A couple who embarked on a “green odyssey” across the Atlantic were found dead in a lifeboat after being forced to abandon their wind and solar-powered yacht.
Sarah Packwood, 54, from Warwick, and Brett Clibbery, 70, were reported missing on June 18 after leaving Nova Scotia, Canada, in their 42-ft sailing boat, Theros, a week earlier. They were en route to the Azores.
Their bodies were finally found on a three-metre liferaft last week, after it washed ashore on Sable Island, 290km off the coast of Nova Scotia.
Mystery surrounds how the couple’s planned voyage turned to tragedy, with fears growing that their reliance on sail and an electric engine powered by solar panels, may have left them without back-up when things went wrong.
Before they set sail, Clibbery, a Canadian, said in a video posted on April 12: “We’re doing everything we can to show that you can travel without burning fossil fuels.”
After they departed, Packwood posted a farewell video message: “Captain Brett and First Mate Sarah set sail on the 2nd leg of The Green Odyssey on board Theros – GibSea 42 foot sailboat. Powered by the wind and sun. Heading east to the Azores.”
Packwood, who was a poet, musician and reiki healer as well as being described by friends as an accomplished sailor, added: “It’s probably the biggest adventure of our lives so far.”
Police in Halifax, Nova Scotia, have launched an investigation into the deaths and have yet to rule out accidental collision, power failure, fire or suspicious circumstances.
The couple’s life of adventure began when they met during a chance encounter at a bus stop in London in 2015.
They married on the yacht a year later before holding a Celtic marriage ceremony at Stonehenge known as “handfasting”. They then returned to Canada, where they bought a tract of land on Salt Spring Island, near Vancouver.
Packwood learned to sail at university in England and became a crew member on the Lord Nelson for the Jubilee Sailing Trust on the first leg of the European Tall Ships race.
With Clibberry she went on to sail 5000 miles along the Pacific Coast of Canada, the USA and South America.
Packwood had previously worked as an aid worker in Africa, South America and South East Asia.
She blogged about their travels and the pair ran a YouTube channel updating friends, family and fans on their plans to turn Theros into a fully-solar powered vessel.
Packwood had previously written during one of their journeys together on Spain’s Camino Frances: “I believe in the mystical and often feel as though guardian angels watch over us.”
Writing on her online blog about one of their voyages she said: “We spent a year aboard Theros on the high seas together, sailing on the first leg of our round-the-world voyage in stages from Salt Spring Island, British Columbia to Dartmouth in Nova Scotia, via Central America, the Panama Canal and crossing the Western Caribbean.”
Their trip in Theros from Halifax in Nova Scotia to the Azores was meant to be the first in the yacht after it had been fully converted to eco-friendly power.
Clibbery, with the assistance of Packwood, converted the Theros to solar power himself by removing the diesel engine.
He fitted the boat with six solar panels powering a lithium battery pack and auxiliary electric engine.
The solar panels were attached to the roof of a steel frame, with side panels made of fibreglass and plexiglass creating a waterproof “hard dodger’” cabin.
In a YouTube film, Clibbery chronicled how he had carried out the conversion, using hand tools and readily available DIY materials.
Some experts said the addition of the solar panels and battery pack will have added weight to the yacht and made it potentially unstable. There were also fears that salt water may have led to the lithium battery pack being corroded and catching fire.
In her last message before the couple set sail on June 11, Packwood wrote on Facebook: “We aim to sail across the ocean, all being well, fair winds and following seas with us!”
At that stage Theros was 10 nautical miles from shore and sailing at five and half knots towards the Azores. In the video Clibbery said they were sailing away from a large tanker that had also left Halifax.
When Theros appeared to lose contact with shore, friends began posting anxious messages on the Facebook page.
A few photos that our fellow sailing friends Gary Cooke and Patricia Pegley took of us as we left the dock at Dartmouth Yacht Club earlier today. Thank you so much!
Posted by Theros Sailing Adventure on Tuesday, June 11, 2024
Catherine Allison wrote: “The coastguard are on the lookout for Theros. Fingers crossed when they get within 150 miles or so of the Azores they’ll make an AIS [Automatic Identification system] ping and we can all breathe again.”
However, after more than a month’s radio silence, their friends’ worst fears were confirmed.
Dozens of well-wishers have since posted messages of condolence.
Tim O’Connor, 64, and John Dolman, 63, who were friends with Clibberly and Packwood for years, described them as “like two peas” in a pod.
“They were the kind of couple that you see at a table, and rather than staring at their phones, they always had something to say to each other. They laughed together all the time. They were one of the happiest couples we know,” Dolman said.
The couple said Clibberly’s son, James, was travelling from his home in Ontario to the island where a celebration of their life was being planned.
He posted a tribute saying: “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.
“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.”
It remains unclear how the couple got into trouble.
Medical examiners are carrying out a full examination of Packwood and Clibbery’s remains for any signs of injury.
Night night everyone. Brett, Theros and I are ready to set sail tomorrow morning. We will leave the Dartmouth Yacht...
Posted by Theros Sailing Adventure on Monday, June 10, 2024
If Theros is eventually recovered she will also be examined to establish whether it was accidentally rammed by a larger vessel or suffered a fire onboard, forcing them to abandon ship.
A veteran Nova Scotia sailor understood to be close to the investigation said, on condition of anonymity: “While they do not have conclusive proof, they suspect the sailboat whose crew washed up dead on Sable Island was struck by a bulk carrier only a few days after departing Halifax.
“The sailboat crew were either unable to avoid collision or they could have been down below with Theros on automatic pilot.”
Hugo Fontaine, Canadian transportation safety board spokesman, said: “At this time, we cannot say with complete certainty that the sailing vessel was struck by a ship, as we are still gathering information regarding the overdue sailing vessel Theros.”
There has also been speculation that a fire may have broken out after on board – a common danger on a boat – forcing them to abandon the vessel.
The couple do not appear to have made mayday calls or fired emergency flares before their boat vanished.
Guillaume Tremblay, public information officer for the Halifax Royal Canadian Mounted Police regional detachment, said that “investigators are looking at all possible avenues”.
Tremblay said the couple may have run into trouble in the treacherous water off the coast of Nova Scotia.
“The Atlantic ocean can be very unfriendly, especially with the current weather and weather cycles that are coming from the south, such as hurricanes, so there’s certainly a lot of impacts and effects on ocean vessels,” he said.
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