Body of man who died rowing Atlantic to return home

The 54-year-old was aiming to row across the Atlantic Ocean to raise money for charity

The family of the Gwynedd man who died rowing the Atlantic Ocean for charity have announced they have raised the £20,000 needed to bring him home.

Michael Holt, from Porthmadog, left Gran Canaria on 27 January with the goal of reaching Barbados.

But, some 700 miles in, the type 1 diabetes sufferer fell ill and was later found dead onboard his boat.

His brother David revealed he was "absolutely gobsmacked" to finally be returning him to Wales.

"I can't believe it - I never thought we'd reach £10,000 let alone £20,000," he said, the family's GoFundMe page currently standing at nearly £22,000.

• Charity Atlantic rower found dead on boat

• Family plea to bring home rower found dead at sea

"This is beyond our best hopes, and the amount is still going up.

"It's incredible and I cannot thank people enough for their kindness."

David added that anything beyond the £20,000 needed to repatriate his 54-year-old brother's body would go towards the good causes he championed.

Before embarking on his voyage Michael said he expected it to take between seven and 15 weeks, during which he would have to row for over 16 hours a day and live off just four hours' sleep.

He was travelling alone on his vessel, named Mynadd, and his relatives had expressed concern about him during his last week.

They initially said he was suffering with seasickness, which he himself suspected was a "bad reaction to taking some antibiotics".

Michael 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.

He was later found dead in his cabin by the crew of a fishing vessel that had sailed to his aid and an announcement made online on Sunday evening.

David 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 before, but when Michael got an idea in his head that would be it.

"What he achieved is incredible," said David.