We had done our daily chores. Dinner was over. It was about 7:00pm.

“You ready?”

“Let’s get her done!”

The tide was a high one. Now was the time to get the really heavy stuff up the hill but, of course, we still had to load that stuff on to the boat back at the dock. Which we promptly proceeded to do. 10 minutes later, we were in position, in the boat, loaded with a huge winch and three huge batteries.

The boat floated gently along from the dock, through the lagoon and eventually nudged up against the beach directly below the highline and the ‘pull-line’ (that line which rides on the highline and is attached to the old Xmas winch at the top of the hill). The tide level was perfect.

We were in position.

Sally retrieved the old cargo net and we spread it wide across the bow of the boat and then loaded into it two of the 150-pound batteries. Using the attached block and taykle, we lifted them up off the boat and high enough (we thought) to ride up the hill without hitting outcroppings.

It was dusk by the time I climbed the hill and fired up the Xmas winch. But up the load came. Slowly. Carefully. 20 minutes later, we had two batteries up to the top of the hill. 300 pounds of heavy, dead weight and only a little lifting and shifting on our part. Waiting a few days to let the tide lift us into place saved a lot of effort not to mention making the whole exercise safer.

We repeated the process and took out the two other weights, the third battery and the winch but, as it was getting on, we just lifted them to a high part of the beach and made them stable. Sally took the boat back to the dock and then we went home. It was 9:00 pm. We’ll get the other two pieces later today.

It’s a funny thing: I’ve had the batteries for almost a month. The winch came a week or so later. The whole schmozzle sat on the dock all that time awaiting the right tide. It finally came and the chore got done…..at just before 9:00 pm on a Friday night! But the batteries had been ordered 10 weeks before that and the winch had been part of an obsession for at least three months prior.

First there was the long-distance shopping. Then we had to wait for the shipping and the barging. Then we had to wait for the tide. Finally, we had to wait until we were ready with the equipment. But it got done.

“Good job! Efficient. No one got hurt. Rather quick, don’t you think, all things considered? Only about three months!”

“Yeah, really, eh? Go, go go. We gotta take it easy. Slow down some. Those things coulda waited a bit. Next time let’s not rush it.”

“Deal!”