Andrew Osborne, a 57-year-old businessman from Rutland, has completed his unsupported row across the Atlantic in honour of his late daughter, Amy, who died aged 25 years-old from an undiagnosed heart condition.
Andrew’s ‘Row For Amy’ campaign has raised £169,025 as of the 30th March for Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY) with the support of sponsors, MHR and Delancey.
The total amount takes into account funds raised via Andrew’s Just Giving page (£143,542), the Row for Amy prize draw (£7,810) and gift aid (£17,673).
The charity offers lifesaving screenings to 30,000 young people aged 35 and under per year – the funds raised by the campaign will pay for 3,000 of these tests, which equals one test for every mile rowed by Andrew.
Setting off from Gran Canaria on 8th January – just a few days shy of the sixth anniversary of Amy’s death on 14th January 2017 – Andrew rowed tirelessly for 78 days before finally arriving in Antigua 3,000 miles and 1.5 million oar strokes later. Along the way he overcame bouts of sickness, technical issues with the boat, loneliness and isolation, and even a large storm – but arrived at his destination unscathed and full of accomplishment.
Andrew decided to take on this gruelling challenge in memory of his daughter, Amy, who shared her father’s love for water and sea, but passed away suddenly from an undiagnosed, asymptomatic heart condition. Each week in the UK, 12 seemingly healthy young people die from similar undetected heart defects, with four-fifths (80%) of them never exhibiting or feeling any symptoms.
Andrew’s goal was to raise the funds and awareness needed to put a stop to these staggering numbers and prevent others from losing their young, loved ones in the same way. His original fundraising target was £100,000, which he passed in January earlier this year.
Andrew Osborne notes: “My arduous voyage across the Atlantic has been the most gruelling and exhilarating experience of my life. Rowing solo across the Atlantic in a little 20-foot boat, I was pushed to the limits of endurance.
“I faced an initial 72 hours of extreme sickness and problems with the boat’s autohelm shortly after setting off, and later, there was troubleshooting with contact due to a faulty satellite.
“At several points, I had to abandon my oars for a parachute anchor, to steady my position amid unruly waters and searingly hot gusts and I even experienced a turbulent capsize but thankfully emerged unscathed.
“At the other extreme was frustratingly calm waters which were soon overthrown by a cataclysmic storm towards the end of my journey which threatened to push me back off course altogether right before the finish line. At the same time, mentally I experienced extreme isolation and loneliness throughout my journey and had to dig deep to find the strength and determination to go on.
“Despite the challenge, each painstaking mile has been worth it, and it is the most humbling and rewarding feeling to know that every pull on the oars will give at least one young person the chance to receive lifesaving tests and be spared from experiencing the same tragic fate as Amy did. It is the honour and privilege of a lifetime to be able to raise this support and awareness, in memory of Amy.
“It has been a challenge of a lifetime, and the moral support from those tracking my journey has been pivotal. The generous donations of everyone both personal and sponsored has given me the strength and determination to forge on, in the moments when I felt like I no longer could.”
Jessica Mills, chairman at MHR, says: “We extend our warmest congratulations to Andrew on successfully completing his formidable 3,000-mile row across the Atlantic. The combined support of MHR and other sponsors has raised much needed funds and awareness for Andrew’s efforts and the vital work that CRY do. With Andrew’s Rutland roots, this is a cause that feels very close to home for MHR as an East Midlands-based business.
“We are privileged to have partaken in and contributed towards such a valiant and successful fundraising challenge. People are at the centre of the work we do at MHR, as we collaborate with our local community and charities to build a better world. It has been an absolute pleasure to work with Andrew and CRY for such a worthy cause and as a very fitting memorialisation for Amy.”
Dr Steven Cox, Chief Executive of CRY, says: “We’d like to congratulate Andrew Osbourne on this amazing feat of crossing the Atlantic. We are privileged to continuously receive inspiring support from families such as Amy’s who sadly know all too well the pain of losing a loved one at a young age to sudden cardiac death.
“I always admire how these bereaved families are able to channel their own traumatic experience to prevent others suffering a similar loss, by undertaking amazing awareness and fundraising challenges such as Andrew’s rowing event, which was generously supported by MHR.
“The amount of sudden but preventable deaths that undiagnosed heart conditions are causing among young people is exactly why CRY believes screening is so crucial. We strongly believe the government approach to specialist cardiac screening needs an overhaul and we are committed to continue campaigning for this change.
“CRY’s mission is to give every young person the opportunity to have their heart tested. Since we don’t receive any government funding, it is only through the generous support of various communities throughout the UK that we are able to provide our free, UK-wide screening programme to the public.
“Anyone interested in booking a free screening or finding out more details about an upcoming local event, can do so at www.testmyheart.org.uk”
All funds raised by the Atlantic row will be donated to CRY.
