Boat rental on the Solent

Boating on the Solent

The Solent is the busy strait between the English mainland and the Isle of Wight, one of Britain’s great boating areas with marinas at Cowes, Portsmouth, Gosport and on the Hamble. Days are shaped by the tide: you might cross to an island harbour for lunch, nose up a wooded river or run west towards the Needles.

Where to go by boat

• Cowes

  Yachting hub at the northern tip of the Isle of Wight.

• Beaulieu River

  Wooded river leading up to the 18th-century shipbuilding village of Buckler’s Hard.

• Yarmouth

  Old harbour town at the mouth of the River Yar on the island’s north-west coast.

• Newtown Creek

  Quiet anchorage in a nature reserve on the Isle of Wight’s north shore.

Tip: Tides rule the Solent: there is a double high water around Southampton, streams run hard through Hurst Narrows, and wind against tide quickly builds steep seas, so plan every passage with a tidal stream atlas.

The Solent at a glance

When to go boating on the Solent

Peak seasonBoating seasonOff season

Harbours and towns on the Solent

• Gosport · 2
• Hamble le Rice · 1
• Portsmouth · 1

Boat rental on the Solent: questions and answers