If you’re looking for a catamaran charter and the idyllic tropical island, you’ll find it just 5 miles southeast of Tortola, across the Sir Frances Drake Channel. Just 1 ½ miles long by ½ mile wide, tiny, mostly uninhabited Cooper Island is an unspoilt paradise. If you are looking for roads, shopping centers, discos and crowds, you will not find it here. But, if you want the perfect escape from the stress of everyday life, then this should be a destination on your BVI catamaran charter itinerary. With only 4 private properties on the island, plus a small beach club-like resort with a handful of colorful but simple rooms with kitchenettes, ceiling fans, and private bathrooms with outdoor showers, Cooper Island is a laid-back place to relax.
Cooper Island is surrounded by coral reefs and dive sites. The main anchorage on Cooper Island is Manchioneel Bay, located on the northwest coast. Named for the tree with small poisonous green apples, Manchioneel Bay is made up of a beautiful stretch of white-sand beach fringed with coconut palms. Although the bottom of the bay is covered in patches of kelp, often making it difficult to obtain an anchor, there are approximately 40 mooring balls available for overnight anchoring. Sitting in the cockpit of your catamaran charter, rocking gently at anchor in the clear, calm water in the gentle tropical breeze, you gaze out to shore at the bougainvillea, frangipani, lime trees, hibiscus, oleander, tamarind, flamboyant, loblolly, yucca, orchids, cacti and other exotic plants, as well as listening to the pleasant song of the birds. It’s easy to see why Manchioneel Bay is said to be the inspiration for Jimmy Buffet’s famous Cheeseburger in Paradise.
Most people who charter a catamaran to Cooper Island do nothing, and that’s the idea! You can relax on the beach, read a book, browse the Sea Grape boutique, swim, sip a rum of your choice, watch other charter yachts glide down the Sir Frances Drake Channel, and watch the sunset. on some of the other islands. If you’re feeling more energetic, you can explore the island on foot, snorkel or scuba dive, and even take a boat to nearby Salt Island.
The best snorkeling is right off the beach. The sea grass at Manchioneel Bay makes for interesting snorkeling. Look for green turtles, eagle and sting rays, starfish, and a large bed of queen conch. On occasion, you may also find seahorses. If you follow the rocks parallel to the shoreline south of the Beach Club jetty, you’ll see plenty of reef fish, including parrotfish, blue tang, angelfish, as well as various sea urchins and a large resident octopus. For great snorkeling, take your boat south of Manchioneel Bay to Cistern Point and tie your boat to the line attached to 2 buoys and snorkel around Cistern Point Rock and the crest of the coral reef. Cistern Point is noted for its photogenic ledges covered in brilliant corals, flowing gorgonians (sea rods and sea fans), and abundant tropical fish, often in groups like gray snapper and blue tangs. Occasionally you may see a sleeping nurse shark and even a huge lobster or two. There is usually a school of barracudas floating around the mooring line, but they are harmless.
If you like diving, Cooper Island is in the heart of a diving paradise. Cooper Island, along with Salt and Ginger Islands on either side, has 11 of the 50 best-known sites in the BVI. Sail Caribbean Divers, a PADI Gold Palm, 5-star resort, has a dive operation located within the Cooper Island Beach Club. They offer a full range of diving experiences for all levels of divers. If you’re traveling on a catamaran, you can meet them at Cooper Island, or they’ll meet you, and within 15 minutes, you can be snorkeling on a spectacular reef or shipwreck site. Devil’s Kitchen, on the windward side of Cooper Island, is one such site. It is a series of ridges with chambers, caves and corals with many lobsters, some moray eels and even a possible shark sighting. Other dive sites include Thumb Rock, Markoe Point, and the Pat and Marie L.
If you’re looking for more adventure, leave your catamaran rental in Manchioneel Bay and take a 15-minute boat ride to Salt Island. Salt Island is named after the three evaporation ponds on the island. Salt Island was once an important source of salt for Her Majesty’s ships. Today, the island and its salt pans still belong to the Crown, but are exploited by the local population. Every year, at the beginning of the harvest, the Governor accepts a bag of salt as annual rent. There is a small ruined settlement right next to Salt Pond Bay that you can visit. For the last few years, only one person seems to live there. He usually takes a nap in a hammock in the shade of some palm trees. If he catches you at the right time, he can point you in the direction of the salt ponds and can even explain how the harvest is done. You can also buy a small bag of salt. Salt Pond Bay is affected by a swell and is therefore only a day’s anchorage. Make sure your anchor is set before heading out to explore the salt ponds. For those wishing to dive the wreck of the Rhone, go to Lee Bay, just around the corner from Salt Pond Bay. This bay is not well protected and is also affected by the waves. The Rhone is protected by the National Parks Trust, so anchoring over the Rhone is strictly prohibited, but if your charter yacht is less than 50ft, you can moor in Lee Bay and then cruise to the Rhone, using the dinghy. mooring line provided. Just watch out for divers in the water if you boat!
The Wreck of The Rhone is one of the most famous dive sites in the world. Before she sank during a hurricane in 1867, The Rhone had been the pride of the Royal Mail Steam Packet Company, carrying 313 passengers. During the storm, she struck Salt Island, broke in two and quickly sank. Today, the two halves of it are well preserved on a sandy bottom and its steel remains have become home to countless species of fish and encrusting corals. The Rhone is a perfect two tank dive. The bow section, which sits at a depth of about 80 feet, reveals the coral-encrusted cargo hold and other interior chambers. Outside, careful examination of the wreckage reveals the ship’s foredmast complete with the crow’s nest and its foredaw sprit on the sand. Support beams for the horizontal platform are located on its sides – the famous so often photographed “Greek columns”. The aft section contains the ship’s once-powerful engine, her propulsion shaft, and a massive 15-foot propeller that sits in 25 feet of water. The wreck of the Rhone is most famous as the filming site for the movie “The Deep” starring Jacqueline Bisset. The hatch, which played a prominent role in the film, is an incredible entrance to this “treasure ship” for divers who can easily navigate the well-lit interior. Other dive sites off of Salt Island include Rhone Reef; the colorful Vanishing Rocks and Blonde Rock battled against the current. Blonde Rock is a pinnacle rising from a depth of 60 feet to just 15 feet below the surface. Its rocky ledges, tunnels, caves, and ledges are home to crabs, lobsters, beautiful fan corals, and hordes of reef fish.
Whether you’re just filing away or engaging in some more exhilarating activity on or around Cooper Island, you’re going to get hungry at some point. Most yacht charters list the restaurant as the main reason for returning to Cooper Island. The Cooper Island Beach Club restaurant is a great place for casual al fresco beach dining overlooking the boats at anchor. Open for lunch and dinner, chefs Norma, Sheril and Gail-Ann create magic in their small kitchen. Try their excellent pasta, local fish, beef marsala, beef, lamb or conch curry, rotis and the local West Indian specialty of conch fritters served with a spicy dressing. Save room for homemade desserts like mango papaya cheesecake, carrot cake and chocolate brownies. Shoes are not required, but make dinner reservations!
Cooper Island is just one of the BVI gems known as ‘Nature’s Little Secrets’. With its casual grace, endless ocean views, and spectacular island scenery above and below sea level, Cooper Island is paradise in all its tropical splendor. Arrange your catamaran charter and be captivated by the intimate charm of Cooper Island!
