A couple who embarked on an eco-friendly trip across the Atlantic have been found dead in a lifeboat after apparently being forced to abandon their yacht.
Brett Clibbery, 70, and Briton Sarah Justine Packwood, 54, were reported missing after setting off from Nova Scotia in Canada on their 42-foot sailboat Theros on June 11 and were found last week in a life raft carried by the current.
The couple’s remains were found on Sable Island, known as the “Graveyard of the Atlantic,” 290 kilometers off the coast of Nova Scotia, where the life raft had washed ashore. They had intended to sail to the Azores, 1,500 kilometers west of Portugal.
The Theros was a wind and solar-powered boat that the couple piloted to prove that travel without using fossil fuels is possible. The couple also shared videos on their YouTube channel of themselves touring Canada in an electric car.
Investigators are assessing whether the boat may have been hit by a larger vessel. The couple apparently did not issue any distress calls.
In a message shared on their Facebook page, the couple wrote: “Our goal is to sail across the ocean, if all goes well, if there are favourable winds and if the seas accompany us.” They described the journey as part of their “green odyssey”.
Brett Clibbery and Sarah Packwood, who were found dead off the coast of Nova Scotia earlier this month after their trip on an eco-friendly yacht came to a grim end.
The couple shared videos of their sailing adventures on their yacht Theros, powered entirely by solar and wind energy, on YouTube and Facebook.
The Theros, a 42-foot sailboat that was used by the couple to sail around North America.
The yacht had been converted to run solely on sail and solar power after removing the diesel engine.
The couple tied the knot aboard their yacht in 2016 (left) before holding a Celtic handfasting ceremony at Stonehenge a year later (right).
Ms Packwood and Mr Clibbery were frequent travellers, sharing images and videos of their sailing trips, electric car journeys and hikes.
The couple married on the Theros in 2016, according to Packwood’s personal blog, a year after meeting at a bus stop in London. Clibbery has been described as an experienced sailor and mechanic.
Mrs Packwood, from Long Itchington, Warwickshire, was in the process of donating a kidney to her sister, Glory, the The Vancouver Sun reported.
Later in April 2017, they held a Celtic “handfasting” ceremony at Stonehenge and posted a video of the encounter on their YouTube channel.
Her trip to the Azores was to be Theros’ first all-green voyage after ditching its diesel engine in favor of wind and solar power.
Posting a tribute on social media, Clibbery’s son James said his father and wife were “amazing people”.
He said: ‘The last few days have been very tough. My father, James Brett Clibbery, and his wife, Sarah Justine Packwood, have sadly passed away.
‘I feel very sorry for the people who were friends with them.
‘They were incredible people and nothing can fill the void left by their passing, which remains unexplained.
‘Life 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. We will miss you forever.
Tim O’Connor and John Dolman, friends of the couple, told the The Times Colonist The couple “loved traveling and meeting new people.”
Mr Dolman said: “She called him ‘captain’ and called herself ‘the carpenter’s apprentice’.”
‘They were in love. They died doing what they loved. Their adventure continues on the other side.’
Mr Clibbery at the helm of the yacht Theros. Canadian police are still investigating how the boat got into trouble
Sarah Packwood and Brett Clibbery. Ms Packwood had begun sharing stories of her time aboard the yacht online.
Sarah Packwood described herself online as an “intuitive healer” who practices so-called Reiki healing therapy.
Mr Clibbery and Mrs Packwood pose for a photo in front of the Theros. An investigation is underway into how the wreckage was abandoned
The pair set sail from Halifax, Nova Scotia (pictured) on June 11, but contact was lost shortly after.
Their final destination had been the Azores in the mid-Atlantic, 800 miles west of Portugal (pictured: Sao Miguel Island in the archipelago)
In a final post on June 11, the couple wrote: ‘Captain Brett and First Officer Sarah set sail on the second leg of The Green Odyssey aboard Theros, a 42-foot GibSea sailboat. Propelled by the wind and the sun, heading east towards the Azores.’
The post was accompanied by a video of Mr Clibbery telling viewers the boat was about 12 miles from shore, travelling at an average of 5.5 knots.
“If the wind continues like this, we will basically be heading east-southeast, which will take us to the Azores, so we’ll see,” he said.
However, with no news after that, friends and family began sharing worried messages beneath her final posts, contacting rescue coordinators in Halifax to search for the Theros.
The couple’s disappearance was officially announced on June 18, a week after they set sail. The voyage to the Azores was scheduled to last 21 days.
On July 3, Halifax Coast Guard crews issued a distress signal to all nearby ships, while rescue teams in the Azores were also searching for the ship in case it had drifted across the Atlantic.
However, the worst fears of the couple’s friends and family were confirmed earlier this month after the life raft was discovered on Sable Island, 175 miles off Halifax.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) in Nova Scotia confirmed they were informed of the remains on July 10 inside the Sable Island National Park Reserve.
‘On July 10, at approximately 3:15 p.m., the Halifax Regional RCMP Detachment and Joint Rescue Coordination Centre were contacted by Parks Canada after a 10-foot inflatable boat was found washed ashore with two deceased people on board,’ the statement read.
‘At this time, it is believed to be a lifeboat for a larger vessel called the Theros. The remains are believed to be those of two sailors, a 70-year-old man and a 60-year-old woman from British Columbia.
‘She was reported missing to the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre on 18 June, after leaving Halifax Harbour on 11 June, en route to the Azores.’
A Nova Scotia RCMP spokesperson told MailOnline today: “The incident remains under investigation and there are no further updates at this time.”
It remains a mystery how the ship was abandoned. However, one theory is that it was rammed by a much larger vessel shortly after leaving Halifax.
Hugo Fontaine, a spokesman for the Transportation Safety Board of Canada, told the Telegraph: “At this time, we cannot say with complete certainty that the sailboat was struck by a ship as we are still gathering information about the Theros sailboat, which is currently delayed.”
Mr Clibbery had explained in a YouTube video how the ship had been prepared to sail across the Atlantic without any help from fossil fuels.
“We’ve installed six solar panels to charge the batteries, we’ve got a Nissan Leaf battery pack on board that we use to power the motor, so we have to put everything together,” he said.
Ms Packwood, who described herself as “adventurer, artist, bard-in-training, co-creator, intuitive healer, humanitarian, musician, nature lover, singer-songwriter, traveller and writer”, volunteered as an aid worker in Rwanda after the country’s brutal genocide in 1994.
She met Mr Clibbery in 2015 at a bus stop outside the Department for International Development office in London, and later quit her job, sold her London apartment and joined him at Theros on Salt Spring Island, Canada.
