I also rowed for many years.

I woke up daily at 4 am to avoid the wear and tear of the hot sun.

It was a great experience!

The precaution I would recommend to you is to ALWAYS, regardless of your self-confidence, wear a life jacket.

There was a day, after an hour and a half of rowing, I fell out of the boat and didn't even have the strength to get back up.

I only survived because a fishing boat was passing by.