Who among us does not dream of having his own island in the ocean. Alas, this luxury is available only to very rich people. Although for those who are not endowed by nature with ingenuity and diligence, there is another way. A couple from Canada, Wayne Adams and Catherine King live most of their lives on their own island, which they built with their own hands from improvised materials.
The place where this amazing raft island drifts is near Vancouver Island, off the Pacific coast of Canada. Wayne and Catherine call the place in their own way, “Liberty Cove,” and consider it the best place on earth. The couple settled here 29 years ago, after spending several years in the city. Now they will never go back and plan to live in harmony with each other and nature for the rest of their lives.
Wayne and Catherine are creative people. He is a wood and stone carver and she is a dancer. Before settling on the raft, they lived in the town of Tofino on west Vancouver Island. Even though only 2,000 people live in this community, it seemed noisy and bustling to Wayne and Catherine.
So one day they moved out of their rented apartment, sold off their possessions, and went to live by the ocean. The couple collected logs and floating debris and built a raft out of them. Since Wayne had worked with wood all his life, making the wooden structure was not difficult for him.
When the floating island became big enough, it was launched and began to be completed there. Now the giant raft weighs about 450 tons, according to the calculations of its creators. It is not steerable in any way and drifts freely near the shore. To prevent the island from drifting away during a storm, Wayne tied it to the shore with strong steel cables.
The platform has a house, an art gallery, a dance floor, a candle factory, greenhouses, and even an artificial waterfall. The islanders get their electricity from solar panels, and they dispose of their waste in a special floating container floating nearby.
The couple very rarely leaves their “Liberty Cove. The nearest settlement is a 25-minute drive from their island. When Wayne and Catherine are asked if they want to live on land and get seasick, they only laugh. Wayne Adams says that, on the contrary, he suffers from “land sickness” and always looks forward to returning home.
And there is no time for the couple to walk around on land. As you know, such a grandiose floating structure needs constant repair and maintenance. The islanders also have plenty of work to do at home. Catherine grows vegetables in four greenhouses. All the plants were sprouted from seed directly on the island. The woman makes her own fertilizer from seaweed. It takes a lot of time to clean – the island just attracts dust.
Wayne is constantly sawing, cutting, and nailing something – the big raft gives him a lot of difficult tasks. In addition, the “captain” of the floating island catches fish, and often directly from the couch. In the floor of his and Catherine home has a hatch of transparent plastic, under which the water. The couple practically provides for themselves, buying only clothes, batteries and tools in town. The Robinsons get to the shore by boat, of which they have several.
In spite of being very busy, the couple has some free time. Wayne spends his leisure time reading or fishing, and Catherine dances, plays musical instruments and draws. The inhabitants of the floating island have few visitors. Herons, crows, and harbor seals occasionally visit. Recently, the hermits are often visited by journalists. The hosts are always hospitable, but they have no time for long conversations.
