Challenging the Pacific cover art

Challenging the Pacific

The First Woman to Row the Kon-Tiki Route

Preview

Free with 30-day trial
A 30-day trial plus your first audiobook free.
1 credit/month after trial—to buy any title you like, yours to keep.
Listen all you want to a selection of thousands of Audible Originals, audiobooks and podcasts.
$16.45 a month after 30 day trial. Cancel anytime.

Challenging the Pacific

By: Maud Fontenoy
Narrated by: Eliza Foss
Free with 30-day trial

$16.45/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $16.99

Buy Now for $16.99

Confirm Purchase
Pay using voucher balance (if applicable) then card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions Of Use and Privacy Notice and authorise Audible to charge your designated credit card or another available credit card on file.
Cancel

About this listen

Named one of Time Magazine International's 30 most important people of 2005, Maud Fontenoy presents us with a terrific, entertaining adventure story on the high seas as she challenges the Pacific Ocean - a feat no woman before her ever accomplished. Already the first woman to row alone across the North Atlantic, Maud raised the bar to defy the elements, the daunting solitude, and the circling sharks of the South Pacific on her second solo voyage. She overcame all the odds as well as her personal doubts and fears, demonstrating not only her indomitable courage and strength but proving once again that women can conquer the most difficult and treacherous obstacles.

©2005, 2011 Editions Robert Laffont (P)2013 Audible, Inc.
Adventure Travel Adventurers, Explorers & Survival Australia & Oceania Oceania Sailing & Boating Sports Travel Writing & Commentary Women Adventure Sailing

Editorial reviews

After becoming the first woman to row solo across the Atlantic, Maud Fontenoy needed a new challenge, so she set out on a route across the Pacific made famous by Thor Heyerdahl, departing from Peru in a journey to Hiva Oa in French Polynesia's Marquesas Islands. In a fantastic performance, Eliza Floss captures all the thrilling nuance in Fontenoy's tale, from her palpable awe when describing the high seas to the creeping anxiety during Fontenoy's moments of self-doubt. Challenging the Pacific is a memorable adventure, and a great testament to the determination and strength of an incredible woman.

Critic Reviews

  • AudioFile Earphones Award 2014


"With hushed tones, Foss describes magical moments that Fontenoy encounters, such as a mighty whale eyeing her tiny rowboat, Océor, before diving deep underneath it. During a sequence in which a vicious storm nearly ends the voyage, Foss adds a raw vitality to her voice that makes one ache for Fontenoy. In a fleeting four hours, Foss makes one believe that truly anything is possible."

(AudioFile)

What listeners say about Challenging the Pacific

Average Customer Ratings
Overall
  • 2 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    0
  • 4 Stars
    0
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    2
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 3 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    0
  • 4 Stars
    0
  • 3 Stars
    2
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 2 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    0
  • 4 Stars
    0
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    2
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Challenging



A fly-in, fly-out adventurer sees a shark, cleans her boat, gets capsized in a storm, and celebrates finishing her solo row by enjoying Polynesian hospitality. Except there really isn't much about the Pacific crossing at all. For instance, what stars did she see? What was different about this compared with her Atlantic crossing? What ocean currents did she ride, etc? The author instead writes about herself, with only a handful of overly dramatized events on the trip. I also found the way she wrote about the Polynesians at the end a little jarring, since their people made similar ocean crossings without any of her modern advantages.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.