Oceans of Summer Fun

The two main annual events of the sailing world, the Round The Island yacht race and Cowes Week, will take place again this summer on the Isle of Wight. They are the most famous of the hundreds of sailing events that the Isle of Wight stages every year.

The Round the Island race on the 30th of June is the world's largest single yacht race, with up to 1600 boats and 13,000 sailors taking part. The 50-nautical-mile course starts and finishes at Cowes and appeals to all standards of yachtsmen. Yachts are mainly crewed by keen amateur sailors, head out West, skim past The Needles, the Island's distinctive rocky structures, round St Catherine's Point and Bembridge Ledge and back into the Solent. Spectators can enjoy the race from many vantage points, including The Parade at Cowes, the Needles Battery, St Catherine's lighthouse and Ryde Pier.

Skandia Cowes Week, held from the 11th to 18th of August, is the main event in the yachting calendar. A lively social programme ranges from yacht club balls to live bands performing in Cowes Yacht Haven each evening. The carnival atmosphere reaches a peak with a firework display on the last evening. Cowes Week sponsors Skandia have a free scheme for beginners called 'Try Sailing' - sign-up on Cowes Parade and get on the water for an hour with a professional skipper.

Round The Island Race: roundtheisland.org.uk
Cowes Week: cowesweek.co.uk

Posted February 2012
 

Free entry to 'Blast from the Past' at Dinosaur Isle on 16 October 2010

Recently named as one of the world's most significant sites for dinosaur discoveries, the Island will be hosting a fun, educational event for the whole family on Saturday, 16 October. As well as the museum's fantastic interactive exhibitions, there are plenty of activities and you can even bring your own fossil finds along for expert identification. There's free entry for all from 10am to 4pm.

Dinosaur Isle: iwight.com

Posted October 2010
 

Summer pop concerts at Osborne House

The rolling grounds of Osborne House - Queen Victoria's seaside retreat - will provide the spectacular setting for a sensational two-night concert headlined by 'Pop Idol' winner Will Young and 80s chart-toppers Bananarama, Rick Astley, ABC, Belinda Carlisle, Howard Jones and Go West on the 31st of July and 1st of August 2010. Tickets from £35 per person per night.

Will Young and special guests: ticketzone.co.uk
80s Night: ticketzone.co.uk

Posted May 2010
 

Red Arrows to perform at White Air

The Red Arrows will be performing one of their famous 23-minute aerobatic displays in the skies above Sandown Bay for White Air spectators on the afternoon of Saturday, 20 September and again on the morning of Sunday, 21 September. It is the 44th display season, in which the Red Arrows have demonstrated the professional excellence of the RAF to millions of people both in the UK and fifty two countries worldwide. In addition, the RAF Falcons - the world’s leading parachute display team - will be dropping in to open the festival on Friday 19. White Air is an annual seven-day extreme sports festival based in Yaverland.

Further information: whiteair.co.uk

Posted September 2008
 

Mother's Day baby for Amazon World

A two-toed sloth, normally found hanging from the trees of tropical forests in south and Central America has been born at Amazon World Zoo Park on the Isle of Wight.

Unusually for nocturnal sloths, the baby was born during the daytime, and not just any old day but Mother's Day, Sunday 2 March! Visitors to the park were delighted to find themselves involved in such a special event on such a special day.

Sloths are very difficult to breed in captivity and this new baby is an important part of the European breeding and conservation programme for this species which is essential for the welfare of this endangered animal in the wild. Sloths give birth to a single young, while hanging up-side down. The newborn will remain with it's mother for several more months.

Mother and baby are doing well and a name will be decided soon.

Further information: amazonworld.co.uk

Posted March 2008
 

Rare Pterosaur fossil discovered by six-year-old

A six-year-old boy has unearthed rare pterosaur bones on the Isle of Wight. Owain Lewis was on holiday with his family when he discovered the fossil - part of a flying reptile called a pterosaur - while hunting for the relics at Compton Bay near Freshwater. The 120 million year old find comprises wing bones of the extinct flying reptile which soared above the skies of the Isle of Wight during the Lower Cretaceous Period. At the time the area was a coastal lagoon occupied by crocodiles and dinosaurs.

Further information: dinosaurisle.com

Posted June 2007
 

Ellen MacArthur wins Round The Island Race

Dame Ellen MacArthur has won the annual Round the Island Race. More than 1,800 yachts started the 55 mile yachting grand prix around the Isle of Wight which is open to professionals as well as amateur sailors. Speaking after the race, Dame Ellen said: "It was a fantastic race. It was an early start for everybody but the weather was great for us. I think this event is fantastic, at the end of the day how many events can you go and see 1,800 boats taking part, I think it's amazing." The race was started at 5am by Alan Titchmarsh, who will become High Sheriff of the Isle of Wight next year.

Further information: roundtheIsland.org.uk

Posted June 2007
 

Tutankhamun's treasure found on the Isle of Wight

Twenty years ago, Markas Dove's father found a mysterious Egyptian ring on an Isle of Wight beach when it was unearthed by the great hurricane of 1987. Experts believe it could be part of the lost treasure of Tutankhamun, transported from Egypt during the early twentieth century by a ship that sank off the coast of the Island. Apparently the ring has caused many problems for the family of Mr Dove and they now suspect that it's cursed. Elisabeth O'Connell, the research curator at the British Museum's Egyptology department, said, "The inscription suggests it belonged to either Tutankhamun or one of his inner court. I would not like to try and put a figure on its value."

Further information: thebritishmuseum.ac.uk

Posted April 2007
 

Tiger Island, new ITV documentary

The countdown to Tiger Island, ITV Meridian's new seven-part series about the Isle of Wight Zoo, has begun. Programme One will be broadcast at 5.30 pm on Sunday 20th May. From the humorous to the shocking, dramas great and small; Tiger Island will follow the professional team who tirelessly dedicate their lives to help some of the most beautiful and endangered creatures on the planet.

Further information: isleofwightzoo.com

Posted April 2007
 

Dolphin spectactular

A pod of 60 dolphins, including newborn babies were spotted around The Needles this week! Visitors were treated to the amazing sight. Dave Evans, Isle of Wight Branch of British Divers Marine Life Rescue said "There are pods around this time of the year but it's not usual to see so many in one place."

Further information: iwcp.co.uk

Posted April 2007
 

Island rocket testing site opened to public

High Down, perched high above The Needles on the western tip of the Isle of Wight, has been home to a remarkable secret for more than five decades. A space rocket testing site was built there at the height of the Cold War in 1957. Dubbed 'Britain's secret Cape Canaveral', the National Trust acquired the site four years ago and have now opened it up to the public for the first time. There's a runway and two launch pads, along with several control rooms. Heather Bradshaw from the National Trust said, "We feel that 50 years after this site started to be used in the space race this is an important story to be told."

Further information: nationaltrust.org.uk

Posted April 2007
 

Island featured in San Francisco Chronicle

American jouralists Sally and John MacDonald were so inspired after spending a three-day short break on the Isle of Wight, that they've written a glowing article about the Island in the San Francisco Chronicle. Sally writes, "The mother country might lay claim to more countryside to walk, bigger castles, more splendid palaces and a more complex history. But the Isle of Wight is living large as its mirror-image 'Mini Me.'"

Further information: sfgate.com

Posted April 2007