Living Off the Grid: The Floating Island

A couple of Canadians left the city life wanting to live on a floating colored grille, a place that could be used as a home and garden, but also a place where their dreams come true. Wayne Adams and Catherine King created a completely self-sustainable float which they named “Liberty Cove”. This strange property consists of 12 platforms – some are wooden structures, where the house, solariums and living spaces are all interconnected by bridges. The floating house represents excellent shelter from wild animals, one of the reasons that made them quit growing chickens and other poultry.

The pink/turquoise floating structure on the coast Tofino, British Columbia, was built since 1992, and the couple, who have two children, managed to get the award for “house of the year”. Wayne Adams and Catherine King have been living on their own floating island since 1992 and they never thought about leaving this oasis.

They are both artists and passionate about gardening, Adams is a sculptor and King, a retired ballerina who loves painting, writing and music. Although living on an island, the water comes from a nearby waterfall in the summer, and the other part is collected from rain in the winter. This dynamic duo loves to grow fish for food preparation and grow their own vegetables in floating gardens, which have five greenhouses. The entire island is designed to use the energy produced by a series of 14 solar panels and a photovoltaic power generator. This system provides the owners almost total independence and natural food. The 5 greenhouses produce vegetables and fruits all year round. In fact, this system has been self-sustained for the past 20 years.

Their lifestyle made the known worldwide and the curious who want to see how Wayne and Catherine live can get there by boat under a package tour organized by local authorities, with the consent of the owners.