A 70-year-old British grandmother is due to sail back in Victoria, British Columbia within several days after spending over 245 days at sea alone.

Jeanne Socrates in her 38ft yacht, Nereida, will be officially timed as she passes the Ogden Point breakwater.

It will mark the completion if her non-stop single-handed sailing voyage around the globe – a feat undertaken without the use of the boat’s engine for propulsion.

Nereida departed from Victoria Harbour on 22 October 2012.

Jeanne’s voyage is being recorded by the World Sailing Speed Record Council. The yacht will be escorted in by a Prince of Whales whale watching boat. After arrival, Nereida will be docked in front of the Empress Hotel, courtesy of the Greater Victoria Harbour Authority.

Third time lucky

Jeanne is a remarkable woman who has previously had her hopes of a successful non-stop round the world voyage dashed.

She has written a daily journal throughout her quest, in which she describes the many challenges she has had on her voyages (http://svnereida.com/).

This is her third attempt: Her first solo-non-stop attempt, started from Lanzarote in 2009, was stopped by rigging problems in the South Atlantic. Jeanne sailed into Cape Town to deal with the problems and discovered she had a major engine issue which she had been unaware of as she had sailed all the way from the Canaries.

During Jeanne’s second non-stop attempt, her yacht was knocked down off Cape Horn and Jeanne was forced to put into port for extensive repairs. Though she completed the circumnavigation, the non-stop challenge eluded her until when she arrived back at Victoria, B.C., Canada on 8 July 2013

Jeanne learned to sail when she was in her late 40s. 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, Jeanne started a steep learning curve that resulted in her deciding to carry on sailing single-handed.

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

In 2004, Nereida was transported by truck from Florida to Vancouver. Her remarkable voyages since then (including the loss of the first Nereida) are documented in detail on her website.

After her laptop computer was damaged, Jeanne has had radio communications with many HAM operators around the globe who have lately been posting her progress reports received by radio.

Ocean Cruising Club

Jeanne Socrates, a member of the Ocean Cruising Club (OCC), is following in the path of another OCC member, Victoria resident Tony Gooch , who completed the same nonstop solo round the world sailing voyage in record time in 2003 aboard the sailing vessel Taonui.

Tony has acted as mentor to Jeanne. Jeanne is recognized internationally for her sailing achievements, and she is well regarded locally, with friends in Vancouver, Victoria and Port Townsend who have assisted her in many ways and enthusiastically followed her progress toward her goal.