Dad to row the Atlantic solo after sudden death of daughter

The father of a 25-year-old who suddenly died in her sleep from an undiagnosed heart condition is set to row across the Atlantic in her memory.

Andrew Osborne, from Rutland, will travel more than 3,000 miles (4,828km) in his 90-day solo attempt.

He is aiming to support a charity that helped his family after his daughter Amy died in 2018.

Mr Osborne aims to raise £100,000 for Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY) to provide free heart scans for under 35s.

He is due to set off in December and said he expected to make 1.5 million oar strokes as he travelled across the Atlantic.

During parts of the trip, he said his closest human contact could be the astronauts orbiting the earth on the International Space Station.

Mr Osborne, 57, has been training for months with the help of former Olympic champion James Cracknell.

"My daughters have been raising money for the charity by doing silly things like running marathons and climbing mountains," he said.

"I love the sea - Amy loved the sea - so I had a great idea that I would sail across the Atlantic.

"But someone pointed out that is really a bit of a holiday - so now I'm rowing."

Mr Osborne said the death of his daughter had been a tragedy for him and his family.

She died from arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy, the same heart condition that affected former England, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire cricketer James Taylor.

According to CRY, about 12 people under the age of 35 die a week in the UK from undiagnosed heart conditions.

Mr Osborne is hoping to fund heart screening days in state schools in the East Midlands in a bid to diagnose the condition early and save lives.

He said: "Amy died in her sleep - she literally just didn't wake up. She was 25 years old and reasonably fit. It was a tragedy.

"It isn't a heart attack, it's that the electrics in the heart just stop working.

"Unfortunately, for Amy it happened while she was asleep, so we weren't aware of it until she didn't wake up the next morning.

"From our point of view as her family, we are determined to help.

"I'm sure Amy's spirit will be waiting for me, standing at the bar ready to buy me a rather large beer."

Mr Osborne will set off in December when the tide is right and hopes to arrive at a bar in Antigua in April.

Chief executive of CRY Dr Steven Cox said: "What Andrew Osborne has pledged to do in memory of his daughter Amy is truly incredible.

"It will raise awareness of young sudden cardiac death and the importance of screening as well as vital raise funds which will help to save young lives."

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