Jeanne Socrates believes age is no barrier to achievements

Former Chiswick resident, 76 year old Jeanne Socrates, who already holds the world record for the oldest woman to circumnavigate the globe both non-stop and unassisted, is currently sailing around the globe in another record-breaking attempt, whilst also raising money for the RNLI.

Jeanne, who is only days days away from completing her voyage at the time of publishing, began her voyage in October 2018, after having to postpone her planned attempt to gain the record as oldest circumnavigator of either sex due to injury.

Her vessel is the Nereida, a Najad 380 named after the mythological handmaidens of the ancient Greek god, Poseidon. Jeanne singlehandedly crews and maintains the boat, communicating with those on land through her HF/SSB radio. All of her supplies are already on board, with water coming from a battery-powered desalinator and the majority of her food being canned or dried.

Beginning her sailing journey at 48 after taking part in a sailing activity whilst holidaying with her family, Jeanne has no intention to stop sailing, although this will be her last world record attempt. Believing that age should not be a deciding factor in one’s ambitions, Jeanne maintains that if you have a dream of achieving something you should make it happen, and only through experience will you gain knowledge; for example, she keeps a copper pipe onboard which she recently discovered she can use as a lever to move things that are too heavy for her to lift alone.

Having been raised in Chiswick and currently living in Lymington, Jeanne’s close proximity to the water combined with her love of sailing inspired her decision to raise funds for the RNLI through her journey; so far, she has raised over £1,337 for the charity.

She says: ‘The UK’s RNLI is independent of government funding and the crews of the RNLI lifeboats are all volunteers. They need our support to keep them well-trained and their equipment up to date if they're to be able to launch safely and succeed in their lifesaving efforts night and day.

‘Regardless how bad the weather is, they continue their superb life-saving work each and every day of the year, helping someone in distress. Everyone should support the RNLI, especially those of us in the nautical community.’

You can follow Jeanne's blog and pinpoint her position here .

Chiswick RNLI will have a stall at the Chiswick House Dog Show on 22 September. There will be lots of souvenirs for dogs, children (and adults). Lifeboat crew will be on hand to talk about their rescues and how to stay safe near the river.

Chiswick RNLI lifeboat station is the second busiest in the UK and Ireland. Since The RNLI search and rescue service on the Thames started in 2002, Chiswick Lifeboat has attended over 3,500 incidents and rescued over 1,750 people, and dozens of dogs. The RNLI is entirely funded by public donations.

September 1, 2019