In December, four Estonians set out to row across the Atlantic in a challenge that could take up to 40 days. One of the team, Andres Käosaar, told ERR they are currently halfway and the biggest challenge they face is the blazing sun.

Teams entering the Atlantic 2025 World’s Toughest Row race, which began at the end of last year, are required to cross from Canary Islands to the Caribbean as quickly as possible. With the race covering a distance of 4,800 kilometers in total, by January 8, the Estonian foursome known as “Rowtalia” had passed the half-way mark in their trusty vessel Jasmine II.

During the journey so far, there have been plenty of moments when the Estonian team wondered why they had convinced each other to take on such a huge challenge.

“We have been rowing for quite a long time now. With over 20 days of rowing across the Atlantic behind us, we have had time to think about why we came here, whether it was necessary and whether we really had to undertake such a long journey. But in the end, that’s exactly why we came here, because it’s long and difficult,” said one the four Estonian rowers, Andres Käosaar, who works as a space, teamwork and organizational psychologist.

“We’ve all been thinking about it at night, trying to find something positive here, some kind of creativity or idea, a philosophy that we can take with us back into our real lives,” he added.

In the early stages of the 42-participant race, the Estonian boat was a little off the pace but has since made good progress and was in 13th on Thursday.

“This is a perfectly reasonable position for us, considering that our main task is just to compete with ourselves and the ocean, not to chase first place,” Käosaar said.

“But of course, that competitive spirit is still there, we are watching the progress of other boats and there are currently two boats ahead of us, which we hope to overtake before getting to the finish line,” he told ERR, adding that they cannot see any other boats on the enormous Atlantic “racetrack.”

“We have had absolutely no contact with them, except on the first day. On the second and third nights, we could still see the navigation lights of other boats, which are visible from further away at night, but after that we haven’t seen any other boats in the competition.”

At night when the cool winds blow, the cold can be a problem. However, it is the blazing sun that poses more of a problem for the rowers during the day.

“For the last ten days, we have mainly had sunshine overhead, and we have also moved south, so it is quite difficult with the sun. It sucks the energy out of you and also affects your skin,” said Käosaar from the boat, where the temperature in the cabin can rise to 40 degrees Celsius.

Käosaar added that the sun also causes the most psychological difficulties.

“The way it drains your energy when at the same time you still have to row. It’s annoying. A few days ago, there was no tailwind or waves. That really put our team spirit to the test, but luckily it was Christmas and then New Year’s Eve, so we celebrated the holidays and kept our spirits high.”

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