Socrates Nearing San Francisco

Eleven agonizing days after leaving Victoria, B.C. on her second attempt at a nonstop solo circumnavigation aboard her Najad 380 Nereida, 68-year-old Jeanne Socrates is finally getting close to the Bay Area. "I can’t believe how slow this passage south is," she wrote on her blog. "Previously, it’s taken from five to seven days maximum from Neah Bay to San Francisco."

Over the first three days, Jeanne battled light winds and strong tides as she slowly — ever so slowly — made her way out the Strait of Juan de Fuca. She was then greeted by unfavorable currents and southerly breeze, which not only made for slow going, but occasionally forced her to sail in the wrong direction! "I always hate having to go north when I want to head south," she groused a few days ago. But happily, the wind direction has settled into a more northerly pattern so Nereida‘s finally making some progress.

Stay tuned to ‘Lectronic for periodic updates from Jeanne, or keep up with her blogs at www.svnereida.com.