Once aboard Nereida II, she was responsible for safely sailing the boat, the navigation and the communication. The boat was fully provisioned for the voyage since the rules don’t allow stopping along the route. A desalinator provided water for drinking and cooking. She seldom showered, except when in the warm tropics. She used baby wipes to stay clean to minimize water consumption while wearing four or five layers of clothing.

Jeanne Socrates celebrates her successful nonstop solo circumnavigation.

“It became an ever-increasing challenge, the further I got despite all the obstacles, to complete the mission and get Nereida II safety back to Victoria. I couldn’t believe how many gales, or worse, how many breakages were continually happening, so unlike my previous nonstop voyage. No sooner had one been conquered than another major event seemed to occur and needed dealing with urgently,” Socrates said.

Rarely did she adhere to a fixed daily routine, except for broadcasting her position every 24 hours by radio. 

“Breakfast was often late, becoming brunch, but I tried to cook an evening meal as often as possible, usually trying to get that completed before sunset and onset of darkness, so as to conserve battery power,” she said, noting the occasional quiet moments were spent reading Patrick O’Brian’s seafaring 20 novels that feature Capt. Jack Aubrey and his longtime friend Dr. Stephen Maturin. Keeping track of time was an unexpected challenge. 

“Ever-changing time zones made meals and sleeping rather variable events. Eat when hungry and take frequent short naps when feeling tired was the best rule, but I found I was forever keeping to Greenwich Mean Time mentally, which made daily time-keeping a bit confusing.”

“It was helpful to have radio contact every day with friendly voices who were wanting or willing to suggest ways of overcoming some of the problems when I was not sure which way to tackle them,” she said.

The radio contact took on tremendous importance, connecting her not only with other sailors, but with people of the countries she was sailing past. 

“One thing I’ve always appreciated about my sailing life is the support offered by so many people,” Socrates said. “One sees the best side of humanity.”

Though it might seem such a journey would give a sailor much time to ponder the universe, Socrates spent her time on more practical matters. 

“My primary thoughts were either about how well I was sailing or about the weather and wondering if I was routing the boat the best way possible, in view of the constantly moving weather systems, taking advantage of the wind and avoiding the calms or avoiding the worst of the storms.”

Socrates would routinely  remain on deck, seated in the cockpit where she could watch the seas, the clouds and the birds. 

“Such impressively majestic surroundings, whether they be stormy or calm, I was aware of how lucky and privileged I was to be out there,” she said.

Although she appreciated being able to reach out to other cruisers by radio when in need of advice or simply to talk, it was the vastness of the Southern Ocean that nourished her soul. 

“I didn’t feel lonely as if I’d been sitting around in London without all the friends I was talking to by radio or email,” she said. “The solitude when deep in the Southern Ocean is a very spiritual one, a sense of awe and respect for nature is always with you. The seas are impressively big and steep, and yet we lift up over them, and life goes on with the albatrosses, petrels and shearwaters. The big ones wonderfully and gracefully soaring above the waves, the small ones dancing on the water surface and you know they wonder what you’re doing in their world.”

There were plenty of frightening moments as well. 

“Sailing in very big, rough seas and 40 to 50 knot winds, trying to beat a bigger storm coming up behind, as happened on my way down to Cape Horn. Interestingly, I was sailing in similar conditions when I was knocked down, but I felt I was coping quite well that time, maybe I’d become more accustomed to such conditions by then?”

The knockdown occurred as Socrates approached Stewart Island, south of New Zealand. 

“I thought we were doing fine, but suddenly,  bang!  I was drenched in seawater head to toe as I sat on the bunk, preparing that day’s blog and position weather report.”

And yet such unwelcome occurrences were balanced by moments both beautiful and dreamlike. Among her special memories were the days leading up to passing Cape Horn. “It was a lovely midsummer night,  and in the beautiful starlit twilight I could just make out the dark outline of islands off to port and the rugged outline of the Cape appearing, clearly visible despite it being well after midnight.”

Socrates raised funds for the Royal National Lifeboat Institution in Britain, a charity that supports the country’s volunteer, around-the-clock lifeboat rescue service, during the voyage, and now plans on fixing the boat after a four-month land-based trip to Australia to visit friends.

“I’ll explore the country while meeting up with both old and new friends I made via radio on my voyage, sailing and giving a few talks to yacht clubs,” Socrates said. “It will be a totally different, exciting adventure. 

“Next autumn I will be off to sail to Mexico, on to Polynesia, Fiji, New Zealand, Australia and around the Pacific. This time a relaxed, enjoyable, cruising-style circumnavigation.”