IT IS SAID that if the entire population of the planet were to be packed tightly together they could just fit on the Isle of Wight — although I would pity whoever had to draw up the seating plan. Government spin-doctors would have to be kept well away from BBC executives and, if someone were accidentally to tread on George W. Bush’s big toe, he might very well decide to bomb the Needles to dust in retribution. It probably won’t be quite as crowded as that in Cowes over the coming week, but it will be absolutely heaving when the annual regatta gets under way tomorrow.
The first invasion of the Isle of Wight happened in 1900BC, when the Beaker people — so called because of their distinctive pottery, a sort of Bronze Age Tupperware — turned up for a huge bring-and-buy party. For the next week, Cowes will be occupied by the Starbucks Cup people and the biggest collection of knot enthusiasts outside a Scout jamboree. Then, it will be mainsails braced and daggerboards drawn for the longest-running regatta in the world.
Cowes Week was first held in 1812 and it was not long before it became a crucial element of the summer Season. Some 6,000 sailors and far more “grockles” — the local word for tourists — descend on this town at the northern tip of the Isle of Wight for 30-odd races a day and oodles of parties, balls and firework displays.
Cowes is to sailing what Wimbledon is to strawberries. It has been the home of the Royal Yacht Squadron since 1833 and the waters of the Solent were where the first America’s Cup was held in 1851, and where the biennial Admiral’s Cup has been contested since 1957. One of the sailors to compete in the latter this year was King Juan Carlos of Spain, who was looking for a base to rent for the duration.
The letting market is very lucrative during the regatta. As June O’Reilly, of Crocker Estate Agents, says: “Many locals take advantage of being able to charge between £25 and £45 per person per day for letting out their house. Quite a lot of those who come to visit for several years then decide they want to buy their own place.” As far as houses for sale go, Crocker has a detached bungalow, with development potential, on Egypt Hill by the seafront for £500,000. Waterside Properties has a four-bed flat in central Cowes for £529,500. “Lots of buyers come here from the mainland,” Alistair Dilley, of Waterside, says. “They tend to be very much of the yachting fraternity, perhaps with their main home in London, and want a crew base or a small pied-à-terre.” Surely that should be pied-à-mer?
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One such “overner”, or resident not born on the island, was Queen Victoria, who bought the Osborne Estate in 1845 for £26,000. After Prince Albert’s death, Victoria spent much of her time in seclusion here and, after her own death, the house was presented to the nation.
The Isle of Wight has also attracted some of the greatest writers in history, inspired by the landscape. In the 1860s Tennyson lived here, until harassment by sightseers drove him back to the mainland. Keats began work on Endymion and Dickens polished off David Copperfield during their stays. More recently, Anthony Minghella, Oscar-winning director of The English Patient, attended a local grammar school and his parents still own an ice-cream factory in Wootton, which is also where the Isle of Wight rock festival was held in 1969.
Cowes residents today include Kenneth Kendall, the former newsreader, and the actress Celia Imrie. The gardener Alan Titchmarsh also keeps a place in Cowes, although he caused uproar in 2000 by applying to chop down a protected tree that was blocking his view of the Solent. Some “caulkhead”, or local, should have taken him aside and advised him that celebrities, like sailors, are encouraged not to make waves.
Crocker Estate Agents: 01983 280555
Waterside Properties: 01983 282222