Cowes is undoubtedly one of the international homes of sailing. With several marinas, hundreds of businesses, a multitude of events and being home to the largest annual boating regatta in England, what Cowes needs is a huge guide.

And that is exactly what Island Holiday Media has produced. A 160 page, full colour guide to help you into Cowes’ marinas, find your way around both on and off the water, and to help you time your visit to either coincide or completely avoid one of the many events.

It’s packed with loads of visitor information for both the causal boater and sightseer, and also has generous sections devoted to racing, events and wildlife, plus some handy pull out maps at the back. This will make a fantastic addition to your onboard library and is quite frankly the most thorough port guide I’ve ever seen.

The only slight drawback is that you have to go to Cowes to get your hands on one, from one of the many dispensers around the marinas. Being a free publication it undoubtedly would cost too much to mail these out, but luckily all the information in the book is also on their website (www.cowes.co.uk). They also have an iPhone application coming out later this year, due to be released prior to Cowes week, with the app being translated to different smart phone formats after that.

Tim Addison, Editor of the book told All at Sea, “this is about Cowes, Cowes and Cowes. It’s new for this year, and one important asset is that we’ve included a comprehensive guide to all the businesses in Cowes – not just those who advertise, so you’ll be able to find what you need, when you need it. All the information is also on the website. We also have a Facebook page and twitter account to encourage feedback. We want to be publishing this in ten years time, so we want it to be as comprehensive and as useful as it possibly can be”.

Personally we find this port guide easy to digest, extremely relevant and stuffed full with more information than one boater could possibly need. This is essential reading for all Solent sailors.

Price: free
Info: www.cowes.co.uk