Mystery as Brit woman and husband attempting to cross Atlantic found dead in lifeboat one month after going missing
21 July 2024, 10:58
A British woman and her husband have been found dead in a lifeboat off the Canada coast one month after going missing.
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Sarah Justine Packwood, 54, and her husband, Brett Clibbery, 70, embarked on an eco-friendly journey across the Atlantic.
They left Nova Scotia in Canada on their 42ft sailing boat named Theros on June 11.
On June 18, they were reported missing, with their bodies not being found until three weeks later on July 10.
They were found in a washed up lifeboat on Sable Island, which has also been nicknamed the 'graveyard of the Atlantic', 180 miles off the coast of Nova Scotia.
The couple had originally planned to sail to the Azores, near Portugal.
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Investigators are looking into whether Theros may have been hit by a larger vessel but no distress calls are understood to have been issued.
The boat was wind and solar-powered, with the pair attempting to show how travel can be done without a reliance on fossil fuels.
In a post on their Facebook page, the couple said: "We aim to sail across the ocean, all being well, fair winds and following seas with us!"
Sharing a tribute, Mr Clibbery's son said the pair were "amazing people".
"The past few days have been very hard. My father James Brett Clibbery, and his wife, Sarah Justine Packwood have regrettably passed away," he said.
"There is still an investigation, as well as a DNA test to confirm, but with all the news, it is hard to remain hopeful."
He went on: "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."
The couple documented their travels in videos shared on YouTube as well as a Facebook page.
They dubbed the adventure "the green odyssey".
