New non-stop solo global sail attempt- a grandmother who won't give up

by Des Ryan on 28 Sep 2010 She's the sailor who just won't give up. British grandmother Jeanne Socrates is to attempt, once again, to sail non-stop solo round the globe on her yacht Nereida.

Her first nonstop attempt (from Lanzarote, Islas Canarias) started in October 2009 but, having already overcome several major challenges in mid-ocean, she was forced to pull in to Cape Town in early December for repairs that couldn't be fixed on passage down the S. Atlantic.

This will be Jeanne's third attempt to sail solo round the world, because her first attempt, which was a 'cruising style' circumnavigation, ended when she was almost home, losing her boat(a Najad 361, also named 'Nereida') on a Mexican surf beach North of Acapulco. At the time she was within half a day and 60 mls short of her starting point of Zihuatanejo, which she'd left in March '07.

Jeanne will shortly be arriving at the Empress Dock, in Victoria, B.C., in Canada, to make final preparations for sailing to Cape Horn on her 38ft Najad 'Nereida'.

She is presently completing repairs in Port Townsend, WA, after sailing there from Cape Town, which she left on 9th March this year. After her unexpected 3-month delay for an engine replacement in Cape Town, she continued to New Zealand nonstop (62 days) and then on to Hawaii (36 days) before making for Cape Flattery & Port Townsend (21 days) for major repairs in preparation for her second attempt, scheduled to start in 3-4 weeks' time from Victoria Harbour.

To circumnavigate non-stop, she expects to be at sea for 7-8 months. She regards her first-ever rounding of Cape Horn, early in the New Year as 'the ultimate test' - 'The Mt Everest of sailing,' as she puts it!

Having experienced the frequent storms and fronts of Southern Ocean weather during the five months she was sailing there recently, she now knows well what to expect, '.... but rounding Cape Horn could well get much nastier, so I have to be prepared for that.' However, she also lists features of the Southern Ocean in the highlights of her recent journeying... the albatrosses and other birds that kept 'Nereida' company for days on end, especially in rough weather. 'I felt so privileged to be out there with them, sharing their world.'

Daily positions are to be posted to her website, so to follow her journey day by day, that's the place to go: www.svnereida.com

Jeanne is hoping her attempt will again raise money for the British charity Marie Curie Cancer Care, which provides free home nursing for the terminally ill, thus enabling them to end their days in their home surroundings, with their family and friends close at hand. This is because she has seen several friends, as well as her own husband, suffer from cancer and has become a firm believer in making the most of life. 'It's a precious gift, not to be wasted.'