Jeanne Socrates has been sailing for three decades. Photo: ABC South East NSW / Floss Adams
By Floss Adams and Isla Evans, ABC
A simple mantra has helped Jeanne Socrates endure tough times alone at sea.
"It can't last forever. If I can get through this time, I'll be fine," the 82-year-old said of the positive mindset she lives by.
"That's the thing that keeps me going."
The British yachtswoman, who is sailing up the east coast of Australia, has spent plenty of time navigating the sometimes challenging conditions of the ocean.
She has faced "really rough seas" and endured a major accident when she was thrown off her boat around a decade ago.
"I broke my neck, I 'stove-in' my rib cage, had major internal injuries," she recounted.
"I was in a bad way and I took quite a time to recuperate."
Jeanne Socrates completed her record sail around the world in 2019. Photo: ABC South East NSW / Floss Adams
But the determined Socrates did not let her injuries get in the way of her dreams.
Years after her accident, Socrates became recognised by Guinness World Records as the oldest woman to sail a yacht solo around the world without stopping - a feat she completed in 2019.
That voyage took the then 77-year-old sailor almost a year to complete, and culminated with her travelling through the Five Great Capes of the Southern Ocean.
"You can't pull into land, you've got to be at sea all the time," she said.
"The further I got, the less likely I was to give up.
"I put too much into it to think of giving up."
Socrates said she kept in touch with people via radio each day, as she circumnavigated the globe solo on her vessel, Nereida, which she calls her "partner" and "team mate".
"I could feel almost spiritually, I could feel that a lot of people were with me," she said.
"You don't feel so isolated when you've got the radio."
Jeanne Socrates keeps a meticulous sailing logbook. Photo: ABC South East NSW / Floss Adams
'Use it or lose it'
Socrates started sailing in her 50s so she could watch seabirds, and became "completely hooked".
"You've got these enormous seas and the birds, and the dolphins at times - it's just a marvellous place to be," she said.
An Antipodean albatross. Photo: CC BY-NC 2.0 Nik Borrow / Flickr
She said she still looked for the beauty of birdlife on the ocean, especially large albatrosses.
"They come really close, gliding by, and they look at you in the eye and you're that close to them," she said.
"You think, oh gosh, how privileged am I to be able to be in this situation."
The octogenarian has attributed her good health to decades of sailing.
"Your body is active, keeping your balance all the time. I think that is a help," she said.
"Mentally, you've got to keep thinking about where you're going.
"I think, use it or lose it basically."
Photo: ABC South East NSW / Floss Adams
After completing her Guinness World Record sail around the world, Socrates has continued sailing, but now enjoys pulling into port and exploring the land on her travels too.
She is currently taking her time to explore what the east coast of Australia has to offer.
"You meet lovely people, everyone helps each other, it's a lovely community," she said.
"You get the sailing as a bonus."
Later this month, Socrates plans to dock in Port Stephens, in the NSW Hunter region, where she will spend a few months on land writing her autobiography.
After that, with no set destination in mind, she says she will go wherever the sea takes her.
Jeanne Socrates heads off on the next leg of her voyage. Photo: ABC South East NSW / Floss Adams
More women in sailing
Shelley Wright, who in 2014 founded the group Women Who Sail Australia, said Socrates was an inspiration to other female sailors.
Dr Wright said when she set up the group to encourage more women to get into the "male-dominated industry", she had no idea how many female sailors were already taking to the high seas.
"When we got to 300 [members], we thought that it was pretty amazing. I had no idea that there were 300 women out there sailing at that point," she said.
The group now boasts more than 7000 members.
Dr Wright said Socrates - who is also connected to the online group - was a trailblazer.
"It's mind blowing. The energy and the enthusiasm and the friendship, it's pretty impressive," Dr Wright said.
Socrates said she was still "pretty determined" to continue sailing into her later years.
"I just want to keep on going for as long as I can. I don't know how long that will be," she said.
"Obviously my body is aging. You can't get away from that.
"But I can't visualise life without being on Nereida."
-ABC
