Are there any deserted islands like in the movies?

[Tayana42]

Originally Posted by northoceanbeach

Maybe a silly and childish questions, but I was wondering if there are any deserted islands left?



Just because it is fun to dream about sometimes being cast away so to speak and anchored in some lagoon and it's just you. No clearance, not red tape, no time limit, just your own island to pick coconuts and fish and find tropical fruit.



No, it's not my highest priority of a destination, I just want to know if there is anything out there or is everything private.

Northoceanbeach, I hear you. In Southern California it's hard to find a place to anchor that doesn't limit you to 3 days or require reservations in advance. And then there is the congestion and noise. A deserted island with no restriction and no regulations and no noisy party boats sounds like a dream. Sorry, none in SoCal that I know (of course if I do know of one I wouldn't publicly share the info).


S/V B'Shert

[svfinlandia]

Originally Posted by barnakiel

There are many. I am not sure what movies you have in mind though.

As I understand it, Sand Cay in the Bahamas (just north of West End) was the set for Gilligan's Island and is still deserted and possibly for sale.

Al, S/V Finlandia

[fstbttms]

Originally Posted by northoceanbeach

Maybe a silly and childish questions, but I was wondering if there are any deserted islands left?

Here's one, and it's right in your backyard. It's even for sale.

[Jimmy4Jesus]

Originally Posted by svfinlandia

As I understand it, Sand Cay in the Bahamas (just north of West End) was the set for Gilligan's Island and is still deserted and possibly for sale.

Al, S/V Finlandia

DO not know anything about Islands but saw a documentary on Gilligans Island a while back. The original series intro movie was filmed in Hawaii and the series was filmed on studio property. The lagoon was manmade as were all the sets. That is an Island I would love to go to but it does not exist, just movie magic. Bear Gyrillis dropped some guys off an a deserted island for a month for a reality show but I am sure there was paperwork and it did not look like much fun the way they had to do it.

[Delancey]

"An Island To Oneself" by Tom Neale is a pretty great read for dreamers. Chronicles his stay on Suwarrow atoll in the cook islands.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Neale

[kimphilley]

Las Perlas Islas west coast of Panama. Full of them. Look just like Gilligans Is.

[dannc]

Originally Posted by kimphilley

Las Perlas Islas west coast of Panama. Full of them. Look just like Gilligans Is.

Is Mary Ann or Ginger there? Hopefully, the Howells, Skipper, Professor, and certainly Gilligan, are not on the island when I arrive....

[Maka]

Palmyra Atoll Due South if Hawaii is one.
A favorite stop for solitude by cruisers passing thru the area.
Abandoned WWII buildings
Good anchorage.
Belongs to the US, so the only paper work you will be doing is in your log book and the head.

https://www.bing.com/images/search?q...toll&FORM=IGRE

[CruisingKitty]

There are plenty in the west of Ireland, most deserted in the 1950s and '60s when life just became too harsh out there. As has been said, 'there's usually a reason why they are deserted.'

We cover a few of them in Cruising the Wild Atlantic Way.

[sailon46]

Redonda lays between Monserat to the south and Nevis to the North in the Leewards. Plenty to do and explore. Its actually a kingdom of somebody from Antidua

[sailjumanji]

Originally Posted by Waterway Guide

Yes. There is only one left, but I’m not telling where it is.

Please reference the Guide page number.

[Steadman Uhlich]

Castaway on a Desert Island?

The Dream of a Personal Blue Lagoon for You?

Watch the following video.

The Real Castaway (Martin Popplewell)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qSXyz3he3M

Lived on two different small deserted islands in Ulithi Atoll (Yap) for seven months. He was only 18 years old!

He started on an island that turned out to be infested with rats and covered in mosquitos! Very unpleasant place to stay. He moved off, then moved to another better/bigger island.

He started with one woman (Girl Friday) who was 12 years older than him, who had answered a newspaper ad looking for a woman to go be a castaway. She lasted one month.

Then he got his dream girl to come live with him. She was about his age. She lasted 7 months, despite life threatening illness and discomfort and a poor relationship.

This was a fulfillment of his boyhood dream. He prepared for years. At the end of the video (see above) he answers a question he is often asked: "Would you do it again."

He answered: "Definitely not!"
__________

Quoted from the Youtube intro:

When he realised his dream in 1989 he was just 18 years old. The adventure became a media sensation with journalists flying halfway round the world to cover the story. Martin kept a video diary of his experience.

In 2001 he returned to the Pacific to make a critically acclaimed documentary. The Real Castaway reunites the two castaways on their desert island 12 years after their experience. It's a story about adventure, growing up and the pursuit of an impossible dream.

[Hardhead]

Funny this should come up. I was just yesterday doing a lot of reading about Palmyra. If you want to spend an interesting hour, do a google search. Lots of creepy stuff happened there, completely apart from the Sea Wind incident.

Apparently it's the kind of place that you'd really want to keep an eye on your companions. If you get a chance, you'll find a lot written about it.

[bmz]

In 2009 Cocos Island was short-listed as a candidate to be declared one of the New7Wonders of Nature of the world by the New7Wonders of the World Foundation, and ranked second in the islands category.[9]
Thanks to the breathtaking marine life in its waters (see Fauna section below), Cocos Island was named one of the best 10 scuba diving spots in the world by PADI (Professional Association of Diving Instructors) and a "must do" according to diving experts.[10] For many, the main attractions are the large pelagic fish species, which are very abundant in this unique meeting point between deep and shallow waters. The largest schools of hammerhead sharks in the World are consistently reported there. Encounters with dozens if not hundreds of these and other large animals are nearly certain in every dive. Smaller and colorful species are also abundant in one of the most extensive and rich reefs of the south eastern Pacific.[11] The famous oceanographer Jacques Cousteau visited the island several times and in 1994 called it "the most beautiful island in the world".
Unfortunately, no one is allowed to live there.

[Steadman Uhlich]

And another film that is based on a true story of a modern "castaway" couple that had a bad time on a small island.

1986 film starring Oliver Reed and Amanda Donohoe

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXk_vg_fkag

Plot summary from IMDB
"Middle-aged Gerald Kingsland advertises in a London paper for a female companion to spend a year with him on a desert island. The young Lucy Irvine takes a chance on contacting him and after a couple of meetings they decide to go ahead. Once on the island things prove a lot less idyllic than in the movies, and gradually it becomes clear that it is Lucy who has the desire and the strength to try and see the year through.
- Written by Jeremy Perkins {J-26}"