On July 10, the Nova Scotia Royal Canadian Mounted Police announced that two bodies had washed ashore in a life raft on Sable Island, which lies 180 miles off the providence’s east coast.
Police believe they are Brett Clibbery, 70, and Sarah Packwood, 60, of British Columbia, who were sailing their sloop Theros from Halifax to the Azores.
Theros departed Halifax on June 11 and posted on their Facebook blog Theros Sailing Adventure a photo of the crew as they sailed away. The last post on the blog and the last communication with their families were on June 13.
Describing their Facebook channel, Clibbery and Packwood wrote: “This channel is the place where we share videos of our journeys as we travel around the globe either by sailing our GibSea 42 ft sailboat, kayaking to explore caves and coves, or using the number 11 bus (ie on foot) on long distance walking trails, including el Camino de Santiago or across Canada by electric car.”
The police said that Theros was reported missing on June 18. The sloop was expected in the Azores on June 2. When the boat did not arrive, the RCMP launched a two-day air search mission along Theros’ likely route near Sable Island and also near the Azores. It was called off on July 4.
The fate of Theros and the reason Clibbery and Packwood took to their life raft are unknown. Read more.
