Answer & explanation
The official answer, with Fermi’s reasoning step by step.
Answer & explanation
Official answer
11
days
How to estimate it
Fermi’s official “Napkin math”
The Atlantic from the Canary Islands to the Caribbean is about 3,000 miles. How fast does the best sculler on Earth go? Quicker than it looks, about like a steady bike ride. Call it 10 miles an hour.
- Canaries to Antigua
- ~3,000 mi
- Olympic sculling speed
- ÷ 10 mph
- 3,000 ÷ 10
- ≈ 300 hours
- ÷ 24
- ≈ 12.5 days
The Atlantic from the Canary Islands to the Caribbean is about 5,000 kilometers. How fast does the best sculler on Earth go? Quicker than it looks, about like a steady bike ride. Call it 20 km/h.
- Canaries to Antigua
- ~5,000 km
- Olympic sculling speed
- ÷ 20 km/h
- 5,000 ÷ 20
- ≈ 250 hours
- ÷ 24
- ≈ 10 days
Rounded assumptions may give a slightly different estimate. The official answer above is the game’s reference value.
Source calculation & reference
- Paris 2024 gold, Oliver Zeidler, 2,000 m
- 6:37.57
- Speed
- ≈ 18.1 km/h (11.3 mph)
- Race course, La Gomera to Antigua
- ≈ 4,800 km (3,000 miles)
- 4,800 ÷ 18.1 = 265 hours
- ≈ 11 days
Reference cited by Fermi: World Rowing, Paris 2024 single sculls (6:37.57); World's Toughest Row course (3,000 mi)
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