New Delhi, March 15 -- At 8.58am on 11 December, Ananya Prasad set off from San Sebastian in La Gomera, Spain, in a rowboat named Odysseus. She named it after the Greek king and the hero of Homer's renowned epic poem, Odyssey, that tells the story of his homecoming after the Trojan War.

Over the next few weeks, Prasad wrote her own epic: a 3,000-mile journey across the Atlantic Ocean as part of a race called the World's Toughest Row. She had dedicated three years of her life to prepare for the colossal effort. And gradually made peace with the fact that though she was ready for the challenge, she wasn't a natural when it came to the water.

"Since you are on the boat most of the time, you don't have to worry. But yes, I'm a bit afraid of...