Two artists had enough of living the consumer life on land and made a decision to create their own self-sufficient island – that island is ‘Freedom Cove’. They met each-other by chance, and took on the greatest challenge of their lives – building a floating home on the sea in British Columbia. This couple created an impossible home in the middle of the wilderness. This is their unbelievable story.
A Single Woman
Catherine King was a dance teacher and an artist. While living in Toronto, King was giving a workshop on Lasqueti Island when a student approached her and mentioned a man he thought she would be interested in. Unfortunately there was no way to contact this mystery man, but Catherine felt compelled to find him.
A Single Woman
Call To The Stars
Catherine couldn’t understand why she felt so certain about this anonymous man, but she didn’t need to question herself. Realizing that she didn’t have a way to speak to him, she stood under the stars and shouted out for the man to come to her. Lo and behold, the very next morning, Wayne Adams appeared in front of her.
Call To The Stars
Wayne Adams
Wayne Adams was a single-father, with two children. He was an artist, but worked in a fish plant near Tofino. He had always been a man of nature, and possessed the gift of being able to build pretty much anything with his hands. When the two met there was an instant spark – “and the rest is history,” Catherine says. They spent three full days just walking and talking to one-another.
Wayne Adams
Moving In Together
It took them all of two weeks to decide to move in together. They were thrilled to find that both of them wanted to lead a life of subsistence which would allow them to dedicate their time to art. At the time they were living in a cabin in Cypress Bay which belonged to a friend with whom they had done a “house exchange”.
Moving In Together
Winds Of Change
As if the call to the stars wasn’t enough for them, a storm blew good fortune their way. Catherine recalls how the floating home dream came to them… literally. “A storm, while we were staying there, actually blew in wood that started the building of the house. We gathered it up and took it to the fellow we were sure it belonged to, and he said, ‘You gathered it up; it’s yours.’ So on the beach by this cabin, Wayne started the building of the house and built it to the point that we could move into it – so that took him about three months.”
Winds Of Change
Financial Crisis
Originally, Wayne only wanted to build a studio for the two of them to create their art. However, the cost of living in Tofino went up, causing the couple to decided between leaving town or creating their own place to call home. Most couples would have struggled with this difficult crossroads, but for Catherine and Wayne it was a challenge they had been waiting for their whole lives.
Financial Crisis
Making A Bold Decision
Despite the difficulties they were about to face, together they knew they could do it. Catherine fondly remembers, “Both Wayne and I, once we decided this is what we wanted to do, we just did it, we really didn’t think about the hardships; we just did it.” But there would be some issues still to deal with.
Making A Bold Decision
Withdrawal Symptoms
All of us probably couldn’t go half a day without our cellphones. For Catherine and Wayne it proved to be difficult at first to let go off of what they had. Catherine shares, “You go through what I call a deceleration process, when you make the move out – and what I mean by that is go through a certain type of withdrawal from the things that you have at your access when you live even in a small town – being able to go to the corner store, being able to have things instantly. So it took a few months to go through that.”
Withdrawal Symptoms
Making A Home
Although they originally planned only to build a studio, it soon would become their home. A floating home seemed like a crazy idea to people, and it still does today. Wayne took the project into his own hands, literally, and started to build a single unit that could float. But the building would not end there.
Making A Home
Nothing New Here
For Catherine and Wayne, most of their possessions are not new. They have either created them themselves, or they have re-purposed old items. One perfect example of this is a piece of glass they took from a hockey arena in Victoria – it’s now a part of their living room floor.
Nothing New Here
Not Just Wood And Glass
Being able to use whatever comes their way means that they’re capable of creating beautiful art from anything. They believe that they do whatever they can with whatever is available whenever it is available.
Not Just Wood And Glass
Impressive Entrance
At the entrance of their floating home are two whale ribs that make a sort of archway entrance. They also use animal skulls to create unique art pieces. There is hardly anything traditional about their home.
Impressive Entrance
Heavy Storms
Since the couple built their floating home back in 1991, they’ve modified and improved it. But during the first few years, they faced some very difficult challenges. Each time there was a storm they would be out in the cold rain repairing something that the weather had taken apart. They were fighting nature to live peacefully with her.
Heavy Storms
Drifting Apart
They constantly added more and more to their floating island as the years went by. But each piece of their island would start to drift apart from the rest during bad weather, forcing them to find new and innovative ways to keep the island as one unit. This mainly fell into Wayne’s lap since he was the engineering expert.
Drifting Apart
Moving Homes
You know what it’s like to rearrange your living room and what it’s like to organize your closets? Well for these two, “rearranging the furniture” had a completely different meaning. Wayne literally rearranges the house sometimes by towing rooms from one place to another in order to create a new setup for their floating home.
Moving Homes
For His Love
The floating home was an engineering marvel, but Wayne would not stop there for the woman he loved. Since Catherine was a professional dancer, he decided that he wanted to build her a dance floor. And once again the building bug would not end there.
For His Love
Becoming Self Sufficient
Catherine was astonished by the beautiful dance floor her husband had built for her. But Wayne and Catherine wanted to be self-reliant, and without their own source of food, it wasn’t possible. So together they started to create their own gardens, aboard their floating home.
Becoming Self Sufficient
The Beach
What would a floating paradise be without a beach? Well, these two didn’t let the idea of having some “coast” slip their minds. They have even managed to create a little deck with some beach sand for an as-close-as-possible authentic beach feel.
The Beach
Tending Her Garden
It has become Catherine’s responsibility to look after their gardens. It worked out perfectly for the two of them since she absolutely adores planting and reaping. During an interview with CBS Sunday Morning, she explained that it’s her passion, albeit a necessity too.
Tending Her Garden
Safe From Land
There are certainly some benefits for growing plants away from the mainland, and Catherine knows all about them. She claims that her food doesn’t get infested and eaten like it would had she planted on dry land.
Safe From Land
Relying On The Water
Growing their own greens meant that they could cook and prepare food all on their own. Even though Catherine is a vegetarian, Wayne very much likes to eat meat and fish. Considering that they live in a floating home on the water, Wayne uses this to his advantage and he even has the ability to fish directly from his living room.
Relying On The Sea
Fishing Trips And Other Trips
Wayne prefers to head out on one of their boats when he goes fishing though, since he doesn’t want to disrupt the ecosystem under their floating home. They do make trips to land on occasion where Wayne buys or trades for meat. But there’s a great challenge involved in that.
Fishing Trips And Other Trips
Feeding Eagles
While out on their fishing trips, they come across some other predators in the wild. On some occasions, Wayne encounters bald eagles, and when he does, he gladly throws them a couple of the fish that he had caught.
Feeding Eagles
Seals Too
It’s not only the bald eagles that share the waters with this innovative couple, seals do too. Who else can be so lucky as to claim that they have seals swimming around their “backyard”?
Seals Too
Their Boats
The two boats that these artists own come in handy for a number of things – fishing, land visits, trips to gather wood and other supplies, and of course to see friends and family.
Their Boats
Like Father, Like Son
They say the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, and in this case it certainly is true. This couple has a 45-year-old son by the name of Shane, and Shane lives in the area in a floating home too. They’ll boat out to visit him whenever they feel like it.
Like Father Like Son
Family Visits
They’re not completely alone out there, sometimes they host friends and family. A specific example was when their granddaughter stayed at them for a summer with her friend. Coming all the way from Sweden to spend time with her grandparents on their floating abode was a magnificent learning experience.
Family Visits
Eating Immediately
Since they don’t own a fridge, the meat that they acquire needs to be cooked immediately. If they don’t, the food will be spoiled and that’s not a price this couple is willing to pay. But even if they did have a fridge, how would they have electricity to make it run?
Eating Immediately
Power Couple
Living in a floating home has many challenges, and one of them is electricity. Wayne has ensured that they have as much energy as they need – which he believes isn’t too much. The floating home has its own generator.
Power Couple
Solar Power
In addition to their generator, Wayne has ensured that they have solar power energy too. During the time that the solar panels are beaming energy to their appliances… and to their batteries, which also serve as a backup for the days without sun.
Solar Power
Yes, They Have Internet
It might come as a surprise to you, but they actually have internet access. Their satellite-enabled internet connection isn’t used half as much as most people’s, but they do enjoy its benefits.
Yes They Have Internet
Drinking Water
Seeing as their home is on the sea, water is not drinkable. But luckily for Wayne and Catherine, there is a fresh water source not far from where they live. And of course, Wayne has constructed a brilliant pipe system that feeds clean water into their home. But what about heat? It is Canada after all.
Drinking Water
Warm And Fuzzy
In order to keep warm during the night and colder months, the floating home is equipped with a wood-burning stove. This means that Catherine and Wayne need to keep a collection of lumber at their disposal. Aside from this chore, the couple actually have many daily chores that they need to get done.
Warm And Fuzzy
Wasting
In keeping with their strict policy of going green, Wayne will ship out their tank of waste every six months. Not too much work, right?
Wasting
Daily Chores
For Catherine and Wayne, every day is another day of maintaining their floating home and their unique lifestyle. From watering their plants and checking the oil in the generator, to doing laundry and shaking off the rugs from the living room. Doing laundry was once a chore Catherine did by hand, that was until Wayne bought her a real washing machine. Having said that, they don’t have a dryer which means that they hang their wet clothing outside or inside by the fire stove.
Daily Chores
Edible Flowers
Oh wait, we almost forgot to mention that Catherine has also mastered the skill of planting and growing flowers. And if regular flowers weren’t already enough for her, she decided to plant, grow (and now eat) edible flowers too!
Edible Flowers
Mind, Body And Soul
Even if the work they do on the island is physical, Catherine feels the importance for exercising her mind and soul. “After I’ve done my morning chores, I make a point to do meditation and some sort of either tai chi or yoga.” She continues, “Because my day is a very physical day, and I have to make sure that my body is strong and stretched out well to handle all the other things I’m doing in the day.”
Mind Body And Soul
Making Their Own Money
Of course many people are wondering how they manage to buy things like clothing, oil and other necessities that don’t grow on the floating home. Well the answer is that they sell different pieces of art of theirs. Specifically, Wayne sells wooden sculptures, Catherine sells masks decorated with feathers, and together they make their own candles and sell those too.
Making Their Own Money
Selling Art
Before ever making it to their permanent floating fixture, Wayne sold his art to Ken Thomson, Canada’s wealthiest man. It was the money that he earned from these sales that allowed the couple to buy an RV and travel around Canada, which eventually led them to finding their permanent dwelling spot.
Selling Art
Each To Their Own
While Wayne enjoys revving up his electric saw to carve into massive chunks of wood, his wife works on a slightly smaller scale. She prefers engraving finely, and she usually does so in the comfort of her own living room.
Each To Their Own
Guilty Pleasures
On the odd occasion that they leave their home to do some shopping in Tofino, Catherine and Wayne treat themselves to something special. These ‘special’ treats are foods like popcorn , candy and chocolate. Wayne laughs about it saying, “A chocolate bar is the most valuable thing in the wilderness.”
Guilty Pleasures
Not Easy Leaving Home
Although those visits to the mainland are beneficial, they always feel happy coming back home. They always joke that while some people complain about getting sea sickness, they get ‘land sickness’. What can we say, home is home. You might be wondering what it must be like living alone like this. You would imagine that it would be difficult, but Catherine has something else to say.
Not Easy Leaving Home
Finding Herself
Catherine was surprised at how much she learnt about herself just by living on their man-made island. It took some time to adjust to the new life that she and her husband had created, but when she discovered the true person she was, she realized how much value there was in their endeavor.
Finding Herself
Life On The Water
Catherine finds it difficult to leave their home, “It’s hard every time I have to leave here, and I’m very, very thankful every time I return.” Wayne puts in his two cents, “It’s such a subtle thing; after 25 years of floating on liquid, your body starts to feel something and you’re floating and it just changes.”
Life On The Water
Open To Tourists
Even though they love their privacy, these artists welcome tourists to come see their island. In fact they are so hospitable that they send their visitors home with a parting gift. These gifts are actually the candles that they make on the island.
Open To Tourists
People In Doses
Despite being open to tourists and visitors, Wayne made it perfectly clear that they still like having people over “in doses”. Don’t overstay your welcome here, folks.
People In Doses
In Case Of Emergency
If there is ever an emergency, the Coast Guard will take up to 6 minutes to reach them. Their house is also strategically placed in an area that is blocked from strong winds and big waves. And if they ever get sick, Catherine can cover them.
In Case Of Emergency
Good Neighbors
Although they practically don’t have any neighbors, they still have a few in the area. Those neighbors have also taken on a floating home lifestyle, and they’ve also been there for the couple at their most desperate time. Wayne and Catherine’s candle factory burned down, and just when they thought they had lost it all, the community came together to help them rebuild it.
Good Neighbors
Staying Healthy Naturally
Right now Catherine is finishing her degree in homeopathy. She believes that homeopathy is compatible with the life they want to live. “I handle my life very holistically – so I’m able to keep both of us healthy that way,” Catherine says.
Staying Healthy Naturally
Home Until Death
Catherine is 62 and Wayne is 70 now and they’re still living a strong and youthful life. When their last days do come, they’re both happy to die in their floating home and not in a hospital. “I will die out here; I will be okay with that. It’s a matter of how. And most people – I’ve heard this from a lot of people over the years – they don’t want to live out here because they fear to be drowning or be eaten. Me, I’ll take both. I mean that honestly. And everyone I know who lives out here, we’ve made a choice, and we know we’re taking a risk.”
Home Until Death
Nature Within Nature
Both Wayne and Catherine have found solitude and purpose in the new life and living space that they have. Catherine put it best when she said, “You can be in nature without interfering with nature. So that’s what attracted us to it.” There’s an important life lesson we can all take from them.
Nature Within Nature
Sharing The Vision
It seems that the idea to live a self-sustainable, off-shore life is spreading. Architects and yacht manufacturers have recently collaborated to design a number of floating homes that will leave a light carbon footprint. These floating homes probably will not look like Freedom Cove, though.
Sharing The Vision
Not For Everyone
Discussing floating homes, Wayne says the following, “What chases most people out of here, as far as making a home, is the storms and the wind and the rain.” Catherine adds, “You have to stay and take care of it; if you abandon it, then things can get into trouble.”
Not For Everyone
Being Themselves
While so many people are worried about what others might think of them, they’re more than comfortable in their own skin. In an interview, a reporter asked Wayne, “What do you say to people who think this is a little odd, or a little strange?” Wayne’s response was priceless – “Thank you very much!” He continued, “Yeah, truly. It’s nice to be recognized for who I am!”
Being Themselves
You Don’t Need A Floating Home
Catherine and Wayne’s floating home is a great inspiration to every single one of us. While we don’t all need to be living on a house that moves, perhaps we could use their drive and determination to make a difference in the world we live in. For some it means going off-grid and living out in nature, and for others, it could simply mean choosing the right trash can.
You Dont Need A Floating Home