Penn Cove | Coupeville Sports

Posts Tagged ‘Penn Cove’

Dave’s kinda not here, man

Posted in Everything changes, tagged Dulles Airport, life changes, mugginess, Penn Cove, West Virginia on August 2, 2025| 2 Comments »

My last ferry ride? (Charlotte Young photo)

I really did leave.

After 54 years in Washington state, 36 on Whidbey Island, and 20 in my duplex on Penn Cove, I stumbled my way through airport security Wednesday, and am now in my third day living in West Virginia.

I followed my sister and brother-in-law and three nephews, who left Freeland back during Spring Break.

The first moment I stepped out of Dulles Airport and into the steaming hot sludge known as non-Pacific Northwest weather was like being hit by a freight train.

But, so far, other than a quick, ferocious thunder storm my first day in West Virginia, it’s been like being on Whidbey, just a couple degrees hotter.

And yes, I know these last two days are unusual, and my baptism by fire (or by mugginess, bugs, and sometimes brutal weather changes) is likely just around the corner.

We shall see how I endure.

But, for now, if you hadn’t heard, now you know why Coupeville Sports, which generally publishes daily, has gone into shutdown.

For those who still want to see stories from the past 13 years, all 12,110 of them are still available here, as the blog is paid for through the next eight months.

Will I add to it? Well, covering sports in Cow Town while living several thousand miles away, would not be easy.

But never say never. Weirder things have happened.

For now, let’s all just agree to pray that the weather stays moderate here. I wasn’t made to marinate in mugginess 24/7/365.

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And then he was gone…

Posted in Everything changes, tagged Coupeville, nephews, Penn Cove, West Virginia on July 6, 2025| 1 Comment »

Welcome to the World Headquarters of Coupeville Sports.

I’m not big on change, apparently.

I’ve lived my entire life in Washington state, with 36 of those 54 years here on Whidbey Island — the last 20 residing in the same duplex on the shores of Penn Cove.

It used to be a candy store back in the day, and a beach shack before that.

I arrived on the corner of Sherman and Madrona in time for the second season of Lost and have remained here through two sets of landlords, several next-door neighbors, and at least four mailboxes — only three of which have been exploded by wayward drivers.

Being a converted beach shack, it often doesn’t hold its heat very well in the winter but catches enough breeze skipping off the mussel rafts in the water below to stay cool for all but a few days in the “sunnier” months.

I’m used to it, and it’s used to me.

From the latter part of my video store days through farm and restaurant work, we have endured together.

And, for the past 13 years, it has been the home of “Coupeville Sports.”

My computer setup has moved from the bedroom to the living room over the years, with furniture changing, and — over the course of the last year — 7,000+ DVDs/Blue-Rays coming to reside on 34 bookshelves.

I live in a video store now, something which is both sublime and stupid all at the same time.

Videoville is never coming back in reality, but, for relatively few bucks, I recreated it for a moment.

But things have been thrown asunder of recent, and it’s sent me drifting in a deep funk.

My sister, brother-in-law, and three nephews, who lived in Freeland the past seven years, suddenly moved to West Virginia in April.

I have kept the blog going for 13 years, and 12,105 articles, by being willing to live on a few pennies here and there. There were far more positives than negatives over the years.

But losing daily, or semi-daily, contact with my nephews has forced me to reflect on things.

I can keep the blog going, I can attempt to scrape by on sporadic donations and side hustles.

Or I can make a big change and go see my nephews continue to grow up in person, while I’m still taller than at least one of them.

Will I adjust to wild West Virginia weather after a lifetime of living in the fairly serene Pacific Northwest? I guess we’ll see.

So, this is a long way to get around to confirming that yes, this is the end of Coupeville Sports. And the start of something else.

I’m not 100% sure when I’ll be on a train heading East, duffel bag in hand, but it will be sooner rather than later.

To all of you who supported me over the years, with financial help, or baked goods, or kind words, thank you.

If anyone wants to help me ease down that long and winding road, you can always celebrate the legacy of Coupeville Sports with a final visit to:

Venmo: David-Svien

PayPal: https://paypal.me/DavidSvien?country.x=US&locale.x=en_US

And if you know someone interested in swinging a deal for a whole lot of movies, well, there’s that, too.

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Irrational and obstinate, forever

Posted in Advertise local, tagged Coupeville, Flat Butt Film Fest, irrational business plan, lone wolf, Penn Cove on February 15, 2021| Leave a Comment »

Irrational. Obstinate. Committed foe of paywalls. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

How long can I keep this going?

That’s been the question since August 15, 2012, when Coupeville Sports debuted on the internet.

Back then, I was full of self-righteous fury over having hundreds (probably thousands) of bylined stories erased from existence after the Coupeville Examiner was sold to Black Press, the owner of the Whidbey News-Times and South Whidbey Record.

Feeling sorry for myself carried me a certain distance, then the blog morphed into something more positive.

Now, even after several aborted attempts at walking away from the job, we sit at 8.5 years and 8,058 articles.

I haven’t had a “real job” since I left Christopher’s on Whidbey in 2015, surviving by the slimmest of margins thanks to readers who have donated to the cause and advertisers who stepped up in the early days.

Coupeville Sports is never going to make a profit.

The subject matter is too narrow, and the audience, while parts of it can be found in unexpected places, from Pennsylvania to Brazil, will never be universal.

My ingrained stubbornness contributes to that, as I have held on to two early declarations with a fanatical commitment — no paywall, ever, and ads, once bought, are good for the life of the site.

I had a chance recently to possibly go in a different direction, to return to my journalism roots and work for someone else.

If it had worked out, if I could have gotten past some personal concerns while convincing others that I could commit for a reasonable length of time, it would have likely improved my financial state.

But, I’m stubborn, and apparently still haven’t completely gotten over the erasure of my previous work, so I chose not to pursue that path.

At least I’m staying on brand here, irrational and obstinate to the end.

So, I plug on, pounding out Coupeville Sports, while returning to my days as a “film critic” with the launch of Flat Butt Film Fest – One movie, 100 words back in August, 2020.

853 articles and zero dollars earned — faithful to the brand, ever and always.

Even without games being played, this is the 51st story I’ve published in 2021 here on Coupeville Sports.

Or 50 more than either the News-Times or Record, which don’t have a sports writer since my mentor, Jim Waller, retired in December.

Now, with authorities moving all of Washington state’s counties into Phase 2 of Governor Jay Inslee’s latest COVID reopening plan, games should return to Cow Town for the first time in a year-plus.

Coupeville High School is scheduled to launch spring sports — track, softball, girls tennis, and baseball — next Monday, Feb. 22.

The opportunity for many more stories seems like a sure thing.

My ability to scrape out a meager living, paying rent and such, is less of a sure thing.

It’s the dilemma I’ve built for myself, and one unlikely to fade any time soon thanks to my “business plan.”

How long can I keep this going?

I don’t know. We shall see, I guess.

Still not going to use a paywall, though.

Want to help keep me typing away at 2 AM on the shores of Penn Cove, using a computer powered by a hamster on a treadmill?

1) Buy an ad. $50 for the life of the site, plus, BONUS, you get an identical ad on my movie blog. BOGO fever rages.

2) Donate to the cause, through PayPal or by mailing me at 165 Sherman, Coupeville, WA 98239. You are the wind beneath my typing fingers.

https://paypal.me/DavidSvien?locale.x=en_US

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Once was crazy

Posted in Swimming in Penn Cove, tagged artwork, cold water, homemade tattoos, Penn Cove, swimming on April 25, 2020| Leave a Comment »

Wait, I’m wearing … pants?!?!

It’s deceptive. So, so deceptive.

Look outside today, with the sun glistening off of Penn Cove, and you almost might believe the water would be warm.

You’d be wrong, however.

Once upon a time, for about a five-year stretch, I went into the waters below my house every single day for much of the year.

In just a swimsuit.

And believe me, it was never, ever, EVER warm.

Certainly not when there was snow on the ground in November, but also certainly not on the rare 90-degree day in August, either.

Looking back, I am left to wonder – was I a moron?

And then you see the drawings I used to make on my body parts prior to splashing down, and you know the answer for yourself.

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Invasion!!!

Posted in Swimming in Penn Cove, tagged invasion, jellyfish, Penn Cove, Seattle freeway, Spongebob Squarepants on August 6, 2015| Leave a Comment »

So, I was thinking about making an omelet… (David Svien photos)

“Bow! Bow before my stingy power!!”

“Oh, I got plenty of ways to touch you. They don’t call me Mr. Tingly for nothing!”

I call this one Ralph. He just needs a hug.

“Oh, me? I’m good. I’ll just sit down here and wait for you to step on me.”

I mean, it’s not like the beach was all that pretty before the invasion…

“No more photos!! I got swimsuits to get all up in!!”

The birds eat well tonight.

The beach surrounding Penn Cove, and the water itself, has lost the battle, as the biggest invasion of jelly fish I have seen in five years of swimming in those waters landed with a fury Thursday.

Walk the post-apocalyptic sand ‘n rock ‘n crushed mussel shells mess we call a beach, and it glistens like gold.

If gold came in big, globby piles of squishiness drying out in the sun…

Step into the water (of course, I went in the water … I’m not a tourist. Idiot? Maybe. But not a tourist…) and the jellyfish are stacked up like cars on a Seattle freeway.

There’s only one answer, and I think we all know what that is.

Someone needs to go find the greatest jellyfish hunter known to this world.

Yes, I speak of SpongeBob SquarePants. He’s our only hope!!

What do you mean he’s imaginary?!?!?!?!?

We’re all freakin’ doomed…

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