Woman sails around the world for the RNLI

Jeanne, who is around four 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.’

To follow Jeanne’s journey, she maintains a blog with daily updates and photographs at https://www.svnereida.com/. To donate to Jeanne’s voyage, visit https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Jeanne-Socrates2

Media contacts

For more information, or for interview requests, contact Julie Rainey, Regional Media Manager for London and the south east, on 07827 358 256 / [email protected] , Paul Dunt, Regional Media Officer on 07785 296 252 or [email protected] or the RNLI Press Office on 01202 336789 / [email protected]

Key facts about the RNLI

The RNLI charity saves lives at sea. Its volunteers provide a 24-hour search and rescue service around the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland coasts. The RNLI operates 238 lifeboat stations in the UK and Ireland and more than 240 lifeguard units on beaches around the UK and Channel Islands. The RNLI is independent of Coastguard and government and depends on voluntary donations and legacies to maintain its rescue service. Since the RNLI was founded in 1824, its lifeboat crews and lifeguards have saved over 146,000 lives.

Learn more about the RNLI

For more information please visit the RNLI website or Facebook, X, TikTok and YouTube. News releases, videos and photos are available on the News Centre.

Contacting the RNLI - public enquiries

Members of the public may contact the RNLI on 0300 300 9990 (UK) or 1800 991802 (Ireland) or by email.