I’m down on the Isle of Wight for a few days and thought I would check out the local pub scene. I have been coming to the Isle of Wight all my life and have seen the Pilot Boat go through several iterations. The latest is a move back to a classic wet led pub from a fairly short-lived gastro set-up. The changes have brought in two pool tables and most importantly a dartboard. Beer options from the small bar were limited, with no cask beer on offer. I tried a pale ale from Goddards, brewed on the Island. It was fine but I wasn’t particularly fussed. I noticed that none of the locals were drinking it, sticking to the mass market lagers and Murphy’s stout.

The board is a pretty aged Winmau Blade 6. It has clearly been rotated a few times and is nearing the end, with the spider completely out of the sisal around the bullseye. This can happen due to the vibrations of darts landing and through temperature variations gradually squeezing the metal out of the board. If not hammered back in at an early stage it becomes very hard to get even pressure all over to force it back in. Even with the board fairly knackered the darts were still sticking ok.

I didn’t have my measuring string for the oche, but it felt a little short. Not enough to make my darts any better. The board was the correct height. The throwing line is delineated by a change in flooring. However, the board was cut into the floor meaning no raised oche to put your foot against to throw. The board was well lit with a ring light. There was a pool table alongside the oche, however, there was enough space that throwing didn’t need to be paused except for the most awkward of shots.

For scoring there was a small chalkboard to the right of the board, with just about enough space to have someone scoring while two people throw. However, the chalkboard didn’t get any use as everyone in the pub was pool mad. Both tables had a large crowd all evening. The dartboard was next to the locals table, with the other table mostly used by poshos from Bembridge Yacht Club which is just across the road. I managed to tempt a few people into a game of round the world while they waited for their go on the pool table. Otherwise it was practise drills all evening instead of x01. If you can’t beat them, join them. I put my name on the “who’s next” list and eventually got to have a crack. I was soundly tucked away by Norman, who had just de-throned a man dressed as a cowboy that had been giving it the big one around the pool table for a few games. I didn’t disgrace myself on the table, but I will be sticking to darts.

I enjoyed my evening chatting with the regulars and throwing some practice darts, however, it’s definitely not a darts-first pub. I did get a tip-off that the village inn up the road had a couple of boards, which would be perfect for my village darting ability.