Experts have theorized why a thrill-seeking Canadian couple’s attempted trans-Atlantic voyage last month ended in tragedy, suggesting their homemade boat may have been rammed by a much larger ship shortly after leaving Halifax on Canada’s northeast coast.
Earlier this month, the bodies of Brett Clivery, 70, and Sarah Justine Packwood, 54, were found Found on a life raft It washed ashore on Sable Island in Nova Scotia.
The area has been given the ominous nickname “Graveyard of the Atlantic” due to the large number of shipwrecks that wash up on its shores.
An official investigation is underway and no concrete answers have yet emerged, but one leading theory is that their boat was badly damaged by a much larger ship, forcing the couple to evacuate on a life raft.
“There is no conclusive evidence, [investigators] “The sailing vessel is believed to have been hit by a bulk carrier a few days after leaving Halifax,” investigators said. Salt Wire.
Investigators have reportedly inspected a transport ship that was in the same area as the couple’s ship, the Cerros, at the start of the voyage, but their findings have not been made public.
“The carrier’s crew told investigators there were no signs of damage and they were not aware of any collision with the small boat.” Daily Mirror writing.
Sources speculated that the addition of homemade equipment to the ship may have caused further problems, and veteran sailors told news outlets that excessive ballast from batteries and solar panels may have destabilized the vessel.
On June 11, the couple set sail across the Atlantic from Halifax to the Azores in a 42-foot yacht that they built themselves.
The environmentally friendly ship, which operates without diesel engines, was scheduled to reach its destination by July 2nd to demonstrate that it is possible to sail around the world on electric, wind and solar powered ships.
The excursion marked the couple’s first completely “green” journey on Theros, and the trip is being documented on the couple’s YouTube channel, “Adventures on Theros.”
Despite various theories about how the fateful voyage turned deadly, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada has not made any official statement as to what happened.
“At this time we are still gathering information about the delayed sailing vessel Telos and therefore cannot say with complete certainty that the vessel was struck by a ship,” the spokesman said.
Clivery and Packwood married on a yacht in 2016, a year after meeting by chance at a bus stop in London, England.
Packwood met Clivery, who was visiting from Canada, when she was preparing to donate a kidney to her sister. The heartwarming story is told in The Guardian’s “How We Met” article from 2020.
“Since then, we’ve been traveling and creating adventures together,” Packwood wrote in a previous YouTube post.
Ms Clivery’s son Brett posted a loving tribute to the couple on Facebook, acknowledging that the past few days had been incredibly difficult for the family and that the news emerging from the investigation made it “hard to hold on to hope”.
He continued, “They were wonderful people and nothing will ever fill the hole created by their deaths, which so far have no known cause.”
“Life would not be the same without your wisdom, and your wife quickly became a beacon of knowledge and kindness. I miss your smile. I miss your voice. I will miss you forever.”
