Couple found dead weeks after leaving for overseas trip

The bodies of a couple who set off on a sailing trip across the Atlantic Ocean have been found on a stranded life raft nearly six weeks after they were last seen.

British woman Sarah Packwood and her Canadian husband Brett Clibbery are believed to have abandoned their yacht and perished before washing ashore on Sable Island, near Nova Scotia, Canada, on July 12.

The couple went missing on June 18 after leaving Nova Scotia aboard their 13-metre (42-foot) eco-yacht, Theros, a week earlier.

They were on their way to the Azores, about 3,228 km away, and the journey was expected to take 21 days.

In a Facebook post, Mr Cribbery’s son James confirmed the couple’s deaths, saying the last few days had been “very tough”.

He said the couple would be “forever missed”, adding: “There is nothing that can fill the void left by their as yet unexplained deaths.”

It is unclear exactly how the couple’s dream transatlantic crossing ended in tragedy. A “multi-agency” investigation is underway, police said, after the bodies were found.

The BBC contacted the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

According to Canadian news site Saltwire, one of the theories being explored by investigators is that the yacht was hit by a passing cargo ship that did not notice the collision.

“The crew of the sailboat was unable to avoid the collision” or could have been below with Theros on autopilot, an anonymous source told Saltwire.

The Canadian Coast Guard and military aircraft have not spotted any wreckage or sign of the boat, Saltwire reports.

In a video posted to their YouTube channel, Theros Adventures, the couple explained how their journey – dubbed the Green Odyssey – would rely on sails, solar panels, batteries and an electric motor recycled from a car.

“We’re doing everything we can to show that it’s possible to travel without burning fossil fuels,” Clibbery said in the video, posted April 12.

“It’s probably the biggest adventure of our lives so far,” Packwood added.