When actor Tom Hanks’ character drifted ashore onto an uninhabited island in the huge hit movie Cast Away, people couldn’t fathom how he lasted as long as he did all alone with nothing but water surrounding him. His plane had crashed into the ocean and no one could find him.
Artists Wayne Adams, 66, and Catherine King, 59, willingly and joyfully reside on a floating fortress off the coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, with nothing but the waves lapping at their manmade island. And it’s exactly how they want to live.
“I wanted to be a successful, wealthy artist, live in Tofino and have a studio in the wilderness, like all good rich artists should. I was hoping to make a lot more money as an artist. We could never buy real estate, so we had to make our own.”
Shortly after the couple met in 1987, they dreamed of building a home in the wild where could both immerse themselves in their art. They eventually decided to settle on Tofino in western Canada. While staying at a friend’s cabin, a storm blew in piles of wood.
They tried to return the lumber to its rightful owner but he insisted they keep the wood. So they used it to begin building their home along the shore.
“I guess we were being given a sign that this is the time to begin.”
Eventually, they were inspired to move their home off the shoreline and into the actual water. Their setup is tethered to the shore with large ropes so that it moves as one unit during stormy weather.
They took 12 floating panels and linked together their island home they refer to as Freedom Cove in 1992. It’s the size of two city lots and weighs 1 million pounds.
Their outdoor oasis has a dance floor, since Catherine is a lifelong dancer, an art gallery for Wayne to showcase his work, a candle factory, a guest lighthouse, five greenhouses for growing their own food, half an acre of edible crops and a studio.
So how do they not just survive but thrive there?
They pull water from a nearby waterfall in the summer and gather up rainwater to use during the winter. Fourteen solar panels originally powered their property, but they switched to a generator after the panels proved to be unreliable.
Wayne, a carver, and Catherine, a painter, writer, musician and dancer, welcome visitors during the warm months to visit their floating home.
They highlight is that it was constructed from more than 240,000 pieces of recycled and salvaged materials they collected over the years and captures the essence of nature in its very design.
“People who visit us are honored that we are sharing it with them. They leave with big smiles on their faces. According to our grandson, we are ‘epic.’”
In fact, they consider their floating island to be an installation art piece that transforms every year, typically by winter storm damage.
“It is a project in growing food to provide for the family. It is an art project … It is a project to have a space to move, to dance, to play music, to do things spontaneously that you couldn’t just do in the same way if you were in the city.”
When their chores are done, the couple uses what Mother Nature delivers onto their property to create some of their art.
“Carvings are my teachers. I was inspired by carving my whole life and always wanted to be a carver. All materials I carve come from nature. Nature inspires me with its beautiful S-shaped flow. I now have nature as my home to inspire me.”
People ponder how they don’t get seasick floating all day long, especially during tumultuous storms, but Wayne jokes that he gets “land sick” when he has to boat 25 minutes to the nearest town and walk around for supplies.
“The only option to get here is by water. There are no road accesses. The water is our highway. Living out here, you can’t just get instant anything. We can’t just order a pizza … we can’t just go to the corner store … You have to do the work to get what you want, if you want it.”
“We have carved a piece of the world out for ourselves here. We can live uniquely, differently than anyone else on the planet.”
This personal piece of floating paradise may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but for these two artists, it’s perfect for them.
There is no place else they’d rather be!
Get a bird’s eye view of the couple’s dream home in the video below. Would you love living here?
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