The British Columbia couple whose remains recently washed ashore on Nova ScotiaB次元官网网址檚 remote Sable Island have been identified as 70-year-old James Brett Clibbery and his 54-year-old wife, Sarah Packwood.
ClibberyB次元官网网址檚 sister, Lynda Spielman, said Tuesday the RCMP had confirmed their identities.
Spielman, a Calgary resident, said sheB次元官网网址檚 heard many theories about what happened to the adventurous couple after June 11 when they left Halifax harbour in a 13-metre sailboat en route to the Azores.
Spielman declined to speculate on what went wrong during what was intended to be a 3,200-kilometre voyage to the Portuguese archipelago, and the Mounties have said they are still investigating.
On Monday, the RCMP confirmed they had identified ClibberyB次元官网网址檚 body with the help of the provinceB次元官网网址檚 medical examinerB次元官网网址檚 office, but they declined to release his name, citing privacy legislation.
The Mounties previously confirmed the coupleB次元官网网址檚 sailboat, Theros, was reported missing on June 18. But it wasnB次元官网网址檛 until July 10 B次元官网网址� nearly a month after they set sail B次元官网网址� that their bodies were found in a three-metre inflatable boat on Sable Island, about 280 kilometres southeast of Halifax.
The Theros has yet to be found. A spokesperson for the Transportation Safety Board of Canada, which investigates marine accidents, said the agency is still gathering information about the boatB次元官网网址檚 disappearance.
Clibbery and Packwood, who lived on B.C.B次元官网网址檚 Salt Spring Island, described themselves as adventure travellers. They routinely posted details of their trips on a YouTube channel called B次元官网网址淭heros Sailing Adventures.B次元官网网址�
The channel features videos showing sailing trips that extend from CanadaB次元官网网址檚 west coast to the Panama Canal, and from Central America to the Maritimes. The smiling pair can often be seen on the open ocean aboard their two-masted GibSea yacht, which featured an electric motor powered by solar panels.
B次元官网网址淵es they were quite a pair and will be missed,B次元官网网址� Spielman said in an email B次元官网网址淭heros Sailing Adventures really document their lives almost from the day they met. They will always be present with their YouTube videos. Real characters.B次元官网网址�
In a short video posted on June 8, Packwood included images of the sailboat at the yacht club in Dartmouth, N.S., across the harbour from Halifax, where she said the couple were preparing for their B次元官网网址淕reen OdysseyB次元官网网址� adventure.
B次元官网网址淎ll being well and weather permitting, the captain and I intend to set sail in the next day or two for an ocean crossing,B次元官网网址� PackwoodB次元官网网址檚 message says. B次元官网网址淚 will endeavour to document our experiences along the way and will be able to publish videos when we reach land.B次元官网网址�
The video shows the exterior of the sleek sailboat and concludes with the message, B次元官网网址淪ee you on the other side,B次元官网网址� superimposed on a partly cloudy sky.
On June 11, Clibbery posted a video on Facebook showing him at the helm of Theros as the boat was about 15 kilometres off Nova ScotiaB次元官网网址檚 south coast, heading to the southeast at 5.5 knots per hour.
B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檙e sailing away,B次元官网网址� Clibbery says, the vast sweep of the blue North Atlantic in the background. B次元官网网址淥ne big ship behind us, and that came out from Halifax behind us.B次元官网网址�
Spielman said PackwoodB次元官网网址檚 career had focused on relief work in Sudan, Kosovo, Macedonia, Africa, Asia and Latin America. As for her brother, she said Clibbery worked as a locomotive engineer for Canadian Pacific Railway and retired at 55.
Clibbery and Packwood first met in May 2015 at a bus stop in London, where Clibbery was undergoing tests before donating a kidney to his sister Glory, who at that time lived in the U.K.
Packwood, who was working in London at the British Department for International Development, recalled her first impression of the man. B次元官网网址淚 thought Brett was so handsome, like Robert Redford,B次元官网网址� she told the London-based Guardian newspaper in October 2020. B次元官网网址淗e was very interesting and chatty.B次元官网网址�
The pair discovered a shared passion for travel and their relationship blossomed. He proposed to her in the spring of 2016 while she was visiting his home on Salt Spring Island.
B次元官网网址淗e took me on my first ever yacht trip and I loved it,B次元官网网址� Packwood said. B次元官网网址淏rett proposed to me in the main cabin of the boat.B次元官网网址�
Their sailing adventures started the following year.
Clibbery told the Guardian he was impressed by his wifeB次元官网网址檚 resourcefulness. B次元官网网址淪he is an amazing lady who never lets anything get in her way,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淣ot even months of sea sickness when we went sailing.B次元官网网址�
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