blocks with showers. Cowes Yacht Haven and East Cowes Marina have laundries.

Which VHF channel do I use in Cowes?

Channel 80 for the three marinas and channel 69 for the harbour authority, the fuel berth and the chain ferry. In an emergency you call Solent Coastguard on channel 16.