At 74 years around the world, solo and nonstop! Jeanne Socrates starts again!

Jeanne Socrates, the sprightly “little old lady of the oceans” we had already told you about, continues to amaze us. At 74 years of age, he is about to begin his fourth solo, nonstop round-the-world voyage. You got it right, solo and nonstop.

This English lady already figures in the Guinness Book of World Records as the oldest woman to have completed a circumnavigation of the globe alone and without ever stopping, at age 71, starting from Canada aboard his beloved Najad 380 Nereida (In the previous two attempts she had been forced into a technical layover). But now he wants to be the oldest person ever to accomplish the feat, breaking the record of Japan’s Minoru Saito (71 years old in 2004. It should be mentioned, however, that Saito also successfully circumnavigated the world against the prevailing winds at … 77!).

THE STORY OF JEANNE
“I was lucky that I retired so early, so I could take off with my Nereida.” These are the first words of Jeanne Socrates’ blog, the “grandmother” of all loners in the world. Here is the incredible story of an incredible woman. He has been traveling the oceans far and wide for more than 15 years. She has tried and tried again, always with one idea in her mind: to become the oldest woman to have traveled around the world unaided and nonstop. His boat is called Nereida, and it is a Najad 380, a 2009 model built in Sweden.

AN IDEA IN MY HEAD
Before she realized what her real goal was (a nonstop round-the-world trip) Jeanne was already grinding out miles and miles since the early 2000s, when she retired. In 2003, her husband George, with whom she shared a passion for sailing, died of cancer, and she decided to go on alone. To his credit in 2006 he already had a Hawaii-San Francisco Transpac Race, an attempt to pass through the cold seas of Canadian British Columbia (unfinished due to too harsh a winter), and then sailings in Mexico, Guatemala, Panama, Australia, and South Africa. It was precisely because of these very strong experiences at sea that the idea of being able to sail around the world nonstop came into the Canadian sailor’s head.

FIRST AND SECOND ATTEMPT
Jeanne decided to purchase Nereida, a Najad 380 to replace her Najad 361, which was more appropriate for such distances, and in 2009 she set off on a round-the-world trip. His plan is to arrive in the Canary Islands and from there, with favorable winds and weather, make his way to Cape Town, the first of the five Capes, to return to the Canary Islands in 6/7 months. But with only a few weeks to go, the lone sailor has to stop for a full three months in Cape Town, South Africa, due to engine failure. He decided to postpone his attempt until the following year by starting again from Victoria, Canada where with great effort he still managed to arrive by partially completing the round-the-world trip in one year. In 2010, at over 70 years old, the “grandmother of the oceans” is trying again: from Victoria in Canada goes down to Cape Horn, but after 75 days of sailing just a short distance from the world’s most famous Cape, Jeanne has a serious problem on board caused by bad weather. Despite all that, she managed to pass the most extreme and dangerous tip of the Americas unscathed, but was forced to take shelter in Ushuaia, Argentina. From there it goes on again: Falklands, Cape Town, Tasmania, Hawaii and Canada. He then manages to complete his second round-the-world voyage touching all Five Capes: Cape Horn (Chile), Cape of Good Hope (S. Africa), Cape Leeuwin (Australia), S.E. Cape of Tasmania (Australia), S.W. Cape of Stewart Island (New Zealand), however the stopover to repair the boat undoes all the hard work done. The dream of non-stop circumnavigation of the globe still fades.

GOOD THIRD.
Jeanne did not lose heart and in October 2012 she set off again from Victoria to Canada for her third attempt: after 259 days in the middle of the sea, alone and unassisted, she arrived at Ogden Point in Victoria on July 8, 2013 after nonstop sailing that took it past Cape Horn, Cape of Good Hope, Cape Leeuwin, and Southeast Cape (Tasmania). She is the first woman to circumnavigate the globe on a route that starts and finishes in North America and the oldest woman to do so.

This October 31 she was supposed to set off on her fourth round-the-world trip from Victoria, Canada, but bad weather forced her to postpone the start. We will keep you updated.