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Necker Island (British Virgin Islands)
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Necker Island (British Virgin Islands)
Necker Island is a 30-hectare (74-acre) island in the British Virgin Islands just north of Virgin Gorda. The island is entirely owned by Sir Richard Branson, chairman of the Virgin Group, and is part of the Virgin Limited Edition portfolio of luxury properties. The whole island operates as a resort and can accommodate up to 40 guests, with additional room for six children.
Necker Island is located in the eastern section of the British Virgin Islands, about six kilometres (three nautical miles) north of Virgin Gorda and northeast of Prickly Pear Island, and also Mosquito Island (sometimes spelled Moskito Island), which is also owned by Branson. The British Virgin Islands (BVI) are a group of islands about 1,815 km (980 nmi) southeast of Miami, Florida, 184 km (99 nmi) due east of San Juan, Puerto Rico, and about 175 km (95 nmi) northwest of St. Barts.[citation needed]
The island was named after the 17th-century Dutch squadron commander Jonathan de Neckere. It remained uninhabited until the late 20th century.
In 1965, the photographer Don McCullin and journalist Andrew Alexander spent 15 days on the island at the behest of The Daily Telegraph newspaper for which they worked. The magazine editor had hoped that they would survive their castaway adventure for at least three weeks, but as McCullin later recounted, "because of our gathering weakness ... out of temper, and out of water, we hoisted the red flag and were taken off in the early hours of the fifteenth day". According to McCullin, there was nothing idyllic about the desert island: "The mosquitos and other insects were more venomous and persistent than any I had encountered in Vietnam or the Congo."
On 22 August 2011, The Great House burned down in a blaze believed to be caused by lightning from Tropical Storm Irene. At the time the house was occupied by as many as twenty guests, with Branson himself staying in a residence nearby. All of the guests escaped unhurt from the burning house, which was totally destroyed. Among the twenty occupants were actress Kate Winslet, Branson's 87-year-old mother Eve and his 29-year-old daughter Holly. The Great House was subsequently rebuilt with an expanded Great Room.
The Necker Cup, an exhibition tennis tournament held at the end of the tennis season, has been held on the island annually since 2012.
Richard Branson's Extreme Tech Challenge has been hosted annually at Necker Island since 2015. Described as one of the largest technology competitions in the world, the challenge begins at the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas with the top 10 new innovations progressing to the finals at Necker Island where Branson joins the judging panel along with technology figures and investors from Silicon Valley.
In February 2017, former U.S. President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle visited Necker as guests of Branson.
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Necker Island (British Virgin Islands)
Necker Island is a 30-hectare (74-acre) island in the British Virgin Islands just north of Virgin Gorda. The island is entirely owned by Sir Richard Branson, chairman of the Virgin Group, and is part of the Virgin Limited Edition portfolio of luxury properties. The whole island operates as a resort and can accommodate up to 40 guests, with additional room for six children.
Necker Island is located in the eastern section of the British Virgin Islands, about six kilometres (three nautical miles) north of Virgin Gorda and northeast of Prickly Pear Island, and also Mosquito Island (sometimes spelled Moskito Island), which is also owned by Branson. The British Virgin Islands (BVI) are a group of islands about 1,815 km (980 nmi) southeast of Miami, Florida, 184 km (99 nmi) due east of San Juan, Puerto Rico, and about 175 km (95 nmi) northwest of St. Barts.[citation needed]
The island was named after the 17th-century Dutch squadron commander Jonathan de Neckere. It remained uninhabited until the late 20th century.
In 1965, the photographer Don McCullin and journalist Andrew Alexander spent 15 days on the island at the behest of The Daily Telegraph newspaper for which they worked. The magazine editor had hoped that they would survive their castaway adventure for at least three weeks, but as McCullin later recounted, "because of our gathering weakness ... out of temper, and out of water, we hoisted the red flag and were taken off in the early hours of the fifteenth day". According to McCullin, there was nothing idyllic about the desert island: "The mosquitos and other insects were more venomous and persistent than any I had encountered in Vietnam or the Congo."
On 22 August 2011, The Great House burned down in a blaze believed to be caused by lightning from Tropical Storm Irene. At the time the house was occupied by as many as twenty guests, with Branson himself staying in a residence nearby. All of the guests escaped unhurt from the burning house, which was totally destroyed. Among the twenty occupants were actress Kate Winslet, Branson's 87-year-old mother Eve and his 29-year-old daughter Holly. The Great House was subsequently rebuilt with an expanded Great Room.
The Necker Cup, an exhibition tennis tournament held at the end of the tennis season, has been held on the island annually since 2012.
Richard Branson's Extreme Tech Challenge has been hosted annually at Necker Island since 2015. Described as one of the largest technology competitions in the world, the challenge begins at the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas with the top 10 new innovations progressing to the finals at Necker Island where Branson joins the judging panel along with technology figures and investors from Silicon Valley.
In February 2017, former U.S. President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle visited Necker as guests of Branson.
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