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, [...]

Arrival at St. Helena

01 September 2015 | Enroute to St. Helena, South Atlantic
Marcie
Day 13 - Arrival at St. Helena Island South Atlantic Ocean

A mild enough night livened up with several showers which had the watch crew scampering to get everything down below and out of the rain and then hauling it back up again once the brief shower finished...only to repeat the same exercise three more times during a three hour watch.

The 0600 change of watch had us 50 miles from the anchorage off Jamestown under a thick, grey sky. Cups quickened her pace like a horse heading for the barn. About 45 nm out, the shadowy silhouette of St. Helena Island came into view on the horizon. Literally a mountaintop, its craggy peaks are quite impressive poking out from its submarine depths towards the sky. It was certainly a welcome sight for sailors who've just spent nearly two weeks at sea. I remember the first time we arrived at St. Helena. Jelly cat was aboard then, and she paced the deck continuously. She could smell land long before we sighted it and when we finally did have the island in view, she was totally enthralled. It's one of our favorite pics of Jelly.

About 20 nm out, we radioed ahead to let them know we were approaching. They welcomed us and as we neared the mooring field a few hours later, Port Control radioed us with instructions to pick up any available yellow mooring. There were a couple small yachts tied up, but none appeared to have anyone aboard. I had my lasso ready with a huge bowline in the end to pick up the mooring. We did a drive-by and after one failed attempt determined my bowline, though huge, was plainly not huge enough. I tied a new one and we cruised by, but I missed again (Annie Oakley I'm not). David tried his hand and missed as well. These were not your round mooring balls, but rather huge,wide, flat mooring discs with rings on top. The bowline couldn't slip easily down its sides as it would with a ball. On the fourth attempt, I altered my strategy a bit and voila...we were attached.

Cups has a lot of freeboard and therefore we're pretty high off the water. Maneuvering the mooring close enough to put lines through the ring was a challenge. We could, of course, have launched the dinghy, but the wind was up, plus we're lazy. With much finagling, David managed to get our mooring lines through the ring by hanging off the side of the boat. No photos...we were too busy...but they would have been interesting. He lost his hat in the process...this has been a two-hat passage unfortunately.

Once settled on the mooring, we confirmed with Port Control that we could check in in the morning and then went about tidying up Cups. We finally sat in the saloon with a glass of wine and relaxed. A long day after a long passage and here we were...all moored on a mountaintop in the middle of the South Atlantic Ocean. Welcome to St. Helena!

Passage stats: Total miles sailed - 1,396 nm Total days: 12.25 days (294 hrs) Average speed: 4.75 knots Hours motored during passage: 4
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