Single Threads: Jeanne Socrates

While spending time in La Cruz getting ready for the Puddle Jump, Clif and I have been fortunate enough to have a wide range of cruisers in this community that have fueled our knowledge and boosted our preparedness. One of those such people has been Jeanne. Jeanne Socrates is well-known in the sailing world for her record of being the oldest woman to circumnavigate the world non-stop. This is a pretty remarkable feat, especially since she didn’t even begin sailing until her early fifties.

I was able to sit down with Jeanne in the back yard of a small casita (hence the bird noises in the audio on occasion) and chat about my particular interests in her story: What was her transition into sailing, the story behind becoming and blossoming into a successful single-hander, and why non-stop? Why the solo-circumnavigations without assistance? Turns out, like for many, it’s all for the challenge!

Thank you Jeanne for chatting with me. Best of luck with your recovery, and your future attempts to be the oldest person (not just woman) around the world non-stop.

If you’re interested in learning more about Jeanne, her circumnavigations, and her boat S/V Nereida, visit her website at svnereida.com.

Music is this episode includes: “Fish to Swim” Les Hayden, Free Music Archive, CC BY-NC-ND; “Ophelia” Les Hayden, Free Music Archive, CC BY-NC-ND; “No Home in This World -Live at WFMU” M Shanghai String Band, Free Music Archive, CC-BY-NC-SA; Guitar solo acoustic by David Reed... because he's amazing.

“We’re always learning, right? That’s what I love about sailing. You do the same passage over and over, and every time it’s different.”

— Jeanne Socrates, S/V Nereida