Solo Jeanne 'unlikely to continue' circumnavigation after knockdown
by Sail-World Cruising on 21 Jan 2011
Nereida and other cruising yachts at the wharf in Ushuaia SW
Solo sailing grandmother Jeanne Socrates has confirmed to the media this week that it is unlikely that she will continue her round-world attempt, which was aborted in a 'turn turtle' knock-down just as she was to round Cape Horn in early January.
The damage to her 11.5 metre yacht Nereida was so extensive that by the time the necessary spare parts are received and the yacht repaired, she will have missed the summer window to complete her circumnavigation through the Southern Ocean.
After the knock-down, Jeanne courageously refused a tow from a fishing boat and sailed her damaged boat to Ushuaia in the Tierra del Fuego province of Argentina, the most southerly town in the world.
The extensive damage to the yacht includes:
A broken boom
Major electrical problems
Hydrovane damage
Twisted rudder
Transformer malfunction
Broken windscreen, clears, awning and its framework
Damaged staysail furling system
... and many small items not available in Ushuaia, not to mention the complete soaking of the boat inside with saltwater.
Jeanne is currently living without shore-power, heating, hot water, and internet connection, and the stove is malfunctioning. Even though it is full summer in Ushuaia, the temperature still approaches zero at night.
The 68-year-old had aimed to become the first woman to sail non-stop solo around the world from anywhere in North America, and would also have been the oldest female solo circumnavigator.
This was her third attempt to complete a circumnavigation, having been within sixty miles of completion on one attempt only to lose her yacht on the coastline.
Sharing Ushuaia with her are many other cruisers, some of whom are assisting her. They are from such countries as the USA, Switzerland, Korea, Spain, Argentine. While she speaks admiringly and gratefully for all the help she is receiving from different quarters, she remarks ruefully on her blog, 'The one other British-flagged boat here has a Polish family on board.'
Jeanne is delaying making any plans for the future, and is concentrating on repairing her yacht.
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