Jeanne Socrates on sailing round the world.
www.svnereida.com
Despite having been knocked down well west of Cape Horn, I recently
successfully completed a solo circumnavigation (from Cape Town to Cape
Town) in aid of Marie Curie Cancer Care.
Part of that circumnavigation included an 'official'
(WSSRC validated), second attempt at a nonstop solo RTW but my knockdown
on Day 72 from Canada (Victoria, B.C.) put paid to that nonstop
attempt, although I did subsequently round Cape Horn unaided as I made
my way to Ushuaia for repairs. From there, I later continued on to Cape
Town in order to achieve something positive from my efforts - I
actually set a world record as the oldest woman to complete a solo RTW
sail - of over 28,000 miles!
I feel very strongly that had I not been so unlucky as
to have been knocked down, suffering a lot of damage as a result, I
would most definitely have gone on to succeed in completing my nonstop
attempt - and so I have decided to make a third nonstop attempt next
year, similar to the one I tried to do last year. If successful, not
only would I set a record as the oldest woman to sail nonstop solo RTW,
but (surprisingly!) I'd also set a record as the first woman (of any
age) to have sailed solo nonstop RTW from anywhere in N.America - USA or
Canada, E or W coast.
I shall be at sea for 7-8 months from October next
year, while attempting my nonstop RTW, and I will, in addition, be
sailing for 4-6 months from South Africa in January to my RTW starting
point, stopping at places in Australia, N.Z. and the USA. I'm
delighted to say that many people from all over the world are following
my sailing, many via my website, often having arrived there as a result
of TV/radio interviews, items in general sailing forums and websites
and/or articles in newspapers and magazines on my sailing efforts.
