Sailing with Nine of Cups

Vessel Name: Nine of Cups
Vessel Make/Model: Liberty 458
Hailing Port: Denver, Colorado, USA
Crew: Marcie & David
About: We've lived aboard Nine of Cups since 2000 and have managed to accumulate 86,000+ nm under the keel since that time. We completed a circumnavigation in April 2015 and managed to sail around the five great southern capes. Come along with us for the ride!
Extra:
Visit our website at www.nineofcups.com for more photos and info about Nine of Cups and her crew. We also have a more extensive blogsite at www.justalittlefurther.com. Are some of our links broken? Links break from time to time. Please let us know which ones are broken and we'll fix them. You [...]
05 January 2017 | Chesapeake, VA
07 July 2016 | Us: East Walpole, MA / Cups: Chesapeake, VA
06 July 2016 | East Walpole, MA
04 July 2016 | East Walpole, MA
02 July 2016 | East Walpole, MA
01 July 2016 | Virginia Beach, Virginia
30 June 2016 | Chesapeake, VA
29 June 2016 | Chesapeake, VA
28 June 2016 | Intracoastal Waterway from St Augustine to Norfolk
27 June 2016 | Intracoastal Waterway from St Augustine to Norfolk
26 June 2016 | Intracoastal Waterway from St Augustine to Norfolk
25 June 2016 | Intracoastal Waterway from St Augustine to Norfolk
24 June 2016 | Intracoastal Waterway from St Augustine to Norfolk
23 June 2016 | Intracoastal Waterway from St Augustine to Norfolk
22 June 2016 | Intracoastal Waterway from St Augustine to Norfolk
21 June 2016 | Intracoastal Waterway from St Augustine to Norfolk
20 June 2016 | Charleston, South Carolina, USA
19 June 2016 | Charleston, South Carolina, USA
18 June 2016 | Intracoastal Waterway from St Augustine to Norfolk
17 June 2016 | Intracoastal Waterway from St Augustine to Norfolk
Recent Blog Posts
05 January 2017 | Chesapeake, VA

Happy 2017!

Happy New Year, Everyone!

07 July 2016 | Us: East Walpole, MA / Cups: Chesapeake, VA

Taking a breather ...

Since we'll be off the boat during July and August, we plan to post only three times per week. The Captain will continue writing a practical Blue View post each week, we'll keep you up to date on what's happening with us and then throw in some cruising nuggets as well.

06 July 2016 | East Walpole, MA

Keeping fit

We’ve written before about keeping fit on the boat. David is so much better at a regimented exercise program than I am. I have all the best intentions, but I can always think of something better to do than sit-ups, push-ups, leg lifts and running in place. It doesn’t take much to distract me. Walking, [...]

04 July 2016 | East Walpole, MA

Happy 240th Birthday, America

Growing up in New England, I took for granted just how lovely a summer’s morning can be in Massachusetts. It’s comfortably cool and everything smells clean and fresh. Spider webs glisten with morning dew and it’s just great to be alive and breathe in the new day. Being back at Lin’s house conjures up wonderful childhood memories of summer mornings past. And this is not just any morning … it’s the 4th of July, the best holiday of the summertime in the USA.

02 July 2016 | East Walpole, MA

Leaving Cups and a Road Trip

Leaving Nine of Cups is never easy. We know she’ll pout while we’re gone and so we do our best to make sure she’s as comfortable as possible before we leave. We were whirling dervishes trying to get everything ready.

01 July 2016 | Virginia Beach, Virginia

Hunting & Gathering - Virginia Beach

We had lots to do before leaving Cups. David was intent on getting as many chores done in advance of our departure as possible so that once we return in September, we can spend time sailing in the Chesapeake rather than doing repairs and maintenance. Much of what we needed in the way of parts and supplies, [...]

Perusing pinnacles near Panamint

01 May 2012 | Us: Bakersfield,CA Cups: Tassie
Marcie
A long, interesting day began very early this morning. We left Beatty, NV and headed over the pass back to Death Valley NP. We'd seen several signs warning us to watch out for wild burros and sure enough, we saw several of them grazing close to the road this morning. Desert cottontails played hide and seek in the scrub brush. Feathery yellow Prince's plume waved gently along the roadside in the morning breeze.

Up, up, up we climbed to nearly 5,000' and then down, down, down to the valley. As the altitude dropped to near sea level and we exited the canyon, the wall of heat known as Hell's Gate was palpable. We admired the Mesquite Sand Dunes and the Devil's Cornfield and stopped for coffee in Stovepipe Wells. The temperature was already near 90F and it wasn't 9am yet.

We made our way to the west park exit and chose a less-traveled Route 178 through the Panamint Mountains to head towards Bakersfield, CA, our lodging city for the night. To say Route 178 was scenic would be a grave understatement; it was exceptional. This amazing corridor passes through five distinct bio-regions from Death Valley and the Mojave Desert through Sierran forest, California chaparral, valley grasslands and the Kern River watershed.

Near the tiny, industrial town of Trona, we took a short sidetrip to the Trona Pinnacles. This unique landscape consists of more than 500 rugged tufa (calcium carbonate) pinnacles, some as high as 140', formed several millenia ago in the ancient Searles Lake basin. Wandering around and among them was other-worldly.

Back on our route, the hills were dotted with Joshua trees and then further on live oak, cottonwood and willows prevailed. Wildflowers were in bloom along the 2-lane country road and provided a riot of color as we followed the serpentine course of the Kern River, sometimes high above it and sometimes nearly even with its shores.

Our arrival in Bakersfield, a congested, traffic-ridden city, was all too soon. We may have to head back up Route 178 again tomorrow. It's worth a do-over.
Comments

About & Links

SailBlogs Groups
SailBlogs Friends
LONG WHITE CLOUD
Leu Cat
Carinthia
SANGARIS
Migaloo
Asylum
Tiger Lilly
Thorfinn
Hello World
Halekai
Tender Spirit
Valiam
Talacam
MACCABEE
Annecam
HooRoo
Echo Echo