Property Watch: When a fantasy island becomes real life

Eaglet Island is a 1.2-acre private island situated within B.C.'s Pirates Cove. Photo by Doug Wortley

Article content

If you’ve ever dreamed of owning a deserted island, you’ve likely conjured images of a romantic utopia: remote, secluded, serene, with empty beaches for let-your-hair-down privacy. The ultimate fantasy, in other words. And it can be all those things, but when fantasy meets reality, it’s not without challenges.

Article content

Most private island living is off-grid, which requires managing your own electricity, heat, water and fuel. All supplies must be brought in, either by boat or plane, which can get expensive. And no neighbours can sometimes make island life feel isolating.

Article content

Article content

Article content

But if isolation is your idea of utopia, there are dozens of uninhabited B.C. islands to be had. If, however, your private island dream requires infrastructure to maintain a comfortable home solidly and smartly built that’s conveniently close to a commercial centre, Eaglet Island, just south of Gabriola, could be your fantasy island come true.

Article content

Article content

The couple who bought the 1.2-acre island (which they named for a resident juvenile eagle) in 1992 originally intended to construct a dock to bring in materials to build an 86-foot yacht. The plan was to use the island as a base while they lived on and explored the surrounding waterways on the yacht.

Article content

“But when they looked closer at the channel, they thought it would be too big a boat,” says listing agent Alan L. Johnson of Colliers/Unique Properties. “So they took all the materials they had carefully selected over the years for a yacht and made a house out of them on the island.”

Article content

Th home measures 2,500 square feet and was built in 1997. Photo by Doug Wortley

Article content

Johnson says that over the 25 years he’s represented island properties for sale, he’s observed homes that “have been done either well or haphazardly, and he has done everything to the nth degree,” referring to the current homeowner, who he describes as an “engineer/inventor kind of guy”.

Article content

Article content

That homeowner first constructed a huge workshop which houses a 10,000-pound metal lathe which he used for myriad building projects, including a walk-in freezer and a rainwater collection system for storage in massive stainless-steel tanks.

Article content

Article content

The 52 x 13-foot dock he built, which is actually a barge, has a float plane ramp and lift. The barge, which is attached to the island by a large steel pipe, houses much of the island’s infrastructure, including cabling, electricity, water lines, and a 65-horsepower pump to siphon salt water for fire protection. (The island also has two commercial desalination plants.)

Article content

“The barge is very heavy so it doesn’t move (in bad weather), and because it’s attached there’s no need to replace chains, anchors, or ground tackle like a lot of other docks,” says Johnson.

Article content

“It’s a very comfortable home with beautiful views towards Gabriola in the north and Pirate’s Cove to the south, but mostly open ocean,” says listing agent Alan L. Johnson. Photo by Doug Wortley

Article content

One of four heavy-duty diesel generators uses a heat capture system to heat up a massive water tank below the house for hot water heating.

Article content

“The wood stove can also provide hot water heating, and it’s lined in stainless steel so it can burn beach wood without any salt damage,” says Johnson.