Ian Argus Stuart, the 64 years old millionaire. Our oldest castaway

This was Ian Argus Stuart’s first experience. At the age of 64 he has become the oldest castaway Docastaway has had to date, including our famous castaway Gauthier Toulemonde.

This adventurous millionaire who was the owner of well-known property such as ‘No Man’s Land Fort’ or ‘Hasting Pier’, flew to Indonesia in business class and after staying in the city’s best hotel, went straight to Amparo desert island with only a machete and a few other articles.

Ian slept on the floor in the open every day looking for his own food and during his experience he even ate a bread roll and a cabbage that the tide brought in! Sometimes, when his day’s survival work had finished and he’d got a bit of spare time he would go up to the highest part of the island so he could use his smart phone to connect with the London Stock Exchange and buy and sell his actions.

What is more, Ian didn’t want us to be on emergency standby at the nearest town and nor did he want us to finish giving him the last instructions on the first day and he tried to kick us out of his island after only a few minutes there. 

Unlike the majority of our castaways Ian spent each night in a different part of the island and this was the reason he took so little weight there with him, so as to be able to move about with the maximum freedom. We could say that we’re talking about a nomad, a lover of solitude and whose major motivation is to discover a new place every day. He could be described as a castaway-explorer.

Here on the left you can see the video of Ian on his last day, after spending a long time without talking to anyone.  At the end of his experience we were really surprised to find out that unlike the majority of our castaways, he didn’t really care about the island’s white sandy beaches. Actually he almost didn’t even touch it during his experience.

Another interesting thing about Ian is that he likes finding things that have been brought in by the tide.  Things like shampoos, cans, bottles, etc. and he uses them for his personal daily needs.  However these finds were possible as this island is not as remote from civilization as others which makes it easier for plastics to be washed-up on the shore.  We normally clean up before new castaways arrive but Ian did ask us not to clean the beach or collect any refuse before beginning his experience.

However, that’s not all there is as surely our followers will find it hard to believe that Ian Argus Stuart really doesn’t know how to swim!! More so, taking into account that he owned several big yachts in which he traveled across different seas.

In this long article I have tried to explain how I met Ian and to describe his curious personality which, up to today, hasn’t failed to surprise me. You can also watch this interesting interview where you can find out more details about his life.

It’s important to explain that this first experience was only a practice run for the great challenge that will follow in November this year when he will experience 21 days of total isolation in an remote volcanic island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. But this time it will be almost impossible to find rubbish washed up ashore as there isn’t a beach on the whole island, but in particular because it is extremely remote so the amount of rubbish floating on the surrounding sea will be almost zero.

Here below there are some pictures of his experience. Don’t forget to place your mouse on each photo for a short description: