An amateur rower hopes to inspire her sons to do “ambitious, crazy things” as she prepares to row across the Atlantic Ocean solo as part of the World’s Toughest Row race.

Leanne Maiden, 42, who lives in Bearsden, East Dunbartonshire, hopes to be the first South African woman to achieve the feat as she prepares to set off on the near 3,000-mile crossing on Wednesday.

It is expected the journey will take about 85 days to complete, from San Sebastian, La Gomera in the Canary Islands, to Nelson’s Dockyard on the Caribbean island of Antigua.

Mrs Maiden, who moved to Scotland about 20 years ago, described herself as an “ordinary woman” who had not been in a rowing boat for more than 20 years before deciding to embark on the challenge.

She will subject herself to sleep deprivation, salt sores, physical extremes and the psychological impact of being on the open seas during the journey.

Before she decided to embark on the challenge, she had not seriously rowed since she was at university.

The mother-of-two said turning 40 and the Covid-19 lockdown may have inspired her to take on the challenge.

Mrs Maiden said: “I don’t know whether it was lockdown – which I found to be particularly tough – or turning 40, but I’d never previously considered doing anything like this until now.

“It will be incredibly sad to leave my children and my husband, but very few kids can say their mum rowed the Atlantic Ocean.

“We’ll miss each other, but I hope it will inspire them to do ambitious, crazy things themselves.”

Mrs Maiden will be raising money for three charities: the Polar Academy UK, the Women’s Fund for Scotland, and the Mabel Foundation.

She will embark on the challenge solo, after her friend pulled out of the challenge for personal reasons, and is concerned about the social isolation she will experience.

Only 34 solo women are believed to have attempted the challenge.

I have an incredible family and amazing friends and the thought of spending up to 85 days with nothing but my own thoughts feels like it could be very uncomfortable indeed

She said: “Aside from the physical and mental challenge of rowing an ocean, I will also be facing the challenge of social isolation.

“I have never lived alone and I’m not even sure I have ever spent more than 12 hours in my own company.

“I have an incredible family and amazing friends and the thought of spending up to 85 days with nothing but my own thoughts feels like it could be very uncomfortable indeed.

“But when I consider the inescapable discomfort that so many people around the world experience on a daily basis for their entire lives, my discomfort pales into insignificance.”

When Mrs Maiden eventually gets to Antigua, about 20 of her family and friends should be there to greet her.

Her trip is sponsored by Wolfcraig Distillers, and director Jamie Lunn was in La Gomera last week helping Mrs Maiden pack her boat.

He said: “We’ve been with her since the beginning. She’s a very special person; so incredibly resilient and inspiring. We can all learn a lot from her.

“A couple of our ambassadors have represented the British and Irish Lions, and Lauren (Gray), our head of marketing, is an Olympic medallist, and they are as much in awe of Leanne as I am.

“We’re proud to be part of Leanne’s journey especially given the charities she is raising funds for and will be cheering her on every painful mile of the way.”

Mrs Maiden’s journey can be followed at http://she-roars.com/