Watersports are popular pastimes in the bay, and the Gurnard Sailing Club is located at its eastern end.

The seabed is a mixture of mud and sand and is home to Gurnard Ledge, a clay and limestone reef which is a danger to marine traffic and marked with a buoy.

[4] On the former land to the west of Gurnard Marsh was one of the island's main harbours for "common passage" to the mainland.

[5] Protecting the harbour stood Gurnard Fort, built around 1600, however by the 17th century it was abandoned as Cowes had then rapidly grown to be the main commercial port for the island.

[4] The wreckage of a downed World War II German bomber lies in the bay not too far from Egypt Point.