During his annual visit to  the Isle of Wight for  Cowes Week,  HRH The Duke of Edinburgh will  take time out of his busy schedule to visit the Island Youth Water Activities Centre. 

His Royal Highness, accompanied by HM Lord Lieutenant, Major General Martin White CB CBE JP, will be arriving at the centre in the morning and will be received by the Centre Chief Executive Mike Acton and Tony Wyeth, Chairman of the Board of Trustees.

The crew of Paddiywack, the centre’s 32’ Bermudan Sloop, will meet HRH The Duke of Edinburgh before heading out to take part in the Cowes Week racing.

IYWAC is grant aided by the Isle of Wight Council through the Directorate for Children & Young People and specialises in running programmes of activities for disaffected and disadvantaged young people from the Island community. 

The Centre works with all Island Schools on these programmes which has resulted in The High Sheriff’s Initiative, a project for the IW High Sheriff’s Trust under which IYWAC provides a programme working with young offenders and those at risk of offending.

After a short tour of the centre HRH will be invited to officially name 3 new Bahia’s that will be used for general training.  The Bahia dinghies have been funded by the Isle of Wight Youth Opportunity Fund and the Little Britain Challenge Cup.

Before departing the Centre, HRH will be introduced to a group of young people who are going to be heading off in kayaks on a Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Award Expedition.