This Couple Has Lived For 29 Years On An Island They Built Themselves – ksltv.com

(CNN) As stay-at-home orders due to the ongoing pandemic have forced many of us to learn to love solitude and become reacquainted with our homes, one couples life has remained virtually unchanged.

Ten miles north of Tofino, British Columbia, off the west coast of Vancouver Island, Catherine King and Wayne Adams live on a sustainable, floating compound. Its called Freedom Cove, a labor of love, hand-built using recycled and salvaged materials. Its been their home for the past 29 years.

Freedom Cove is a 25-minute boat ride away from the closest town, and dont even think about hopping in a car. The only option to get here is by water, Adams says. There are no road accesses. The water is our highway.

The floating compound houses a dance floor, an art gallery, a candle factory, four greenhouses, six solar panels, and a small waterfall that provides constant running water.

The whole structure is the size of two city lots and weighs 1 million pounds, floating freely on the ocean.

While there are lines that tether the compound back to the shore, it is not anchored to the ocean floor.

When you arrive, youre immediately greeted by bright magenta buildings with dark turquoise trim. An archway of whale bones welcomes you in.

The compound has everything you could possibly think of and more: a dance floor, an art gallery, a candle factory, four greenhouses, six solar panels, and access to a small waterfall that provides constant running water.

The couple has even figured out their own waste management system.

Its the most common question were asked, Adams says.

They installed a floating tank to, in Adams words, deal with the affluence.

If they wanted to, King and Adams could completely self-sustain on Freedom Cove without ever needing to go into the city.

Visitors are greeted by two large whale ribs that form the entrance. Artists Catherine King and Wayne Adams have called Freedom Cove home since 1992.

As artists, King and Adams always drew inspiration from nature.

Adams is a carver, using found elements in nature like feathers and bones to create his works.

King is an artist, dancer and a natural healer, having studied homeopathy.

But why live off the grid?

I wanted to be a successful, wealthy artist, live in Tofino and have a studio in the wilderness, like all good rich artists should, Adams says.

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.

A call from nature pushed them to make their dreams a reality.

Thanks to a piece of Plexiglass in their living room, Adams is able to fish from the comfort of his couch.

After staying in a friends cabin in Cypress Bay, a large storm blew wood onto the property.

King and Adams gathered the wood and used it to build the bones of what would become their future home.

I guess we were being given a sign that this is the time to begin, Adams recalls.

As they continued to further grow their home, the couple followed with their precedent of only using recycled and salvaged materials.

Many parts were gathered from loggers and fishermen in town. Adams would trade them art for whatever they had in their backyard, whether that was old fish farms or floats.

A piece of Plexiglass scrounged up from the Victoria Hockey Rink forms a clear glass floor in their living room, which Adams can lift up to fish from the comfort of his couch.

Prior to Freedom Cove, the couple lived in an apartment in Tofino. They call their move into nature a deceleration process.

We had all kinds of things like food processors and items that would require a lot of electricity, King remembers.

We gave them away to people and unloaded a lot of things in preparation.

They had no choice. The first iteration of their floating home had no running water and no power.

Today, their day-to-day is quite a bit different to what it was in Tofino.

Living out here, you cant just get instant anything, King says. We cant just order a pizza we cant just go to the corner store You have to do the work to get what you want, if you want it.

Welcome to Freedom Cove, a sustainable island fortress floating off the coast of Vancouver Island.

Doing that work is an ongoing process of learning, changing and growing.

King starts her day by sweeping and shaking out the carpets.

In the wilderness, theres always a lot of dirt and dust, she says.

She then waters her thousands of plants and vegetable gardens all germinated from seeds and rows out in her canoe to gather seaweed for compost.

Adams begins by gathering firewood and starting a fire to make sure the house is heated.

They both work on building new components for their home.

It is a project, King says. 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 couldnt just do in the same way if you were in the city.

And while they may not have any human neighbors for miles, the couple still has plenty of company.

We have some resident crows here who are part of the family, Adams says. We know all the birds here.

We have named Harry the heron, Sylvie the seal, King adds. Gertrude and Heathcliff the seagulls.

I had lived in the big city, I knew what that was like, King says. I really needed the peace of the wilderness.

Twenty-nine years later, thats still the greatest draw of their home.

Going into a city is just shocking in the sound department, King says. I get kind of jangled up inside the noise starts to get to me, I find its easy for me to lose my center.

We have carved a piece of the world out for ourselves here, King says. We can live uniquely, differently than anyone else on the planet.

But, how about seasickness?

I dont get seasick, Adams says. When I go to town, I get land-sick.

To learn more about life on Freedom Cove and hear directly from King and Adams, check outthe latest episode of Great Big Story, a new podcast from CNN.

Visit link:

This Couple Has Lived For 29 Years On An Island They Built Themselves - ksltv.com

Related Posts
  • Water Purification Island [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
  • Private Islands: South China Sea Style [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
  • The Best of Fiji [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
  • High Cay: Bahamas [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
  • The World: Back on the Market [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
  • The Island Market is Back [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
  • Haunted Halloween Island [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
  • Ambergris Island Property [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
  • Paradise Sinking [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
  • Parrot Cay: Own a Piece of Privacy [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
  • An Icky Day [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
  • It's a Cory's! [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
  • There she blows! [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
  • Bye bye Whale [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
  • No Bunting Mistake [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
  • Whale of a time... [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
  • Leaving day [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
  • Look who's back... [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
  • Lanced... [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
  • Migrants role in... [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
  • Pups away! [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
  • Double take [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
  • Northerly wind blows [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
  • Northern visitors [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
  • Siege! [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
  • Storm time [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
  • Storm season [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
  • Storming over [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
  • Sealing mission [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
  • Still no go [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
  • Over they go! [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
  • All change [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
  • Welcome back storms [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
  • Fight club [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
  • V Australia to Fiji [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
  • Tahiti Sun Travel For Sale [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
  • Cook Islands Travel Guide [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
  • Perfectly Frank – Fiji [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
  • Cook Islands Tax Hike [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
  • Easter Island Travel Guide [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
  • Surviving Paradise [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
  • Canada Seal Hunt ‘09 [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
  • Tuvalu Travel Guide [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
  • Saudi Arabian Sojourn [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
  • Laurent Pichot on Moorea [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
  • The Largest Island for Sale in the World. [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
  • Isla Kiniw: Incredible Island Rental [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
  • Save at Sandals Resorts [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
  • Marvelous Mediterranean: Skyropoula Island [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
  • Branson Talks Necker Island [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
  • Hog Island: Affordable Nova Scotia [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
  • The Banyan Tree: Seychelles [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
  • Celebrity Secret Vacation Spots [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
  • Star Island [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
  • 7 Islands in 7 Days [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
  • Counting continues [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
  • Life goes on [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
  • Payback time [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
  • No let up [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
  • Game on [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
  • Deal or No Deal? [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
  • Food glorious food [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
  • Mainland beckons... [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
  • The tempest is coming [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
  • Tought times ahead [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
  • Tystie day [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
  • Saying Goodbye...maybe [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
  • Departure Day [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
  • Seal pups [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
  • Seabird Breeding Season 2009 [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
  • Maritime Terminal Papeete Tahiti [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
  • A splash of colour [Last Updated On: December 14th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 14th, 2009]
  • Tiger Woods Wife purchases Island Retreat [Last Updated On: December 15th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 15th, 2009]
  • New Flights to Fiji [Last Updated On: December 18th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 18th, 2009]
  • Five Star Fiji [Last Updated On: December 19th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 19th, 2009]
  • Go Farther in Nicaragua [Last Updated On: December 19th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 19th, 2009]
  • Zoo Island [Last Updated On: December 21st, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 21st, 2009]
  • Seasons Greetings 2009 [Last Updated On: December 23rd, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 23rd, 2009]
  • Green Ark Island [Last Updated On: December 23rd, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 23rd, 2009]
  • Merry Christmas! [Last Updated On: December 25th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 25th, 2009]

Comments are closed.