Island Harbour Marina
| Island Harbour Marina | |
|---|---|
 Island Harbour Lock at high tide |
|
| Unitary authority | |
| Ceremonial county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Newport |
| Postcode district | PO30 |
| Dialling code | 01983 |
| Police | Hampshire |
| Fire | Isle of Wight |
| Ambulance | Isle of Wight |
| EU Parliament | South East England |
| UK Parliament | |
Island Harbour Marina, on the Isle of Wight, UK, is a commercial marina on the River Medina in the small hamlet of Binfield. It is located approximately halfway between Cowes and the County Town of Newport. Visiting yachtsmen will find it just past the Folly Inn on the East bank. Being a relatively small marina, it best suits pleasure craft of up to 20 metres in length. The marina accommodates both annual berthholders and short-term visiting craft.
As the River Medina is tidal, the marina has lock gates to maintain a sufficient operational depth. It also means that access to the marina by boat is dependent on the state of the tide and the draught of the vessel concerned. A table showing the approximate access times is shown below.
Island Harbour Marina was built in 1966 on the site of a demolished water mill, with the main part of the marina being formed by enlarging the original millponds. The marina's creators and first owners were cousins Alan and Colin Ridett, together with Robert Trapp.
As well as arriving by boat, access to the marina can be gained by car, bus and river water taxi. A new riverbank cycle-way has recently been completed between Newport and Island Harbour Marina, with further plans for it to be extended to the Folly Inn in the future.
As well as the marina, there is a large hardstanding area for around 100 boats to be stored ashore. The marina also has its own on-site restaurant. There is an on-site chandlery, boat builders and repair workshop, with a 50-ton travel hoist.
At Island Harbour there are also 96 holiday homes and three permanent dwellings situated within the marina grounds. In November 2014, work began on building a further 25 holiday apartments, due for completion in early 2017. A brand new customer showerblock was completed in June 2015 and in 2016, work was started on two more blocks of apartments. Also in 2016, the on-site restaurant was greatly enlarged and refurbished and a new chandlery and boat repair workshop was built on land to the rear of the hardstanding.
A major feature of the site is the paddle steamer Ryde, currently in a very poor state. More details of this vessel are shown below.
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Wikipedia