An inflatable lifeboat has been found washed up on Sable Island, 290km SE of Halifax, Nova Scotia, with human remains inside. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police say they believe the remains are those of a British Columbia cruising couple, whose sailboat was reported missing in late June 2024.

Published 4 months ago

Update:  July 22 – Investigation Launched into Incident

Source:  Practical Boat Owner

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada is carrying out an investigation into the circumstances surrounding this tragedy.  To date there has been no trace of the couple’s vessel, a GibSea 42 named “Theros”.

Couple Reported Missing One Week after Setting Sail

Sable Island, where the lifeboat was discovered, is nearly 300 kilometres southeast of Halifax in the North Atlantic Ocean.  The island is protected and managed by Parks Canada, which must grant permission to anyone wanting to visit.

According to news reports, officials believe the two bodies on board are that of a 70-year-old man and a 60-year-old woman who were reported missing one week after leaving Halifax Harbour on board their sailboat.

The experienced cruising couple were en route to the Azores, an archipelago off the coast of Portugal, on their vessel named Theros and last made contact through Garmin messaging to friends and family on June 13, from a position near Sable Island.

On June 18, their family reported they no longer had contact with the sailboat.

Two-day Search

When the sailboat was determined overdue, Joint Rescue Coordination Centre (JRCC) Halifax, operated by the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Coast Guard, launched a two-day search, flying two planes including a CC130 Hercules from Nova Scotia to the Azores and near Sable Island. A rescue co-ordination centre in Azores also mounted a search.

JRCC Halifax spokesman, Lieutenant Commander Len Hickey, said “JRCC never found, visually or by sensors, any indication that the boat was in the last known area. On the day and following day after the vessel last made contact, the winds were pretty standard at 15 knots with two-metre waves, but there was heavy fog and mist with visibility at only 200 feet.”

Liferaft Discovered

After receiving a call from Parks Canada staff about the human remains, a contingent of Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) arrived on the island.  In a statement to the media, the RCMP said their investigation was continuing. They did not confirm the identities of the bodies found, but said the Nova Scotia Medical Examiner Service was working to make positive identifications.

Experienced Sailors

According to social media posts by Chris Bewsher, a friend and member of the Dartmouth Yacht Club where the couple set off from on June 11, the sailboat Theros belonged to Brett Clibbery and Sarah Packwood of Salt Spring Island, British Columbia.

“He and Sarah had very clear visions of arriving in Spain through the Azores and setting about on their next adventure, which would have been a series of walks and hikes and caminos and sharing all of that online with people that followed them or cared about them,” said Mr. Bewsher, who last spoke to Mr. Clibbery on May 23.

“He was very excited. He had a lot of work to do on the boat to get it ready to go and they were very much looking forward to the journey,” said Mr. Bewsher, adding that they expected to make the crossing in two to three weeks.

Mr. Clibbery was an avid and experienced mariner who had sailed through the Panama Canal and from the Caribbean to Nova Scotia, added Mr. Bewsher. The couple, who had married on the boat, were keen hikers who had completed the Camino de Santiago in Spain and were in the process of building a green, off-the-grid home, on Salt Spring Island.

A few years ago, they attempted the same voyage across the North Atlantic to Spain, but turned back to Nova Scotia after they ran into bad weather off Sable Island.

“So many people have been concerned about them and (have been) waiting for an update, a favourable update,” said Mr. Bewsher. “This is obviously an outcome that could have come as a result and it’s tragic. They’re just such awesome people, so genuine and giving and considerate.

“When people set out to take these type of journeys as part of a lifelong ambition, for cruisers and people in the sailing community that love the ocean and love the water, to see them have this type of outcome – it’s sad. It’s very sad for them.”

The pair had various social media pages dedicated to their voyages, including Theros Sailing Adventure on Facebook and Theros Adventures on YouTube.

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Related News:

• Two People Found Dead in Lifeboat Washed Ashore Near Nova Scotia’s Sable Island (The Globe and Mail)
• Video – Global News – Tragic End for BC Sailors found dead in a lifeboat off Nova Scotia
• Facebook Sailing and Cruising

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