The bodies of two sailors who planned to sail from Nova Scotia to the Azores using green energy were found washed ashore in a Canadian national park this month, four weeks after they were last seen, authorities said.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police responded to calls on July 10 that a 10-foot inflatable lifeboat containing human remains had been discovered in Sable Island National Park Reserve, according to a news release from the agency.
Authorities have not identified the remains, but they believe they are those of a 70-year-old man and a 60-year-old woman from British Columbia. A Facebook post by the man’s son, James Clibbery, later identified them as James Brett Clibbery and his wife, Sarah Justine Packwood, who had left the port of Halifax, Nova Scotia on June 11, bound for the Azores. They were reported missing on June 18.
“These last few days have been very difficult,” the young Clibbery said in the message, adding that DNA tests would be conducted to confirm their identities. “With all this news, it’s hard to remain hopeful.”
“There is nothing that can fill the void left by their disappearance, which has so far been unexplained,” he said.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said it is investigating the deaths. A spokesperson for the agency did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday.
Sable Island is a “thin crescent of shifting sand” located about 180 miles southeast of Halifax, Nova Scotia, the Canadian government said, adding that the area is widely known for its variety of wildlife and proximity to more than 350 shipwrecks.
The couple had chronicled much of their sailing and travel activities on social media.
In a video posted on their YouTube channel, Theros Adventures, the Clibberys seniors said they titled their trip to the Azores “The Green Odyssey” to show that it was possible to travel without burning fossil fuels. Their 42-foot GibSea sailboat was powered by electricity and solar power, the couple said.
“It’s about showing that you can travel and go long distances without burning fossil fuels, without getting on a plane and filling the air with carbon dioxide,” Clibbery said.
In their last social media post on June 11, Clibbery, wearing a bright orange jacket and his silver hair flowing in the wind, described how the journey was only just beginning.
With his hands firmly on the tiller, he took note of their speed and the distance they had traveled so far. Clibbery then looked at the camera and said with a smile, “We’re sailing.”
