 | | Ocean Village Marina |  |  | | Osbourne Bay | |  | | The Folly Inn |
| | This is a typical itinerary but the whole boat is at the disposal of your party for the whole day so if you want to do something else we can do what ever you want.
Meet at 10.00am at Ocean Village Marina in Southampton. Full details of how to find the Marina, where to park, etc will be sent with your tickets
Welcome Aboard and meet your crew and fellow passengers
Safety briefing from your skipper and then we cast off.
A slow speed cruise out of the marina and out of the Itchen river towards the port of Southampton.
Most days there are cruise ships in the port, we'll take a close up look at them.
Once out of the port we can throttle up to full speed in the shelter of Southampton Water. Speeds of up to 40 mph if you are up for it!
If you wish you can take a turn at the helm and try some turns.
Then across the Solent to the mouth of the Medina River on the Isle of Wight by about 11.00am.
We slow down to river cruising speed and we motor up river to the famous Folly Inn. This award winning riverside pub is a Mecca for sailors. We'll moor up about 12.00 noon on the mid-river pontoons and take the little ferry to the pub's own landing stage.
Have a leisurely lunch on the patio over looking the river and your boat on its mooring.
By about 13.30 we'll be back on the boat and for the rest of the day we will do whatever our passengers wish. Options include...
- Do nothing! We'll open a bottle of wine (or beer) and on a sunny day just lazing in the sun on the boat on the mid river mooring is very enjoyable.
- A quick stop in Cowes. If it is not too busy we can cruise down river and stop in Cowes and have a stroll around the quaint town.
- Drop anchor in Osbourne Bay. Overlooked by Queen Victoria's favourite holiday home Osbourne Bay is sheltered from the prevailing westerly wind. Beautiful views of the bay and the Solent.
- You could take a trip over to Portsmouth Dockyard via the sea forts and see which Royal Navy ships are in port.
About 16.00 we set off back across the Solent to Ocean Village. Often the cruise liners are leaving at this time and we'll pass them on their way.
We'll be back on our mooring about 16.45 or 17.00 and we can enjoy another drink if you like. The perfect end to a lovely day.
Alternatives to a trip to Cowes on the Isle of Wight include
- A trip to Bucklers Hard on the beauiful River Beaulieu
- A trip to Yarmouth, a quaint harbour on the West of the Isle of Wight
- A visit to Gunwharf Quays for shopping and a trip up the Millenium Tower
If you want to make a night of it, Ocean Village has bars and a cinema. There are 3 excellent restaurants for dinner. | |  | | Cowes | |  | | Queen Mary 2 | |  | | Cowes Harbour |
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