Lanzarote Information

Jeanne Socrates is no stranger to sailing, she started her first solo round the world trip in March 2007 for it all to end in a terrible disaster with the loss of Nereida at Playa Michigan on the Pacific coast of Mexico, 60 miles from her destination in June 2008. Yachting Monthly featured the details of the shipwreck in an article in their August 2009 edition, which you can read here Shipwrecked 60 Miles Short of Triumph.

Jeanne retired from her career as a teacher in 1997 and bought Nereida with her husband George. Together they sailed Nereida, a Najad 361 from Sweden to the Mediterranean, over the Atlantic to the Caribbean and the east coast of America.  Unfortunately George was diagnosed with cancer and died in 2003. For many this could have been an end to the cruising but undeterred Jeanne, now in her 60’s started to sail solo. Jeanne spent the years from 2004 – 2006 sailing around British Columbia, Mexico, California and then in 2006 took part the Single-Handed TransPac from San Francisco out to Hawaii, all the time getting to know Nereida and gaining confidence. Jeanne explains that the sailing is the easy bit, its how you deal with the unexpected that’s the hard part, you really have to know your boat, you have to be a plumber, electrician, mechanic etc so that you can make emergency repairs whilst at sea.

It was cancer that pushed Jeanne to the next level of sailing, as well as her husband George she’d lost other good friends to the disease and decided that as she wasn’t getting any younger, now was the time to plan her solo circumnavigation and sail around the world, which she did from March 2007 until June 2008. Jeanne has a Just Giving page, her chosen charity is Marie Curie Cancer Care, its a fantastic charity that enables the terminally ill to spend their last days in the comfort of their home with family and friends. Please if you can, help Jeanne to help them and continue the fight against cancer.

The new Nereida (pictured above) is another Najad, a 380 which is slightly larger and faster than the original, manufactured in Sweden on the island of Orust by Najadvarvet. I wondered where the boat had got her name from - its a derivative of “nereids” who were the sea nymph’s (mermaids) and the handmaidens of Poseidon, according to Greek mythology.  A delay with the anchor chain meant that Jeanne had to set sail from Guernsey on Saturday 5th September to the Canary Islands without a full sea trial. She had some issues with her communications on the first leg of the trip, she’s already had her soldering iron out to fix her USB data cable, the Iridium (satellite) phone has been switching itself on and off and her Bluetooth connection has been erratic, having said all that Jeanne still managed regular updates on her live journal.

Nereida arrived at Puerto Calero on the 16th September, Jeanne has already been at work on the boat making some adjustments before setting sail for her non-stop sailing challenge in the Southern Ocean around the Five Great Capes. The wind generator was in pieces when I was onboard Nereida. Jeanne is hoping a very small part – a 4 inch metal spring will arrive by courier/post before she sets sail, if not she’s already worked out how to bodge it! The boat is loaded with the latest technology and one item that had particularly impressed her was the Hydrovane windsteering gear - the first time she'd had the chance to sail with it , having previously had a different windsteering system, and she loved how well it did, even almost dead downwind.

I asked Jeanne what she liked about Lanzarote and she’s only seen the island from the sea (photo above) and the marina so far. Jeanne’s hoping that she can get through her list of jobs so that she can take a well earned break before setting sail and explore. She’s already made friends at the marina and enjoys a sundowner with them at one of the local bars.

The longest interval that Jeanne has sailed previously is three and a half weeks, just a bit different from the six to seven months adventure ahead of her! She will be relying on her email and radio contact to keep her company whilst at sea, her website is www.svnereida.com and you can follow her progress while at sea with both of her regular reports on the home page and her daily noon positions from her travels page.

Oh, and did I mention that Jeanne is now 67 years old? That will make her the oldest woman to sail solo, and even more so non-stop, around the world!