Maud Fontenoy

Its sporting exploits

Impassioned of very young veil, it sails all its youth with her parents and follows the formation of the school of veil of Glénans. It practices also the Natation and the horsemanship. Impressed by the performance of Gerard d' Aboville, which is the first to cross the Atlantic to the oar, it decides to be formed with this discipline.

Crossing of the Atlantic Ocean to the oar

June 13rd, 2003 she undertakes the crossing of the Atlantic Ocean in the direction western - is. Started from Saint-Pierre-and-Miquelon, it joined Corogne in Spain on October 10th and is the first woman to have carried out this exploit.

Crossing of the Pacific Ocean to the oar

It launches a new challenge in 2005 in the Pacific Ocean, on January 12th, it leaves the port of Callao to the Peru to try to rejoin Tahiti while following the route of the raft Kon-Tiki of Thor Heyerdahl which had made this crossing in 1947. It intended to row during 4 or 5 months, without assistance, on its boat long 7,5 m and broad Océor of 1,6 Mr.

Arrival the March 26th after 73 days of sea and 6.900 km it touches the island of Hiva Oa to the Marquises, it will have filled its contract in advance with one month on its forecasts. The raft Kon-Tiki had carried out the same way (makes 1.000 km moreover of them) in 101 days, helped of a rudimentary sail. One can consider that at least 50% of displacement are the fact of the current favorable sailors.

Maud Fontenoy is thus the first woman to carry out the exploit of this crossing of the Pacific Ocean to the oar without assistance. In 1991, Gerard d' Aboville had rejoined Japan at the American coasts. In 2000, Breton OJ Guen had failed in its attempt at crossing of the southern Pacific (New Zealand in Cape Horn).

Round the world tour with the veil with against current

October 15th, 2006, it begins a course with the veil from: 14500 km by traversing the South Seas of the east towards the west, i.e. with Counter-current. Left the island of the Meeting to the bar of L'Oreal Paris , old the Adrien of Jean-Luc Van Den Heede, it passes by the Cape of Good Hope, the Cape Horn then the Cape Leeuwin with for objective returning to its starting point five months later.

February 10th, 2007, with ten days of its arrival envisaged with the Port of the Point of the Rollers, it démâte and misses being wounded off the coasts Australia whereas it already traversed a third of the Indian Ocean. Initially, she thinks of giving up but manages to repair in the night of the 10 to the February 11th and tries to join the Meeting despite everything.

March 5th, it meets in the Indian Ocean the carry-helicopter Jeanne d' Arc which escorts it during two days. She arrives at broad of the Meeting the morning of March 14th and buckles her tour in front of Saint-Denis the afternoon.

Discusses: The world Committee of the records of veil estimates that Maud Fontenoy, on the basis of the island of the Meeting and by making the turn of the Antartique, did not really carry out a round the world tour with back, but a turn of the southern hemisphere, contrary to the navigatrice Dee Caffari which started from Portsmouth to England. It should however be stressed that at the time of its Maud exploit sailed well on the three principal oceans.

Anecdotes

In March 2004, Maud Fontenoy is candidate with the regional elections in Ile-de-France, on the list of UMP led by Jean-François Cope. This one is in addition the mayor of Meaux, birthplace of the navigatrice.
on June 23rd, 2005, Maud Fontenoy baptized a strange Majesty off the Seas .
July 12th, 2007, Nicolas Sarkozy gives to Maud Fontenoy the chivalric insignias of the National order of the Merit.
August 2007 of 9:00 to 10:30, every morning, Maud Fontenoy animates the emission With against current on Europe 1.
September 2007, each week, it animates the emission Ground-Mother on LCI in company of Jean-Louis Caffier.
October 2007, whereas its name was more and more often advanced to occupy the post of Secretary of State to Youth, jointly with the nomination of Bernard Laporte at the post of Secretary of State to the Sports, it announces officially " not to have not time to devote to the government in my diary, filled by the exit of my books, a documentary film on my round the world tour, my emission on LCI… I have others priorités" , she in a maintenance with Parisian-Aujourd' in France." declares today; (remarks published in Today in France and in particular taken again by AFP and Reuters). It should not thus fit in the current Cabinet, as opposed to what her presence at the sides of Nicolas Sarkozy at the time of the opening of the recent championship of Rugby had given rise to think of many observers.

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