Don’t listen to people who try to dissuade you
Dawn Geddes learns the ropes from round-the-world yachtswoman Jeanne Socrates.
ON September 7, 2019, at the age of seventyseven, Jeanne Socrates became the oldest person to sail non-stop and unassisted around the world.
The Lymington yachtswoman, who used her boat, the Nereida, to achieve the epic goal, had already gained the
Guinness World Record for being the oldest woman to complete the journey in 2013, but decided that she’d like to go one better and scoop the title for both sexes.
“I used to teach at a boys’ school in London and after the exams each year, we’d have an activities week.
“One summer we did a bird-watching activity, another time we went to
Wales, and then one year we did a sailing activity. That’s what got me into it.”
Jeanne began sailing regularly with her late husband and they discovered that they both thoroughly enjoyed spending time away from dry land.
“My husband and I eventually took early retirement in 1997, so we could both get away.
“By then we’d been stepping things up, completing courses and sailing regularly.
“We decided to use the lump sums from our pensions to buy a secondhand boat. We flew over to Sweden to get it.
“I remember sailing back – it was September, on what would have been the first day of school term.
“It was this beautiful sunny day and we were enjoying a lovely sail across the Channel to Dover.
“I thought, this is great! Here we are doing this, when all my colleagues are back at work!”
Jeanne and her husband continued to enjoy their time on the boat.
Their expeditions became more ambitious over time and in 1999 they sailed from the Canaries to the Caribbean.
Sadly, in 2001 the couple received some tragic news.
“My husband George was diagnosed with cancer in the September, so we rushed back over to
London where he received treatment.
“He didn’t expect ever to get back out on the boat, but we did eventually, in May the following year.”
Jeanne’s husband’s health continued to deteriorate and the couple returned home. George passed away in March 2003.
The sailor eventually returned to their beloved boat to scatter her husband’s ashes at sea, and decided to continue their sailing adventure, alone.
In November 2009 she decided to attempt her most ambitious sail yet – her first non-stop circumnavigation, leaving from the Canaries.
But after problems with the boat, she had to halt the voyage in Cape Town.
She made another attempt a year later, this time leaving from the city of Victoria, but damage caused by a knock down (when the boat lies over far enough to put the mast in or beneath the water) near Cape Horn prevented her from completing her goal.
“I decided to get back to Canada and have another go. That was in 2012 and that was the first time I was successful.
“I got all the way around and decided, OK, that’s it,
I’ll just enjoy cruising now.
“I had to go down to Mexico to do some repairs on the boat and started to realise how much I was missing those big ocean passages.
“A few years had passed and someone commented that if I did go back around again, I’d become the oldest person, instead of the oldest woman.
“I thought, well, that wouldn’t be bad, to make the oldest person a woman!
So I decided to do it one more time.”
In 2017, Jeanne was preparing the boat for another attempt when a nasty fall from the Nereida saw her breaking her neck and ribs.
Undeterred, she tried again the following year, setting off from Victoria, British Columbia on October 3.
Jeanne encountered difficult weather conditions during the world voyage as well as damage to the boat, but still managed to complete the journey in
320 days.
When she arrived back in Victoria the following year, she was welcomed by a flotilla of boats which sailed alongside her for the last part of her long journey.
Jeanne says that both the Royal Victoria Yacht Club and the people of Canada have been incredibly supportive.
“They love the fact that I’ve achieved what I’ve achieved, twice now, in Victoria.
“In fact, they’re actually naming a dock after me here and putting a plaque up in my honour!
“I’ve had people offering to help with the repairs, too, which is so lovely. They are such kind and helpful people here.
“It’s such a lovely feeling of satisfaction and achievement, fulfilling a goal like that. Appearing in ‘The Guinness Book Of
Records’ has definitely given me some extra Brownie points with my grandkids, too – so, that’s really quite nice!”
Does Jeanne have any advice for readers who have ambitions they have yet to fulfil?
“If it’s sailing that you’re interested in, you need to make sure you’re in a well-prepared boat and that you are up to the job and have the sailing experience you need.
“But for anything else, I’d say, if you’re in good health and you’re not harming anyone – go for it.
“Make sure it happens because you’ll really benefit from it.
“You’ll really feel a big sense of satisfaction and you’ll probably gain some self-confidence along the way, too.
“It’s such a big boost of morale to achieve something that you’ve been striving for.
“Don’t listen to people who try to dissuade you. If you feel that you can, and you want to – go for it.”
For further information about Jeanne’s journey visit www.svnereida.com.