Life is complicated.....

when you live on an island.   

Everything that comes to your property or leaves it has to be taken either by boat or barge.    If your fridge breaks down and you go to town to buy another, make sure you measure your boat to make sure it will fit and also take a friend or two with you to help put it into the boat and then take it out and carry it up to the cottage.   If it doesn't fit your boat, the price of the barge to take that beautiful new side by side refrigerator to the cottage will add considerably to the cost of the new fridge!
   
Or you're putting in a septic system?   A barge for the front end loader, supplies, soil etc. has to be hired to bring it all to the cottage.    Or if your property is mostly rock and doesn't have enough soil for a septic system,  you will need to have the holding tanks delivered by a barge.   And then a different barge will have to be hired at the end of the season to empty the tanks.

The barge in the photo is taking the debris from a demolished cottage to town for disposal and will be back later with the equipment and supplies to build the new cottage.

As you can imagine, barges are a very common sight on the bay.

In addition, we don't have Uber here, but we do have a water taxi.    You can either phone or text the taxi person a day or two ahead to make the arrangements and he picks you up in his boat and takes you to town.    Easy, and he is always about 15 minutes early - never late.   Perfect.