s/y Nine of Cups The Personal Side of the Crew |
There's obviously a side to us that doesn't involve sailing and cruising (hard to believe, but it's true). David is originally from Michigan although spent most of his childhood growing up in Colorado. Marcie was born in Leicester, MA (about 50 miles west of Boston) and grew up and went to school and university in New England. David spent six years in the US Navy and never was aboard a ship. Though Marcie grew up near the Atlantic, she was never on a sailboat as a kid or young adult. A typical question cruiser's ask each other when they meet..."What did you do in your land (other) life?" David's an Electrical Engineer. Marcie's career was in medical marketing. We owned our own medical instrumentation company in Denver for nearly 10 years then sold it to a "larger fish", who sold to a "larger fish" and well, you know how that story goes. We bought "Nine of Cups" in February 2000, retired in April 2000, moved aboard the same month and sailed off across the Gulf of Mexico by the end of May. We sold our house, furniture, cars and all the land anchors we had. What few mementos we have left are in boxes in Marcie's sister's basement in Massachusetts. David's main efforts now are concentrated on keeping the boat afloat. Besides the usual galley work, cleaning and sewing activities, Marcie loves photography and writing and so maintains this website and journal passages as well as contributing several articles a year for publication. She has served on the Board of Directors of SSCA (Seven Seas Cruising Association) and continues to volunteer her efforts on its behalf. We have three kids...Casey, Brennan and Brad...all grown up and on their own. We have eight grandkids! Yup, hard to believe...even for us. Though the family visits us on Nine of Cups when they can, it's hard to find the time in their hectic lives to get away...especially when we're so far away! We try to get home at least once a year to catch up and see how much our grandchildren have grown. |
Lunenberg, Nova Scotia, 2001 with Nine of Cups in the background |
Nine of Cups' salon Dunedin, New Zealand 2011 Courtesy Otago Daily Times |
Colca Canyon, Peru - 2004 |
Curracai, Las Aves, Venezuela 2003 |
At Brennan's wedding Maryland 2007 |
Yacht Club Punta del Este Uruguay 2006 |
Vernadsky Station, Antarctica March 2006 |
Pitcairn Island 2009 |
Puerto Montt, Chile 2009 |
Sydney Harbor Bridge - 2012 |
Machu Picchu, Peru - 2004 |