A Canadian couple has been found dead under “unexplained” circumstances after they attempted to cross the Atlantic in their yacht.
In a press release issued July 12, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) confirmed that an inflatable lifeboat carrying two dead bodies had washed ashore at Sable Island National Park Reserve, near the coast of Halifax.
On July 22, the RCMP issued a second statement confirming that the Nova Scotia Medical Examiner Service had identified the boat’s occupants as a 70-year-old man and a 54-year-old woman from British Columbia. Multiple outlets—including The Guardian, CNN, and People—later confirmed the adventurers’ identities as Sarah Packwood, 54, and Brett Clibbery, 70, a married couple.
Authorities explained that the couple was initially reported missing last month, on June 18, after not being heard from since leaving Nova Scotia’s coast the previous week in their 42-foot yacht. Their intended destination was the Azores, the Portuguese islands in the middle of the Atlantic roughly 2,000 miles from Nova Scotia.
The trip was intended to take 21 days, but evidence indicates that the couple did not make it far. Clibbery’s GPS device was last detected on June 13, just days after the departure, about 40 miles southwest of where their bodies were found.
Police say that the two deaths are "not believed to be suspicious in nature,” but that an investigation is nonetheless underway to determine what occurred. The RCMP advised that "an update will be issued should the investigation uncover any criminality."
The couple’s yacht, the Theros, has not been recovered. Authorities say the lifeboat in which Packwood and Clibbery were found was deployed from the Theros.
Clibbery and Packwood were well-known for their nautical prowess, having been profiled by The Guardian in 2020 for their seafaring adventures. They were also well-known YouTubers, with their Theros Adventures channel totaling over 1.5K followers. In an April video, they talked about undertaking “the biggest adventure of our lives so far,” and explained how they planned to make the journey without burning fossil fuels, having modified the Theros with sails, solar panels, batteries, and a car engine to replace oil.
Clibbery’s son, James, shared to Facebook a moving tribute to his father and stepmother. "They were amazing people, and there isn't anything that will fill the hole that has been left by their so-far unexplained passing," he wrote. "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."
