Cooper Island Beach Club

Our Underwater Meadow

2011-12-08T02:02:00.000-08:00

There are 58 different types of seagrass found around the world but the British Virgin Islands are home to only five different species. The most common seagrasses found in the BVI are turtle grass (Thalassia testudinum) and manatee grass (Syringodium filiforme).

Cooper Island's Manchioneel Bay is extremely lucky to have Seagrass stretching along it's bay. These unusual marine flowering plants are called seagrasses because in many species the leaves are long and narrow, and these plants often grow in large meadows.

Manchioneel Bay is protected by the BVI's Department of Environment and Fisheries as one of the seven permanent Seagrass monitoring sites. This means that anchoring is not permitted.

The sheltered habitat can provide ideal nurseries for juvenile fish hiding from predators and thereby increasing their survival rate. Seahorses, Green Sea Turtles, Parrotfish, Barracudas and Sting Rays to name a few can also be found living amongst seagrass not to mention our our resident Spotted Eagle Ray!

Grab your snorkel and see what you can find!

We've Got Your Essentials!

2011-11-24T06:23:00.000-08:00

Our Sea Grape Boutique has everything you might need for your vacation on Cooper Island. From books, bags, sunscreen, sunglasses and swimwear we've got it all!

Here is a little taster...

Sofia Rogge's sarongs are coming soon to The Sea Grape Boutique on Cooper Island! A beautiful eco beachwear range that is part of the Corals for Conservation program.

Sofia says "New species of coral are discovered yearly, but at the same time many are becoming extinct unnecessarily. This is escalating out of control and with your help we can prevent it from happening.

My aim is to bring the delicate allure of coral to the forefront of people’s minds, in the hope that you too will be inspired to support one of nature’s most beautiful and fragile living organisms".

L•SPACE has pioneered the development of protecting the environment in the production of swimwear. The Sarona fabric used in this category is made from a mix of agricultural feedstock and natural fibers creating a silky soft blend of bikinis. The result is eco-friendly swimsuits that are actually swimmable and one of the first bikinis of its kind.

I have been using COOLA Organic Suncare for a while now on Cooper Island. It is free from all the bad ingredients such as Paba, Paraben, Petroleum and Phthalate which is a huge bonus if you are applying sunscreen each day. Not only does it feel amazing on the skin it also smells divine!

COOLA offers sun protection for a range of skin types and lifestyles; the products are also uniquely formulated for different parts of the body - from the sensitive nature of FACE and LIPLUX, to the versatile TOTALBODY, and the demands of SPORT.

Island Daze Boardshorts. This range has been made from recycled plastic bottles and still managed to keep the microfibre material soft and comfortable.

Cooper Island from Cloud Nine

2011-11-24T04:19:00.000-08:00

After our extensive refurbishments we decided it was time to get some great shots. Flying high above the beautiful British Virgin Islands in a helicopter with a photographer hanging from the door. It really was like something out of a James Bond film.

You can see all 90 of our state of the art solar panels which produce 70% of our power needs.

Alex Monroe

2011-01-10T09:05:00.000-08:00

Take a look at our new range of jewelry available at the Seagrape Boutique. These pictures were taken on Cooper Island. Alex Monroe's jewelry has such a unique style - so different and eye catching. I think I'm going to have to take a walk down to the store today! For More info take a look at their website:- Alex Monroe

Happy Hour

2010-07-25T14:00:00.000-07:00

It's now happy hour, Dire Straits is playing and the sun is preparing to set. The bar is busy and Jeson is dishing out the 2 for 1 Painkiller Cocktails. It has been yet another beautiful day on Cooper.

Painkiller recipe:

An equal splash of Pineapple and Orange Juice
A drop of Cream of Coconut and a very, very generous helping of dark Rum topped with a sprinkle of Nutmeg. Although, you won't get the full effect without sitting on the beach watching the beautiful Caribbean sunset...

My favorite is a Cooper Vice. It's sweet, pink and delicious!

Photographing the Underworld

2010-05-11T17:26:00.000-07:00

This week an under water photography workshop descended upon Cooper Island for the first time. Lead by Mauricio Handler - a Marine Photojournalist, expedition leader and educator and author of two books, 'The British Virgin Islands, a Photographic Portrait' and Lonely Planet's ' Snorkelling and Diving Guide to the British Virgin Islands'. Take a look at his website for more info.

Bob Marley

2010-04-16T12:38:00.000-07:00

Colour It In!

2010-04-15T10:32:00.000-07:00

As you may already know the Beach Club underwent an extreme makeover during the summer of 2009. Unfortunately the small quirky bar that seated only 4 people was no longer sufficient. Here's a few pics of our exciting new look.

All our furniture is made from reclaimed Teak. Using reclaimed wood is not only helping the environment, it also it has character. The colourful furniture that was once old fishing boats now serves a new purpose as our bar furniture. We worked with a brilliant furniture store on Tortola called Arawak Interiors who really listened and understood the style we were aiming for.

Cooper's Sunsets

2010-04-14T16:54:00.000-07:00

These are a couple of pictures I took a few months ago. The first was taken from a boat just off the shores of Manchioneel Bay, Cooper Island. The Sir Francis Drake Channel looked amazing, and I really impressed myself with this photo! You can see Tortola, St. John and St. Thomas in the far distance.

Next is an arial shot taken from my tiny window on a Liat plane as we came into landing at Beef Island around 5 pm. Here you can see (starting from the back) Peter Island, Salt Island, Cooper Island, Ginger Island, Round Rock and to the right Fallen Jerusalem.

Cooper Island Beach Club

2010-04-13T09:53:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Cooper Island’s first ever blog.

Hopefully you will find this blog helpful and gain a little insight of what goes on behind the scenes at Cooper Island Beach Club.

On January 7th 2009 Cooper Island Beach Club changed ownership and management. The Harris family are on a mission to bring Cooper Island into the 21st century and create a home from home atmosphere where everyone is welcome.

Here at Cooper Island Beach Club we are committed to being as environmentally responsible as we can. We worked with Alternative Energy Systems to install a state-of-the-art Solar Panel System which now provides us with 30-40% of our power. This system is the first of its kind in the Americas and we are very proud to have it. Here's a video which helps explain exactly what our system is capable of click here. Earlier this month we switched over to 24 hour power! For approx. 25 years the Beach Club was powered by a generator between certain hours of the day. It is a real novelty for us all to watch a full movie without my laptop battery cutting out.

90 solar panels on the roof of the Beach Club