PORT TOWNSEND — Jeanne Socrates hopes the third time will be the charm.
In October, Socrates — who arrived in Port Townsend on Monday — will take her third shot at circumnavigating the globe, a trip that also will be her second attempt to do it nonstop.
“If I hadn’t been knocked down [by a storm], I would have finished, so I decided to give it one more try,” she said Tuesday from her 38-foot yacht, the Nereida, docked at Point Hudson.
Socrates, who turns 70 on Aug. 17, plans to be “the oldest lady to ever do a solo circumnavigation nonstop,” though she notes there is a male record-holder who made the trip when he was 71.
Socrates — who is originally from West London, England — already has circumnavigated the world alone, but not nonstop.
She made several stops; they were planned on her first voyage and unplanned on the most recent one.
In October 2010 — after an abortive attempt in 2009 — she set out from Victoria with the goal of a solo nonstop circumnavigation of the world.
After a good start, the goal was shattered 100 miles west of Cape Town in South Africa when the boat was “knocked down” during a particular virulent storm and had to be repaired.
That delayed the voyage’s completion until this week, when Socrates arrived in Port Townsend.
As a solo sailor, Socrates has learned a variety of skills and can fix almost anything, but she was stymied when the storm hit.
Everything happened all at once, she said.
“Looking back on this, I realize now I was stunned,” she said.
“Normally when something goes wrong, I can deal with it, but when this happened, there were so many things happening that I didn’t know where to start,” she added.
As in 2010, her Port Townsend visit immediately precedes another attempt at the elusive prize.
Socrates plans to leave Port Townsend today and travel to Sidney, B.C., before continuing on to Victoria.
From there, she will sail due south around Cape Horn at the southern tip of Chile, east to Africa and then around the globe to return to Victoria in seven or eight months.
She leaves from Victoria on her journeys because of the Vancouver Island city’s proximity to the Pacific, she said.
Socrates published a detailed blog — www.svnereida.com — during the trip, using a slow Internet connection over radio waves.
She also stays in touch with the world through email, though that communication is somewhat less detailed.
“I get a lot of emails from people all over the world who are following me,” she said.
“I’ll answer every one, not with a long message but to acknowledge that I received it — although I tend to get a lot of messages around Christmas and New Year’s that take a long time to answer.”
Socrates stays busy on the boat, and she said there is not a lot of time for reflection, though everything is written down.
Writing a book is a possibility, but she will do so “when things slow down.”
She takes lots of pictures and posts them to the blog, though she hasn’t done anything with the gathered video footage.
“I’ve taken a lot of videos of albatrosses whizzing by,” she said.
“They are traveling at such a speed that it’s hard to get a still shot of them,” she said.
“The dolphins always greet me when I come into shore,” she added.
“I see them, and I know they see me. They like the attention and play to the audience.”
Once it became clear the nonstop effort had been interrupted, Socrates took the easier path and visited such places as the Falkland Islands.
“I’ve always wanted to go there,” she said.
The repairs on the boat cost 15,000 English pounds — about $23,000 in U.S. dollars — and was covered by insurance.
Socrates ended up spending several months in Cape Town, where the Nereida was repaired, and took two trips to England during that time.
She visited her family and, after her return to Cape Town, received an invitation to meet the British royalty, along with two other circumnavigators.
The occasion commemorated Capt. Robert Scott’s final expedition to the South Pole as well as “accomplishments of those involved in exploration and adventure in all its forms,” according to Socrates’ blog.
She returned to England to meet with Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip.
“I had spent some time in Cape Town at a Yacht Club that Lizzie and Philip had visited,” Socrates said, using the names acquaintances call the royal couple.
“There were so many people who sent their regards” from Cape Town, she said, “and I told [the royal duo] that, and they had to stop and wonder, ‘Why is she talking to me?’ which they didn’t expect.
“They both had the same reaction, which was like, ‘Hmmmm,’” Socrates said.
“They weren’t really sure what to do.”
After the Nereida pulls into Victoria, Socrates might take it easy for a while, but she already has another maritime-related goal.
“I plan to go cruising with all of my friends,” she said.
“And I’ll stop wherever I please.”
To keep up with Socrates’ journey, visit www.svnereida.com.
Jefferson County Reporter Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
