A British rower has been found dead in his boat at sea while he was on a 3,000-mile challenge to cross the Atlantic.
Michael Holt, 54, died 700 miles into the charity challenge to cross the ocean by himself – four weeks after setting off in Gran Canaria.
He set off on January 27 for the 2942 mile journey which was expected to take between 40 – 110 days to row across.
Mr Holt was posting updates throughout the journey – and told friends he was suffering with sea sickness when he began to feel poorly.
The father-of-one was en route from Gran Canaria to Barbados and had already battled strong winds, losing an oar, and a shark attacking his rudder before he fell ill.
Michael Holt (pictured), 54, died 700 miles into the charity challenge to cross the ocean by himself – four weeks after setting off in Gran Canaria
Mr Holt was posting updates throughout the journey – and told friends he was suffering with sea sickness when he began to feel poorly
He set off on January 27 for the 2942 mile journey which was expected to take between 40 – 110 days to row across
Shortly after telling them he felt ill, his family said they had lost contact with him and alerted local rescue services.
Mr Holt, a type 1 diabetic, was found dead in his cabin two days later.
His brother David said: ‘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.
‘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,’ he added in the update on Mr Holt’s Instagram.
‘This is a huge shock to myself, his wife Lynne and daughter Scarlett and my parents, not to mention wider family and friends.
‘Many thanks for the kind words and wishes that you have already sent us during the past few days. They mean a great deal to all the family.’
Mr Holt, originally from Porthmadog, North Wales, had been living in the Wirral and was raising money for Mind and Liverpool Charity and Voluntary Services. He attempted the challenge after two years of training.
Just days before the tragedy he lost an oar and cut his hand when he was ‘nearly knocked overboard’ by a strong wave.
His family said he was ‘well prepared’ and had a spare oar in case of such emergencies and had medical supplies to avoid infections.
Shortly after telling them he felt ill, his family said they had lost contact with him and alerted local rescue services. Mr Holt, a type 1 diabetic, was found dead in his cabin (pictured behind Mr Holt) two days later – four weeks after setting off
Just days before the tragedy Mr Holt lost an oar and cut his hand when he was ‘nearly knocked overboard’ by a strong wave. His family said he was ‘well prepared’ and had a spare oar in case of such emergencies and had medical supplies on the boat (pictured) to avoid infections
In an update on Sunday posted to Mr Holt’s Instagram, the family said spotter planes had been sent up at around 6.30am on Saturday, but reported that he was not on the vessel at the time.
‘Fishing vessel Noruego was tasked with heading to Michael’s position yesterday,’ the post on Sunday said.
‘This vessel is underway and is expected to arrive around 17:00 UK time today. In the meantime Omnicron Atlas, a tanker on route to Venice has also responded to the mayday, and is now at the scene.
Michael’s brother David has direct communication with the skipper of this vessel,’ it added.
‘Due to the vessel’s type and sheer size, trying to get down to the rowing boat is likely to be impossible, however they will remain in place to support the fishing vessel when it arrives.
‘The family thank you for all of your well wishes – when there is a substantial update – we’ll update you here.’
An update on February 15 told how his boat was attacked by a terrifying 10ft shark – believed to be a fearsome oceanic white-tip.
The post said: ‘Then something very unusual happened; the shark seemed to try and bite the rudder! Michael could hear and feel the commotion, and in his own words “it sounded like the shark had a party with my rudder”!
‘This is extremely unusual to happen, and probably a case that it was hunting a fish under the boat and grabbed the rudder by mistake – but Michael took it all in his stride, and once the sharks had left, he just carried on rowing.’
Mr Holt, originally from Porthmadog, North Wales, had been living in the Wirral and was raising money for Mind and Liverpool Charity and Voluntary Services
Mr Holt was an experienced rower.
Last year, the football fan rowed solo across the Irish Sea from Porthmadog Harbour to Wicklow and back to raise money for Porthmadog FC.
In 2015, Mike underwent double reconstructive surgery to both his shoulders, a treatment which involved putting some 20 titanium rods into his body.
He said the surgery was required due to a ‘self-inflicted accident’ linked to the management of his diabetes which he could not remember because he was so ill.