Mexican women aim to conquer the Atlantic Ocean

Crossing the Atlantic is a metaphor for the challenges everyone faces daily, say the members of Oceanida, the name they gave their project for participating in the World’s Toughest Row, an annual competition where about 25 rowing teams from various countries cross the Atlantic Ocean from La Gomera in the Canary Islands to Antigua and Barbuda in the Caribbean.

On December 12, 2025, Eugenia Méndez, Ana Lucía Valencia, Andrea Gutiérrez, and Thalía Trillo will become the first Mexican team to row across the Atlantic Ocean with two primary objectives and values: ocean conservation and promoting equal opportunities for women to achieve their goals.

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“It’s 1,800 kilometers,” explains Thalía Trillo about the distance the team must cover. “It’s approximately between 45 and 50 days (of rowing), depending on the number of team members. Some people do it solo and take up to 110 days. Since we are a team of four, that’s the estimated range,” explains Trillo about this crossing, in which they will also be the first team from Latin America to participate.

“What makes this project bigger is that it all has a purpose,” says Andrea Gutiérrez. After the crossing, Oceanida will sell the boat used in the competition, and the proceeds will go to two social causes: the Guadalupe Musalem Fund, an organization supporting indigenous and Afro-Mexican girls from rural areas of Oaxaca to continue their high school and university studies, and Sirenas de Natividad, a group of five women from a fishing community on Natividad Island in Baja California Sur, promoting equal participation in the fishing sector. “They are among the first groups in Mexico and Latin America to be part of a fishing community and to develop in diving,” explains Thalía.

“What we want to inspire and convey is that everyone has that ocean, which can be seen in many ways, representing challenges in our daily lives, and that this inspiration helps them cross their own oceans,” emphasizes Thalía. Ana Lucía Valencia adds, “an important message we want to send, and that we have learned, is that you can cross that ocean as a community, as a team.”

In addition to the social cause, Oceanida’s participation in the World’s Toughest Row aims “to inspire more people to dare to achieve their challenges,” notes Andrea Gutiérrez.

PROFILES

• EUGENIA MÉNDEZ (25 YEARS OLD)

“THE STRONGEST MESSAGE FOR ME IS THAT YOU DON’T NEED TO BE EXTRAORDINARY TO DO EXTRAORDINARY THINGS, AND THIS PROJECT PROVES IT.”

She is the mind behind Oceanida, an idea that arose after watching a documentary about the first women to row the Pacific Ocean. “That’s when the seed was planted.” Before the project, she spent a year sailing around the world on a sailboat, with two Atlantic crossings and a total of 20,000 nautical miles.

• ANA LUCÍA VALENCIA (29 YEARS OLD)

“I HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO CROSS AN OCEAN AND SEE A SUNRISE AND SUNSET, BEING IN THE MIDDLE OF THE OCEAN WITH STRONG WOMEN WHO INSPIRE AND UPLIFT ME.”

She is a long-distance hiker, having walked across the USA (4,265 km) in 2021, the year she met Eugenia, who invited her to join Oceanida. She is also an open-water swimmer, achieving swims of up to 10 kilometers.

• ANDREA GUTIÉRREZ (26 YEARS OLD)

“WHAT MAKES THIS PROJECT BIGGER IS THAT IT IS NOT JUST ABOUT CROSSING THE OCEAN BUT ALSO SUPPORTING MORE WOMEN TO CROSS THEIR OWN OCEANS.”

Originally from Mexico City, she spent her childhood in Playa del Carmen, developing as a sailor on sailboats and catamarans. She has participated twice in the famous “Sacred Crossing,” from Playa del Carmen to Cozumel Island, a challenge covering 70 km in total.

• THALÍA TRILLO (27 YEARS OLD)

“THE PHRASE WE HAVE ADOPTED AS A TEAM IS THAT COURAGE LOOKS DIFFERENT FOR EVERY WOMAN, AND EVERYONE HAS THEIR OWN OCEAN TO CROSS.”

Currently, she is a Marine Biology student at the Autonomous University of La Paz, actively involved in marine conservation projects.

Read the article in Spanish in the Mente Mujer supplement at this link.

With information from Daniela Zambrano.