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, [...]

Port Arthur Historic Convict Site - Part 2

21 January 2013 | Port Arthur, TAS
Marcie
Continuing with our visit to Port Arthur Historic Convict Site …

Three short plays were presented each day and we managed to see all three during our two-day visit. All were representative of a prisoner's life, their treatment and the reasons they were incarcerated. Part of the dehumanizing process at Port Arthur was to assign prisoners an identification number which replaced their names. The plays seek to humanize the people who lived and died here by telling their stories and restoring their identities as much as possible.

We visited Puer Point by dinghy early one morning. Many people were originally “transported” from England and Ireland for minor crimes such as theft. Boys could be tried as adults at age 7 and theft of a toy was enough to warrant imprisonment at Port Arthur. Puer (Latin for “boy”) Point was established across the bay from the main settlement at Port Arthur as a reformatory specifically for juvenile delinquent boys. It was hard to believe that between 1834-1849,this lovely place with wildflowers in bloom and ducks swimming tranquilly in a marsh was once home to 3,000 boys, some as young as 9. A walkway leads past the scant remains of the buildings. David wandered into the old brick ovens, thick with cobwebs and a-buzz with flying insects.

The Isle of the Dead, also across the bay, is a tiny, treed island that served as the settlement's cemetery. Convicts, military and civilian officers and their family members were buried here between 1833 and 1877. It was an eerie feeling to see row upon row of gravestones … some leaning, some crumbling. We wandered respectfully and quietly among them, reading the stones, wondering what their stories were and how their lives had ended. Of the 1,646 graves recorded, only 180, those of prison staff and military personnel, are marked.

The prison closed in 1877. Many of the buildings are believed to be haunted. Screams are said to be heard from cells and rocking chairs and objects can be seen moving. Ghosthunters International did a segment here and verified paranormal activity. We visited the Parsonage, said to be the “most haunted” of all the buildings on the site. We didn't see or hear anything paranormal, but in a black-walled, dimly-lit room, with a minister's sermon playing in the background, it certainly felt creepy.

We ended up spending two full days at the Port Arthur Convict Site including our side trips to Isle of the Dead and Puer Point in the dinghy. It is wonderful, eerie and sobering all at the same time. The cheapest admission price is $32 and includes two consecutive days entry, an orientation tour and a short harbor cruise. Several other activities including after-dark ghost tours are available for additional cost. We would definitely add Port Arthur to our recommended must-see list when visiting Tasmania.

For more reading on this subject, the crew recommends For the Term of His Natural Life by Marcus Andrew Hislop Clarke, written in 1874. It's a free Kindle download. And for lots more pix (pretty good ones, too!) and links, visit www.justalittlefurther.com.
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