Dad starts Atlantic solo row after sudden death of daughter

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

Andrew Osborne, from Rutland, started his solo row of more than 3,000 miles (4,828km) on Sunday in Gran Canaria.

His 90-day row is aiming to support a charity that helped his family after his daughter Amy died in 2018.

Mr Osborne is seeking to raise £125,000 for Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY) to provide free heart scans for under 35s.

The 57-year-old, who has been training for months with the help of former Olympic rowing champion James Cracknell, has already passed his original target of £100,000.

He is expected to consume upwards of 5,000 calories per day, and 20 litres (35 pints) of salt water will need to be desalinated daily for washing and drinking on the challenge.

Mr Osborne said: "When Amy died it was devastating for our family and friends around her, especially as there were no warning signs.

"She was young and healthy, and her death was completely unexpected."

He said CRY had given his family "incredible support".

Mr Osborne said during parts of the trip, his closest human contact could be the astronauts orbiting the Earth on the International Space Station.

He 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.

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