Sailing Heldeleine | Adventures of the Culpepper Family

Helen’s Last Post of the Trip

Posted on August 16, 2016 by LeahAugust 16, 2016

How to sum up this trip? There’s really no way. As I sit on the airplane bound for home, I’m too choked up and far too lazy to find the right words. But how’s this: I’ve bonded with my wonderful sister to learn she’s even more wonderful. I’ve grown to adore my great uncle Pete, Will, and Cassie. I’ve learned to be thankful at the amount of work my father puts into making our family the best it can be, and I’ve felt the annoying love of my amazing mom throughout our journey. I’ve seen the echoes of past humanity and realized the full spectrum of all life eternally on earth. I’ve felt the kindness of strangers, and the not-so-kindness of strangers. I’ve become proud of who I am and thankful for my experiences.

Oh god, that was sappy. I think I got my feet stuck in the ooze of gratefulness. If I die here on the plane of being too sentimental bury me somewhere with Pringles.
But as much as I’m ashamed to say it, that was all true. However if you want the simple version here goes:
No fish in ocean, all dead. People are nice but sometimes not. My family is boss. There is a lot of stuff in Rome. SO MUCH VIRGIN MARY AND JESUS. I am lucky. I should draw more. I like Pringles. Pigs fly. Cats don’t like muffins. Reality is an illusion.
Ok, so I took some liberties with the end, but most of it’s true!!!!!!! Kind of…… Anyways, thanks so much for following my family and me, these blogs would just be digital trash without you. Your dedication is much appreciated.
So that’s it, signing out, best blond kid with sarcasm.
-Helen

P.S. There are a lot of smells on this plane. The end.,

—
:3 HELEN JULIA CULPEPPER!!! :3

Highlights from Rome

Posted on August 15, 2016 by LeahAugust 15, 2016

Once again we have walked all over Rome seeing additional sights that we missed last year.

Capitolini Museum. 5 hours. Can you say “Audio Tour”? Girls did not want to leave….

Maddy’s well worn feet!

Each day we ventured out in the morning and then returned to the Convent mid afternoon for a rest and then out again in the evening for Korean Food (Ha! Just seeing if you were paying attention). Pasta/Pizza, of course.

The evenings were especially lovely with the glowing lights and pleasant weather. Sitting at a restaurant in Piazza Nuovo, people watching, having wonderful food and drink and hearing the water spouting from a Bernini fountain is a damn good time.

Girls with Bernini

Maddy

Helen’s turn

So our crew is changing. Maryly, Pete and the girls are returning to the US today and as I write this I am on the train back to Gaeta with Will and Cassie. Additional crew (my sister Pam, Ben and his friend Erin) arrive within the hour into Rome and will follow us to Gaeta.

So, more adventures but I am already missing the family tremendously.

Update…..Rome

Posted on August 12, 2016 by LeahAugust 12, 2016

Well, here we are in Rome as Heldeleine gets her new swivel on and headsail installed in Gaeta. We are back at our favorite Convent in the heart of Rome. Same rooms, same peaceful and beautiful environment.

When last we left you we were weather-bound in Amalfi. Not altogether a brutal experience. Cousin Will traveled from Amalfi to Salerno to Naples to get his girlfriend Cassie who had flown in by way of Paris from NYC. With a crew now of 7 we did a jaunt to Capri and a tight little anchorage. While I stayed aboard to look after the boat (and read….) the rest of the crew spent 5 hours doing chairlifts, taxis and much walking.

Then it was off to….Sant Angelo on Ischia. We just can’t get enough of this place. It has a perfect blend of vacation town and real town. One of those places that 19th century authors came to hibernate while they wrote the next great novel. A wonderful balance of shops, restaurants and markets. And have we mentioned the lack of English spoken…

The next day was on to Ventotene, an island 20+ miles northwest of Ischia. Well, this little spot also won rave reviews from the crew. Vast history (harbor carved out by Romans 2000 years ago) and visited by Keith, Jeffrey and me last year (see 2015 post).

Back to Gaeta yesterday and serious packing (Maryly, Maddy, Helen and Pete leave from Rome and will not be going back to Heldeleine). We taxied to Formia and then Trained to Rome and are now settled in for a 3 day stay before the deserters fly back to NYC on Monday.

On the way back to Gaeta yesterday we observed storm clouds and from the clouds a series of Waterspouts raging down from above. The onboard Radar showed the storm at 13 miles and as it was tracking AWAY we could calmly enjoy nature demonstrating its power.

Island vs Cities

Posted on August 12, 2016 by LeahAugust 12, 2016

Italy is different from New England America. Which is a bit of a “duh, obviously” observation, but the difference is made in ways you may or may not expect. First are the islands. While we were still in the Long Island Sound, the islands looked normal sized and nothing special. When we’re in Italy the islands look normal sized and nothing special. But when compared to each other our old islands of the Atlantic are suck-bunny. The “large” hills are no more than slightly slanted slopes compared to the giant italian cliffs. But when seen from above italian islands look like stubby meat chunks of the knife of some Morrocon Butcher compared to the majestic length of islands in the US.

Of course, islands that are short and small have their own beauty and do not wish to join their hulking brothers, whether long and short or tall and small
Each island has their own unique grandeur.

Another difference are the smells. Now this was mentioned in my previous blog post, but because a cookie looked like it would rather be in my stomach, I stopped writing to eat something much more important. However dinner isn’t ready yet, so the smells will be addressed.
On the streets of big cities (like in America) or small towns (not so like in America), your nose picks up some interesting odors. Mostly issuing from puddles, they range from interesting to slightly unpleasant. This may be due to the old infrastructure, sewege, or the open air market’s rotting fruit. However these aren’t the only little gifts to sniff, in small food shops there are a variety of
Interesting smells. It may be from the frozen section, always smelling funky, that doesn’t have strong doors on. Or the meat and cheese open to the air emitting odors. But no matter where they come from, there is no shame in stepping outside for a breath of fresh air, though I do advise you to walk inside and experience the exotic discomfort of the nose.
Now, I will talk about the size of stuff. It’s small. Much smaller. Not as many chain stores as in America (Desigel or whatever the way you spell it, is the only one I’ve seen a lot). Except, drumroll please, CHURCHES. Big surprise right? (That was extremely sarcastic in case you were eating your own cookie and didn’t notice). Anything to do with religion is decked out, as usual, with gold and priceless frescos with huge fascades.
However I did see a church built in 2010 today. Very interesting. Not much in the way of ceiling art, and it was relatively bare (though extremely ornate compared to America, as Cassie’s jaw dropping pointed out). A couple of the art pieces were very old, so surprise there, because there is NO shortage of museum worthy art. However it was interesting to see what a new church’s plaster walls and marbles looked like, kind of like how the old famous ones would’ve looked in the Renaissance.
But now it’s dinner, and I’m done hiding in the bathroom from setting the table. So, the end.

Hello from Amalfi

Posted on August 7, 2016 by LeahAugust 30, 2016

Well, we have been very bad about updating this blog. We are having too good a time and just couldn’t seem to find the time to sit down and write something… We are currently weather-bound in Amalfi (high wind gusts and a bit of rain) anchored in 12 meters of water. It was a rolly-polly night as swells came in from the sea and kept the boat in motion.

So, here’s the itinerary update:

Family (Maryly, Maddy, Helen, Uncle Pete and Cousin Will) arrived on Sunday and on Monday we were off to the island of Ischia and Ischia Castle for a wonderful overnight stay. The Castle is truly spectacular and we spent Tuesday walking everywhere around the Castle and town.Next we were on to Sant Angelo on Tuesday night. This is a favorite town of mine after a stay with Keith and Jeffrey last year and it did not disappoint the second time around. There is just something special about the place. We had a couple wonderful meals and spent a whole day at the Poisedon Hot Springs Spa. Next day it was a 5 hour half sail (no Genoa)with a drive by of Capri (we’ll visit next week) to Sorrento. There was much climbing to be done to reach to top of the town but what a view!

Beautiful buildings and LOTS of people. Also ENGLISH was everywhere. On Ischia we rarely heard english spoken because Ischia is more of an Italian vacation spot and as such is not overrun by…well…people like us. Sorrento is lovely and the view from the boat is the way to see these towns.

On Friday we drove around the peninsula to the southern coast of Amafli. We sailed by Positano and came here to Amalfi. Another great town to visit and view from the sea. Toured the Cathedral and paper making factory (very cool).

Pope Helen requires a Croisant!

So, still in Amafli and life is good.

Ode to Julia

Posted on August 5, 2016 by LeahAugust 5, 2016

So before the best sister/daughter returns to her role as incredible scribe of the ship, she (me) has to acknowledge someone who’s been watching our every move. Last year a certain person read every post, saw every picture memorized each destination. (NOT a stalker, or an alien bent on destroying the human race, one cruiser at a time, by the way) this person is Julia Graham, my mom’s flute student and a very good friend. When I got back home last year, she would make references about wherever we went, stuff I’ve forgotten even happened. From her laptop screen, she’s sailed through Europe with us, as have all of you people reading this right now, and just like Julia, you deserve some credit. You’ve sat through all the exciting and desperately boring blogs, watched our progress, and followed the boat around the giant bathtub. Thank you for being interested to explore with us. It’s nice to know that the people back at home aren’t just playing PAC MAN on their smart phones like most of the boring population, but being smart and awesome people who read about our crazy trip. Thank you.

So now!! My first thoughts on Italy!!! There are a lot of smells. Not good or bad smells, just smells. The end

The Good, Bad and the Ugly

Posted on July 31, 2016 by LeahJuly 31, 2016

The past few days have been rather busy. Going through piles of plastic bags and freeing many cushions, linens and, of course, pillows has resulted in a livable interior once again. No surprises after 11 months (no mold or critters). Just a seriously ugly bilge and surface cleaning. So, Humpty Dumpty is back together again.

So much for the below decks, up above things are different. Heldeleine is now 1 sail away from being a motor boat. The saga of the top Swivel (please keep up people!) has taken a bad twist. As some of you know the Genoa (headsail) would not come down last year. The boat yard said it was a broken swivel etc….. The swivel was sent to Milan where my wonderfully supportive sister hand carried it to Denver and sent it to be “repaired” in Florida. The guy in Florida said that Nothing was wrong with the swivel. But while he had it there, why doesn’t he replace the ball bearings so it would be good for another 10 years? Why not? Well….the swivel is sent back to Laurie, she hand carries it to Milan and sends it back to yard here in Gaeta. Yesterday we attempted to hoist the Genoa and lo and behold the halyard lines that hoist the sail are CROSSED inside the mast causing them to jam and no way of them hoisting a sail. That is sorted out and they are a bit upset that the crossed lines were the problem and not the swivel. Up goes the sail and furl it does. Awesome. I request that the sail be unrolled and rolled up again as a test. As they unfurl the sail…BANG…the sail starts to come down. WTF!! Yup, the fucking Swivel BROKE!!

Goddamnit. The Florida tech screwed up the bearing installation on a good swivel and made good into very bad. The Italian riggers almost cheered. It was the Swivel, it was the swivel last year! No, it wasn’t the problem then but is NOW. Shit. Bad Day. So, no headsail for at least half the trip (we might be able to have a new one installed while we go the Rome for 3 days). We will see. For now, we will have an unobstructed view of the beauties of Italy. No damn sail in our way….

I still have one sail, we still have a spinnaker, I am still on my boat and I am still seeing the awesomely beautiful sights of the Italian coast.

What’s not to Love?

Family arrives in 3 Hours. Updates to follow.

Back in Italy!

Posted on July 25, 2016 by LeahJuly 25, 2016

Nice and easy trip yesterday with all transfers working out as planned. I am sitting on Heldeleine now surrounded with quite a mess. In order to do a project in one part of the boat I must keep moving crap to and fro. Projects today are: replace the burnt power cord plug, replace the power input (also burnt…), hanging awnings, replace water pump in Master AC. Replace solar controller.

This sad face is actually a burned power cord. I HAVE replaced it this morning.

Bleach water tanks (shock to clean), install Bimini and dodger….Damn, I am in Heaven!! Well, it’s about time for an espresso and a treat. Bye for now.

Flight to Rome

Posted on July 23, 2016 by LeahJuly 23, 2016

I am here at JFK ready for my flight to Rome. My 50lbs of boat parts have been checked through and an additional 30lbs are in my carry on. Excited to go and start putting Humpty Dumpty back together again. I’ll have a week to work my way down the “to do” list and I use the term ‘work’ loosely. Doing a week of Phantom is work, a week of projects aboard Heldeleine in southern Italy is not. I’ll try to keep you posted as I get to the boat and what I will find when I get there…warm regards to you all!

Short and Long Term Plans

Posted on July 17, 2016 by LeahJuly 20, 2016

I fly from NYC next Saturday the 23rd and arrive in Rome on the 24th. I will have a week to myself as I sort out all the various things required to put Heldeleine into cruising mode. Heldeleine has been launched and awaits my return.

Family arrives the next weekend and for the next 4 weeks there will be people rotating on and off the boat. Various flights into and out of Rome and Naples.
We will try to update daily as to where we are and where we are going. The basic plan is to travel south from Gaeta stopping in at Ischia, Sorrento, Capri and Positano before doing an overnight to Rome. We will spend 3 days at the convent again (it didn’t seem to work with my daughters last year so…) for some more walking and gazing at naked statues. Then back south or west to Sardinia with new and remaining crew. Then I will have the last week for some solo sailing and putting the boat to rest for another winter in Italy.
As for long term plans… Many have asked about our original plan to go to Turkey. The plan was nixed about 6 months ago not necessarily because of the more recent tragic issues but simply because Turkey would put the the boat 1,000 miles further east and that distance would have to be sailed on the way back across the Med on the way out. So… Italy this winter and then in 2017 we will sail west to Morocco (for a nice stay) and then on to the Azores to winter the boat. That gets us 1,000 miles into the Atlantic and prepares us for a 2018 tour of the Azores and a return to the US. Anyone interested?? Lots of time to think about it. Let me know.
Updates to follow!