Jeanne Socrates raising money for Marie Curie Cancer Care

Jeanne Socrates raising money for Marie Curie Cancer Care

Jeanne Socrates raising money for Marie Curie Cancer Care, Jeanne Socrates pulled into Victoria harbor at just before 3 a.m. on Monday, July 8, aboard her Najad 380, Nereida, after several days of fluctuating winds, which made predicting her landfall timing difficult.

At 70 years old, Socrates is now the oldest female sailor to complete a non-stop solo circumnavigation. Her previous two attempts at a non-stop circumnavigation were cut short due to engine issues which forced her to stop in Cape Town and a knockdown near Cape Horn that damaged her boat and caused her to stop to make repairs in Ushuaia, Argentina.

During her journey she has had to climb the mast multiple times, lower herself upside down into the wake water to repair her rudder, and for the last several weeks has been relying on ham radio buffs after she lost all her communications gear in heavy weather.

Nereida departed from Victoria Harbour on 22 October 2012.

Jeanne's voyage was recorded by the World Sailing Speed Record Council. For those who are near enough to greet her, Nereida is docked in front of the Empress Hotel, courtesy of the Greater Victoria Harbour Authority.

Jeanne, a retired maths teacher, didn't even learn to sail as a kid, not taking it up until her late forties, with his husband. In 1997 she and her husband commissioned the first Nereida and sailed from the UK across the Atlantic.

After her husband's death from cancer in 2008, Jeanne started a steep learning curve that resulted in her deciding to carry on sailing single-handed.

She has been raising funds to support the Marie Curie Cancer Care Foundation by using her sailing to highlight the work it does in providing home care to terminally ill patients.

Jeanne is a member of a member of the Ocean Cruising Club (OCC), and was honoured with the Duchess of Kent Trophy by the Cruising Association of Britain in 2011.