78-year-old sailor could win bravery award after round-the-word voyage

Jeanne Socrates sailed into the record books last year by becoming the oldest person to sail around the world solo, non-stop and unassisted.

The grandmother from Hampshire made headlines around the world following the end of her 25,000-mile voyage. Setting off from Victoria in Canada in October 2018, she arrived back in September last year.

During her gruelling round-the-world trip, she suffered a ripped mainsail and lost the yacht’s solar panels overboard – but she didn’t give up.

Now Socrates, 78, from Lymington, is one of just four people in the running for a bravery award, according to the Daily Echo.

She is a finalist in the Amplifon Awards for Brave Britons 2020 and could be crowned the winner in the Active Agers category at a ceremony next month.

The former maths teacher says: “While I can still do something, I just go for it. You shouldn’t be put off by people telling you you’re too old.

“If you have your health you should go for it.”

Socrates beat the previous record set by Minoru Saito, who was 71 when he completed a 233-day solo lap of the world in 2005.

Having encountered stormy weather when she was sailing the Southern Ocean surrounding Antarctica, she says: “I got a hole in my cabin roof, lost my solar panels, the radar was impaired and the safety device I put out in bad conditions got damaged.”

Sailing since her fifties, Socrates was accompanied by her husband George until he died in 2003. Since then, she has sailed alone.

Hearing specialist, Amplifon is hosting a virtual awards ceremony on October 13. Falklands War hero Simon Weston will be the guest of honour.

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