Charity Atlantic rower Michael Holt found dead on boat

A 54-year-old man from north Wales has been found dead on his boat during an attempt to row across the Atlantic Ocean.

Michael Holt from Porthmadog, Gwynedd, left Gran Canaria on 27 January with the goal to reach Barbados in the Caribbean and help two charities.

But some 700 miles in, Mr Holt, who had type 1 diabetes, fell ill.

He was later found dead in his cabin by the crew of a fishing vessel that had sailed to his aid.

Michael's death was announced in a statement made by his brother David Holt on Facebook.

"We have been working tirelessly to get help to Michael over the past four days but have found it incredibly difficult to do so," his brother wrote.

"Last night the fishing vessel Noruego accepted a tasking from Cape Verde Joint Rescue Coordination Centre and made directly for Michael's coordinates.

"Very sadly, upon arrival, Michael was found dead inside his cabin."

The statement went on to say: "Of course this was not the ultimate conclusion we were looking for, but I am somewhat comforted knowing he died doing something he absolutely wanted to do with a passion and managed to row in excess of 700 miles in the process. An achievement in itself."

The statement said it was a "huge shock" to the family, and his brother thanked people for their messages of support, saying "they mean a great deal to all the family".

Before beginning his voyage Mr Holt said he expected it to take "between 50-110 days".

He anticipated having to row for over 16 hours a day and living off just four hours of sleep.

He was travelling alone on his ship, named Mynadd, and he had no helicopter or boat helping him, but he was in contact with a company that was tracking his progress.

Relatives had expressed concern about him over the last week, initially saying he was suffering with seasickness, which he himself suspected was a "bad reaction to taking some antibiotics".

He therefore decided to postpone his journey to Barbados and begin rowing 300 miles south to the island Cape Verde.

However, in the following days concerns grew after all efforts to communicate with him failed.

It was then on Sunday evening that his death was announced online.

As part of his challenge, he was raising money for the charity Mind and Liverpool Charity and Voluntary Services.

His brother David described how he had tried to prepare himself for "horrible news", but added it had still come as a shock.

"I phoned up the Cape Verde port authority to find out what the fishing boat had found," he said.

"Obviously there was a bit of a language barrier with them speaking Portuguese but I asked, have they seen Michael, is he ok? Is he alive? And they just came back with, no no no.

"I had prepared myself for that news to some extent given the lack of communication with him in the days before that, but it was obviously still a shock. It was horrible news."

He added he was "incredibly proud" of his brother.

"Despite what's happened, to be rowing on the open sea for 24 days and to cover over 700 miles is amazing," he said.

"There's probably a reason nobody with type 1 diabetes has ever rowed across the Atlantic ocean. But when Michael gets an idea in his head, that's it. What he's achieved is amazing."