Life

This Couple Lives On Their Own Floating Island

by Lara Rutherford-Morrison

If you’ve ever dreamt of going off the grid, then Catherine King and Wayne Adams are living your ultimate fantasy. The Canadian couple has lived on a massive floating island home for over twenty years. In 1992, the pair constructed “Freedom Cove”: a magenta and turquoise floating island is made up of twelve platforms supporting a number of living spaces, greenhouses, and gardens, all connected by wooden pathways. Located in Cypress Bay, a half-hour boat-ride from Tofino, British Columbia, Freedom Cove offers a way of living that is truly independent from most contemporary lifestyles.

According to the Huffington Post, Freedom Cove was at one time powered by fourteen solar panels; Now King and Adams, along with their two children, rely on a small generator, which allows them enough power to keep the lights on for 12 hours. They do not have a freezer of refrigerator, instead relying on King’s garden and Adam’s fishing for food. They also turn to nature for their drinking water, collecting rainwater in the winter and using water from a local waterfall in the summer.

King and Adams are both artists. Adams is primarily a carver, and King, who was once a professional dancer, paints, writes, and performs music. The Plaid Zebra explains that she is also the primary designer of the island’s extensive gardens. King tells the Huffington Post that their surroundings inspire their work, saying, "Living in the wilderness is constant inspiration. It's so incredible to wake up every morning and see all of this."

If you ever find yourself in Tofino (and why wouldn't you?), you can visit King and Adams’s floating home. In the summer, they allow charters to take visitors on Freedom Cove tours to let others see what living off the grid is really like.

Image: foundesignstudio/Instagram