Turning Your Cruising Dreams Into Reality

Jeanne Socrates (at the time of writing) is back on her boat in Canada after an extended (land) stay in Australia (Covid). She is busy prepping her boat to sail to Australia. What drives Jeanne to keep sailing and traversing the long distances...?

Jeanne is a powerhouse of energy and smart thinking. 
 “I am small I needed to think of the location of everything!”
 She has manuals for everything and has no problem repairing her engine while at sea.
 San Francisco and Alaska help her plan for single-handing, and upside down fixing the autopilot.
 Boat confidence is important as is taking charge of a vessel at every opportunity (not relying on someone else).
 Jeanne explains what drives her to go for records, the psychology of the why AND the psychology of losing her boat and almost her life!

Jeanne started her love of the water with surfing and dinghysailing. Soon she found out that although sailing is simple there is a lot to learn, Navigation, Col Regs, Passage Planning, weather.

Hear about her first sailing experiences, her loves and losses.
This is part one - part, two and three to follow

Imagine for a moment.... months at sea - 12 metre waves (great walls of water) being knocked down and sliding across the ocean top wondering if you'll come out of it.

No one there physically to bounce ideas off.... reassure... give you a cuddle or a high five.

Icebergs threatening and then icy rigging adding weight and stability problems... and on it goes..... Lisa is an extraordinary women.

Lack of sleep, knockdowns, icebergs, broken equipment, repairs at sea.... alone... the thought of her previous dismasting looming.... 

The scene is set on an 'open road' anchorage. Jackie and I sit, outside Bahia de Caraquez, Ecuador... the day we supposedly finish a two thousand, eight hundred nautical mile journey. This odyssey cruising the ITZC with all its associated calms storms and lighting and running before a hurricane warning - after 4 weeks are nerves are shattered.

We have just missed the pilot to a safe harbour for 30 short minutes. 

Distilling the essence of life at sea: It’s a love-hate relationship, a roller coaster. The journey becomes etched on our skin. Vibrant bruises match vivid sunsets. There are tremendous stresses on equipment as well as our bodies. We learn something new each day, about sailing and ourselves. Sailing the oceans isn’t easy, but offers magnificent rewards with perseverance. We whinge about the effort, but secretly we are glad, if it was easy, everyone would be doing it.

With nothing more to worry about than craving succulent roast chicken and gooey ice cream, we sliced through the ocean, enjoying the stuff dreams are made of. The concerns of motoring much of the way temporarily held at bay. Leaving Acapulco, Mexico for Isle de Cocos we were blessed with perfect sailing for four whole days. 

  A8Bq5jMHpJx3QzMexAaG

With a charming mix of mega yachts and masquerading pirates onboard 7-metre sailing ghettos, San Diego is like a melting pot of poverty and prosperity. On the edge of America, with Mexico insight, here lies the stepping-off point for cruisers. San Diego is not a cruising ground as such with its king’s ransom fees and stifling regulations. It is a gateway to the Pacific Ocean. Late in the season, most cruisers are already in Mexico and beyond by now. But a few cruisers lurk, mainly small sailboats with no fixed agenda. Vessels that ‘live’ here are all pristine. 

Chatting to my dad on Skype, he in England me in Ecuador, I told him how we planned to sail to Panama to collect our new sails. “You talk about it as though you are popping off to Supermarket” he laughed. With only 560 nautical miles to traverse, we thought the journey a breeze. But the trip grew to epic proportions, even before we started.

Farewells are a continuous part of the cruising life that can pitch and roll the equilibrium that sailing bestows. After seven months anchored in Bahia de Caraquez, Ecuador, we had collected many friends; most we would never see again. But tipping the scales into a whole new level of sadness was the news.....