Rutland rower Andrew Osborne completes Atlantic crossing in aid of Cardiac Risk in the Young
A man who lost his daughter to an undiagnosed heart condition has rowed an ocean and raised £140,000 in her memory.
Andrew Osborne pulled into Falmouth Harbour in Antigua on Monday evening (UK time) after 78 days at sea.
He set off from Gran Canaria on January 8 to row 3,000 miles in honour of his daughter Amy who died in her sleep five years ago at the age of 25.
Her dad's efforts will help hundreds of young people to be tested for undiagnosed heart conditions.
Updating his followers from Antigua, Andrew's supporters said: "It took him 78 days and 10 hours to row 3,000 miles across the Atlantic.
"With the super yachts all sounding their air horns and many people cheering him in, it was an incredibly emotional moment.
"His first drink was an iced cold coca-cola followed shortly by a beer. His first meal ended up being eggs on toast, which he was craving all the way."
Andrew shared six blog posts on his website during the challenge.
He spoke of the challenges of being so isolated and how the hours of rowing has taken a toll on his back, hands and bottom, which were blistered and covered in sores from being constantly damp and salt-covered.
The 57-year-old travelled across the Atlantic in a six-metre boat named In Full Cry.
He had no face-to-face or phone contact with others, and at times his nearest human companions were on the International Space Station as it passed overhead.
He expected to burn 5,000 calories a day, surviving on freeze-dried meals rehydrated using water boiled on a portable stove.
Andrew set himself a fundraising target of £150,000 for the charity Cardiac Risk in the Young, which would allow 1,500 children to be tested.
He has reached £141,355 so far.
Twelve young people with heart conditions die each week in the UK, and 80 per cent of these are undiagnosed.
Andrew said: "If I can raise enough funds for CRY to test hundreds of children and therefore prevent the tragic loss to a family of a much loved child, then it will have all been worth every pull on the oars and every mile of the journey."