British couple who were trying to sail the Atlantic Ocean found washed up in a lifeboat on remote island
A British couple who were attempting to sail across the Atlantic Ocean have tragically been found dead in a lifeboat which washed up on a remote island off the coast of Canada.
Sarah Packwood, 54, and her 70-year-old husband Brett Clibbery had embarked on a daring voyage on their wind and solar-powered yacht, Theros, on 11 June from Nova Scotia in the hopes of making it to the Azores.
According to Canadian police, the pair departed from Halifax Harbour on the 42ft vessel and were reported missing a week later after concerns were raised when contact with their boat had been lost.
Three weeks later on 10 July, the bodies of Sarah and Brett were sadly discovered on Sable Island - which has been dubbed the 'graveyard of the Atlantic' - after their three-metre life raft washed ashore.
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Officials have launched an investigation into the incident and formal identification is still yet to take place, but Brett's son James Clibbery said it 'is hard to remain hopeful' following the discovery around 108 miles southeast of Nova Scotia.
In a Facebook post paying tribute to his father and his wife Sarah, a musician from the UK, James touchingly wrote: "The past few days have been very hard.
"My father James Brett Clibbery, and his wife, Sarah Justine Packwood have regrettably passed away.
"There is still an investigation, as well as a DNA test to confirm, but with all the news, it is hard to remain hopeful.
"I am so very sorry to the people who were friends of them. They were amazing people, and there isn’t anything that will fill the hole that has been left by their, so far unexplained passing.
"Living will not be the same without your wisdom, and your wife was quickly becoming a beacon of knowledge, and kindness. I miss your smiles. I miss your voices. You will be forever missed."
Sarah and Brett are said to have first met at a London bus stop in 2015 before getting hitched on their beloved yacht the following year, and later doing it all again in a Celtic marriage ceremony at Stonehenge.
Investigators will now work to piece together what happened to the couple as they headed off on a 2,000 mile mission across the Atlantic to reach the autonomous region of Portugal.
Brett was reportedly carrying a Garmin GPS device with him, which is said to have last pinged with his location around 40 miles south-west of Sable Island on 13 June.
The treacherous 28-mile stretch of land where the couple were found is notorious among sailors due to the more than 350 shipwrecks which have been recorded there since 1583.
There isn't much in the way of human activity up there, as only a handful of people - typically federal government staff or researchers - man the protected National Park Reserve site which has no permanent residents.
Sarah, who hailed from Warwickshire, was described as an 'accomplished sailor' who moved to Canada with Brett, with pals explaining they lived on Salt Spring Island, near Vancouver.
They documented their voyages onboard Theros on their YouTube and Facebook pages, Theros Adventures, and had dubbed their adventure across the Atlantic 'the green odyssey'.
The couple said this was in homage to their yacht being powered by a battery from an electric Nissan Leaf car and six solar panels.
Pal John Dolman told local news outlet the Times Colonist that the pair died doing 'the thing they loved'.
"She called him 'captain' and called herself the 'carpenter’s apprentice'," he said of Sarah and Brett.
"They were in love. They passed away doing the thing that they loved. Their adventure continues on the other side."
Topics: UK News, World News, News
Olivia Burke