A 70-year-old British grandmother is due to sail back in Victoria, British Columbia within several days after spending over 245 days at sea alone.
Jeanne Socrates in her 38ft yacht, Nereida, will be officially timed as she passes the Ogden Point breakwater.
It will mark the completion if her non-stop single-handed sailing voyage around the globe - a feat undertaken without the use of the boat's engine for propulsion.
Nereida departed from Victoria Harbour on 22 October 2012.
Jeanne's voyage is being recorded by the World Sailing Speed Record Council. The yacht will be escorted in by a Prince of Whales whale watching boat. After arrival, Nereida will be docked in front of the Empress Hotel, courtesy of the Greater Victoria Harbour Authority.
Third time lucky
Jeanne is a remarkable woman who has previously had her hopes of a successful non-stop round the world voyage dashed.
She has written a spirited daily journal throughout her quest, in which she describes the many challenges she has had on her voyages (http://svnereida.com/).
This is her third attempt; the first attempt resulted in the total loss of her boat, and during the second attempt her vessel was knocked down off Cape Horn and Jeanne was forced to put into port for extensive repairs.
Though she completed the circumnavigation, the non-stop challenge eluded her.
Jeanne learned to sail when she was in her late 40s. In 1997 she and her husband commissioned the first Nereida and sailed from the UK across the Atlantic.
After her husband's death from cancer, Jeanne started a steep learning curve that resulted in her deciding to carry on sailing single-handed.
She hopes to raise funds to support the Marie Curie Cancer Foundation by using her sailing to highlight the work it does in providing home care to terminally ill patients.
In 2004, Nereida was trucked from Florida to Vancouver. Her remarkable voyages since then (including the loss of the first Nereida) are documented in detail on her website.
After her laptop computer was damaged, Jeanne has had radio communications with many HAM operators around the globe who have lately been posting her progress reports received by radio.
Ocean Cruising Club
Jeanne Socrates, a member of the Ocean Cruising Club (OCC), is following in the path of another OCC member, Victoria resident Tony Gooch , who completed the same nonstop solo round the world sailing voyage in record time in 2003 aboard the sailing vessel Taonui.
Tony has acted as mentor to Jeanne. Jeanne is recognized internationally for her sailing achievements, and she is well regarded locally, with friends in Vancouver, Victoria and Port Townsend who have assisted her in many ways and enthusiastically followed her progress toward her goal.
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PITTSFIELD, MA (BRAIN) — Berkshire Bike and Board has opened a second store in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. Like the original Berkshire Bike and Board located 20 miles away in Great Barrington, the 3,000-square-foot store was designed as a Giant Partner Store. Berkshire has been a Giant retailer since 2007. Giant’s retail merchandising team worked closely with owners Steffen Root and David Clark on the store’s layout, color scheme and messaging. Root noted that they saw a need for a second store to better serve Pittsfield and surrounding towns. “We had been seeing more and more mountain bikers making the trip to the Great Barrington store, so we knew they were missing something in Pittsfield. With two state forests flanking Pittsfield and a vibrant mountain bike community, the town has some of the best mountain biking in Massachusetts and arguably the Northeast,” he added. A grand opening celebration was held at the new store, located at 502 East Street in Pittsfield, on May 4.