One dark and wet November evening, just over one year ago, a mundane decision kicked off what is most likely to be one of the biggest and hardest challenges I’ll ever face – both mentally and physically.

First, I’ll take a few steps back to February two years ago when my brother Mike passed away.

Like most in a similar position, the events of that Saturday morning left a deep impact on me. I was left with an unfillable void. As I was saying my final farewells to Mike, I decide that I had to do something in his honour, and in the process help organisation who do so much work to help others in their time of need.

The only problem was I had no idea what to do.

Fast forward to November 2018.

While looking for a TV programme to help me with my German, I stumbled across a film with four Swiss guys rowing across an ocean. Rowing an ocean. Bloody crazy.

The Swiss Motion team were packed onto an eight-metre by 1.5-metre boat and in just over 30 days they rowed nearly 5,000km (3,000 nautical miles) across the Atlantic Ocean.

Swiss Motion competed in the Talisker Whiskey Atlantic Challenge – this year, 35 teams are competing. Not sure if it’s a record, but it’s quite a lot.

The 2019 edition is currently underway and the first team is expected to make landfall right now.

I can’t do the Talisker Atlantic Challenge just yet – it’s beyond my financial means. But I decided to row the Atlantic anyway. I’m joining adventurer Ralph Tuijn (photo above, left) on a trip from Faro in Portugal to Cayenne in French Guiana in South America.

It’s a 6,000km trip where a team of six – including me – will row 24 hours a day, two hours on and two off. The aim is to reach our destination in less than 48 days. The current record for this stretch is 48 days, 4 hours and 30 minutes.

It’s one of the toughest challenges there are, and to break the record, we will need lady luck to be on our side with good trade winds and fair weather.

I have been preparing for this challenge for just over a year. I’ll also be joining my local rowing club to get as much on the water time as possible. Until now, I have done around 2.3 million metres, but all on an indoor rower.

The actual trip across the Atlantic leaves Portugal on 1 March 2021 and I hope to get to South America by 16 April 2021 – the day before my brother’s birthday.

This is significant because I will be collecting money for charity in my brother’s honour, among others. For more information, please visit my website: www.crossrower.ch