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He waived his hand goodbye
15:30 p.m. EDT Sep 26, 2003
15:46 p.m. EDT Sep 21, 2003
Yesterday Maud was on her knees to fix her water maker, trying to make sense of all the bolts, valves and membranes of the monster machine. It's heavy, and she had to move it out of it's place to work on it.
At last, it coughed and spit out a small amount of water, but then it just sat there as Maud was too weak to fix it back into position. Now, the barely drooling monster had turned a deadly missile ready to strike a hole in the boat at the next big wave. Winds blew excessive of 40 knots and the waves piled at 6 meters, as Maud watched the small pool of water she had managed to squeeze out of the bulky machine.
That's when her knight materialized right out of the fog. His name was Roland and he rode a shining 60ft sailboat. He released a large container of fresh water close to Maud and then disappeared silently back into the ocean mist. "The dream lasted only a few minutes. He waved his hand goodbye and then he was gone".
Maud went through the roof with joy and drank her hearts desire of the sweet water. Next she installed her small drift anchor to stabilize the boat and prepared her cabin for capsize.
All she can do now is to wait for the forecasted storm. But this time, she will take comfort in the memory of a large red boat - slipping smoothly like on silk toward her, passing close and silent, only ropes tinkling at its mast - offering a gift of sweet, sweet water. "It was one magic moment which I will never forget", says Maud.
French rower Maud Fontenoy set out from St. Pierre et Miquelon, Canada on June 13 in an attempt to become the first woman to row across the Atlantic West to East.
Image of the knight who was later tracked down by Maud's crew - Roland and his boat Sill - courtesy of Jean-Christophe L'Espagnol, www.maudfontenoy.free.fr
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