Escape From Fear

"For anyone looking to isolate, you can stay there minimally for a year, if not longer, without ever having to leave the island."
"The primary goal of the island was and still is to create a safe, totally self-sufficient place where the island owners live without fear of whatever ails the outside world."
"That was the initial reason why he [U.S.developer Fred Kern] built the home, post 9/11, to have that getaway. That was very important to him as the initial developer of the property. That is how it came about, to build this wonderful property as a safe haven."
"He thought maybe there was opportunity, that this time may be the time to sell it. It is quite a unique property."
Mariana Cowan, real estate broker, Nova Scotia

Built for "security, seclusion and self-sustainability" the private island off the coast of Nova Scotia in eastern Canada awaits a buyer. The rather palatial home located on the island is named The Lodge, located in Mahone Bay, on Strum Island. It is, in fact, the private island that is for sale, and with the island comes everything on it, natural and man-made. In the man-made category count in its private source of power, heat, light, water and food. Boats, docks, gardens, greenhouse and security. Separate out-building living quarters: "another place someone can go and quarantine" in the words of the agent.

A year ago the island and its buildings were offered as a rental property for ambitious vacationers who might not be able to quite afford the $21-million selling price, but might splurge on a special vacation offered for $9,950 for each night's accommodation for a minimum four-night stay. Near the head of Mahone Bay, not too distant from the quaintly picturesque fishing town of Lunenburg, Strum Island represents 9.88 acres of private security, a perfect getaway from, for example concerns over contracting CoV-2.

It is secluded but not entirely isolated, should the whim to leave it temporarily take hold, since a boat ride of a mere few minutes takes one to the mainland close to the town of Mahone Bay, or an hour's drive to the provincial capital city of Halifax. Alternately, a 15-minute flight from Halifax airport to the helicopter pad on the island is another choice. A granite stone exterior with slate roofing and copper gutters describes the outward appearance of the main house with its 9,500 square feet.

Apart from the eight bedrooms, there is a walnut hand-carved bar with hammered copper sink in the Great Room, the top storey featuring a widow's walk, in maritime tradition, accessible by a telescopic staircase, raised and lowered with the push of a button. An underground cable connects the island to the mainland electrical grid, but the property is replete with back-up generators. Boilers and wood stoves can be found throughout the buildings, including air conditioning, and two 1,000-gallon propane tanks are hidden by the pump house.

The buildings come complete with hurricane-proof windows, drilled wells provide UV filtration, and a year-round greenhouse is co-located with the main building along with vegetable gardens, apple, pear, peach and plum orchards. There are herb and berry gardens, a lobster holding-pen and an 820-square-foot building for lobster cooking and barbecuing; The Lobster Temple.

Multiple security cameras are assigned to each building, complete with security systems for each.

There is a 2,000-squarefoot boathouse with living quarters attached. There are small cottages, a pump house and a heated doghouse. It's hard, really hard, to think of any other convenience or luxury that might have been missed in planning this hideaway from life-inconvenient threats. Maintenance costs? Well, if anyone can afford the price of this kind of out-of-the-world luxury, the costs of maintenance should be of no concern whatever.