Having sufficient resources to purchase a private island may seem like a luxury that many open water swimmers would love to afford.

How much do private islands cost?

A lot.

Private island prices vary significantly from US$500,000 to US$75 million. 

Sir Richard Branson, an OceanElder, bought Necker Island [shown above] in the British Virgin Islands for US$180,000 in 1976 – or a little over US$1 million in today’s currency.

William Wrigley, Jr., an Honor Administrator in the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame, bought Santa Catalina Island [shown below] off the coast of Southern California or US$3,900,000 in 1919 – or about US$71.6 million today.

How many islands are there in the world? An estimated 670,000 with up to 80,000 island in the Pacific Ocean, 30,000 islands in the Atlantic Ocean, 20,000 in the Indian Ocean, 10,000 in the Arctic Ocean, 5,000 in the Mediterranean Sea, and 2,000 in the Caribbean Sea. Of these islands,it is estimated there are tens of thousands of private islands somewhere around the world. 

For example, Bird Cay in the Bahamas is currently for sale for US$38 million. The 250-acre tropical Caribbean Sea island [shown below] is described as a haven of beauty and tranquility, located 30 minutes by air from Nassau.  

So what could an open water swimmer do with a private island?

• Hold circumnavigation swim weeks for like-minded athletes
• Host swim vacations for newbies, para swimmers, and Olympic swimmers
• Conduct webinars and discussions featuring marine environmentalists, aquapreneurs, deep thinkers, futurists, and scientists
• Organize clinics featuring artists, writers, movie makers, musicians, fashion designers, and special effects technicians
• Do sunrise and sunset morning workouts
• Do underwater video sessions and take surface portrait sessions when rainbows appear
• Dream up new ocean swimming adventures and challenges
• Study the local marine life and environment
• Document daily details of the water temperature and conditions over time (decades)
• Design creative swimwear and develop innovative marine swimming gear
• Map out different swim courses from easy to challenging
• Develop a sustainable series of meals entirely based on the surrounding marine life
• Learn how to paint and compose music
• Consult with historians, anthropologists, and authors to document the history of open water swimming
• Learn how to scuba dive, spear fish, netfishing, make shell ornaments
• Learn how to climb coconut trees
• Build environmentally friendly structures
• Study indigenous languages
• Write a book of everything possible about the island
• Sleep well
• Invite friends from the global open water swimming community to share in this unique experience

© 2025 Daily News of Open Water Swimming

“to educate, enthuse, and entertain all those who venture beyond the shoreline“

A World Open Water Swimming Federation project.