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, [...]

Life without television

18 November 2012 | Kettering, TAS
Marcie
Yes, Virginia, there is life without television. For the last 13+ years, we have been without a television. We don't miss it in the least.

We do have friends who have given us some TV series on DVD along the way which we watch on our laptop. We watched The Sopranos while we were in Venezuela. The West Wing was among our favorites. Deadwood was crude, vulgar and violent, but we really enjoyed it. We race through an entire season in just a few nights ... none of that waiting impatiently for the next week or sitting through ads and commercials. We watch them like movies with time for popcorn in between episodes. Although we have a large DVD library, instead of being entertained and glued to the computer screen, more likely than not, we tend to entertain ourselves and each other aboard ...reading, games, writing, hobbies, projects, watching sunsets. There's always plenty to do beyond chores.

Being back in the USA, we were inundated with TV again. Everyone has one...or two or three, strategically located in bedrooms, bathrooms, kitchens, family rooms. They always seem to be on, providing background noise to the usual household din even when no one's in the room to watch. I'd find myself walking into a room with the TV playing and, noticing no one watching, shut it off. Within minutes, the set was back on, droning away to a non-audience. Each time we return, TV's are bigger and better...huge screens, high definition pictures, increased costs for cable. It's hard to discuss cable service and costs with people without at least some swearing during the conversation.

We find that normal chat and conversation cease when folks sit in front of the tube. Eyes are drawn like a magnet away from the conversation to catch what's showing … no matter what it is. That's fine, I guess, if you've got lots of time to spare, but if you see people infrequently, it seems such a waste of time when you could be interacting, chatting, playing a game. Don't get me wrong. Watching a ballgame once in awhile or a good movie can be most enjoyable. However, with 500+ channels available in some places, we still found more frequently than not, there was nothing worth watching. Bring out the good books or the Scrabble tiles or the cribbage board.

Now we admit that we are hopelessly out of date … most of the time. We don't know who's winning on America's Got Talent. We have no idea what TV series are currently shown each week. We haven't the faintest idea who won the SuperBowl till weeks after (or even who was playing). Unless someone tells us, we don't know whether a famous person has died. We always lose at the “alive or dead” game. We are, however, usually attuned to countries with whom the US is at war, though, lest we arrive on their shores and be embarrassed.
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