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(TheOceans.net) Maud Fontenoy passed Cape Horn Thursday, thus entering the Pacific Ocean – only to meet a series of low fronts which have kept the French solo sailor on constant watch.

Already tired after experiencing major storms on the south Atlantic, Maud longs for some badly needed sleep. “How difficult it is to sail so much to the south,” she vents.

"It’s hard"

“The cold, the storms with violent gusts, the dangerous sea, the constantly black sky, the stress… The truth of the matter is that I feel on top of the world, crossing a hostile universe which I have to save myself from,” Maud reports.

“Fatigue builds up, the cold becomes increasingly overwhelming and it is difficult for me to carry out the numerous maneuvers that I must do. It’s hard.”

Champagne must wait

Traditionally, sailors crack open a bottle of champagne when they cross Cape Horn, but Maud has decided to delay the celebration until she reach milder conditions - which according to forecasts won't take place in at least another week.

Maud’s next target is Cape Leeuwin, South Australia. That will be the third cape she will turn in her solo circumnavigation, with start and finish line in Reunion Island, against the prevailing currents.

French rower Maud Fontenoy set out from St. Pierre et Miquelon, (French) Canada on June 13, 2003 in an attempt to become the first woman to row across the Atlantic West to East. 117 days and an arduous journey later, she reached that goal on October 9th, 2003.

She drank sea water, fought off sharks, and tumbled in 30 foot waves. In the final weeks she was caught up in endless circles in the North Atlantic. Cargo ships brushed pass her like giants, frightening ghosts in the night. Injured and badly beaten she pushed hard towards the east, but the strong wind and the waves took her south without mercy. She arrived at the rocky coast in agitated seas and darkness, where not even the tow ship would go out to get her. But she never gave up and she stole the heart of hard core explorers for her fighting spirit, and her romantic messages in the midst of brutal storms.

In 2005 Maud rowed solo from Peru to French Polynesia, mid-Pacific to follow the route of Norwegian explorer Thor Heyerdahl's 1947 Kon-Tiki expedition. She left from Callao January 12, 2005 at 17h40 (22h40 GMT).

Maud's current sail started in October, 2006. Fontenoy departed Reunion Island (Indian Ocean) on Board the "L'Oreal Paris", a 26m long, aluminum-hulled and carbon-masted sailing vessel. She hopes to complete a solo sailing trip around the world, against the prevailing winds - across Cape of good Hope, then Cape Horn and the southern seas. Maud hopes to cross the finish line back in Reunion Island by February, 2007.