Brett Clibbery and Sarah Packwood were passionate about sailing, documenting their voyages aboard their GibSea 42, Theros on their YouTube channel, Theros Adventures.

The couple planned to sail their all-electric yacht to the Azores, and left Dartmouth Yacht Club at Wright’s Cove in Halifax Harbour’s Bedford Basin on 11 June 2024.

They posted a video of their departure on their Facebook page, Theros Sailing Adventure, writing “Captain Brett and First Mate Sarah set sail on the 2nd leg of 💚The Green Odyssey on board Theros – GibSea 42 foot sailboat. Powered by the wind and sun. Heading east to the Azores.” They had hoped to arrive at the Azores around 21 days later if the weather was calm during their Atlantic crossing.

Brett Clibbery and Sarah Packwood had converted Theros to electric, installing a Nissan Leaf battery pack and electric saildrive to drive the boat’s engine, along with six solar panels.

They were committed to travelling as much as possible without using fossil fuels and had driven across Canada from their home in Saltspring Island in British Columbia to Dartmouth in Halifax, where Theros was based, in their Nissan Leaf S Plus electric car.

Brett Clibbery’s son, James Clibbery, reported the couple missing on 18 June. Theros was fitted with AIS; the signal from the boat was last received on 12 June, according to Marine Traffic. The boat’s last known position was off Sable Island.

The couple also carried a Garmin InReach.

The last AIS position of Theros was received by Marine Traffic on 12 June

The Halifax Coastguard JRCC co-ordinated the search for Theros, with regular distress priority calls sent to all ships between Halifax and The Azores.

A C-130 Hercules fixed-wing aircraft was also dispatched on 2 July to conduct a visual and sensor search over the last known position of Theros and over the route from Halifax to The Azores.

On 3 July, the Halifax Coastguard JRCC escalated the distress signal to the highest level, Mayday.

RCC Delgada, Azores flew their fixed-wing aeroplane on 5 July for a visual search closer to the Azores without any sightings. Local ports were also searched.

RCC Boston also used its drift model programme to plot the potential passage of Theros, and alerts were sent out to all shipping in the North Atlantic.

Just days later, the liferaft from Theros was found washed up on Sable Island National Park Reserve.

In a statement, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in Nova Scotia said: “On July 10, at approximately 3:15 p.m., RCMP Halifax Regional Detachment and the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre were contacted, by Parks Canada, after a 10-foot inflatable boat was found washed ashore with two deceased people on board. At this time, it’s thought to be a lifeboat for a larger vessel named Theros. The remains are believed to be those of two sailors, a 70-year-old man and a 60-year-old woman, from British Columbia. They were reported missing to the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre on June 18 after leaving Halifax Harbour on June 11, en route to the Azores. The Nova Scotia Medical Examiner Service is working to make positive identifications. The investigation is ongoing, with assistance from Parks Canada, the Canadian Coast Guard, the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre and the Nova Scotia Medical Examiner Service.”

Brett Clibbery and Sarah Packwood were found on the remote Sable Island National Park Reserve, around 190 miles from southeast Halifax in Nova Scotia. Credit: Getty

Brett Clibbery’s son, James Clibbery later confirmed via his Facebook profile, that his father, Brett and his wife, Sarah, had died.

“The past few days have been very hard. My father James Brett Clibbery, and his wife, Sarah Justine Packwood have regrettably passed away. There is still an investigation, as well as a DNA test to confirm, but with all the news, it is hard to remain hopeful. So far this has made it to several news outlets around the country, and I have only just spoken to the coroner today. I am so very sorry to the people who were friends of them. They were amazing people, and there isn’t anything that will fill the hole that has been left by their, so far unexplained passing. 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.”

There is no trace of the couple’s GibSea 42.

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada is carrying out an investigation.

Brett Clibbery, a retired engineer, and Sarah Packwood, a humanitarian aid worker, met in London in 2015 at the number 87 bus stop on Whitehall in London; Brett was in the UK donating his kidney to his sister, Glory while Sarah was working for the Department for International Development on the Nepal earthquake response. Their story was shared in The Guardian’s How we met series.

They married onboard Theros in 2016 and later took part in a handfasting in Stonehenge the following year before sailing around North America, leaving Saltspring Island and sailing down the west coast of Canada and the US to the Panama Canal before island hopping through the Caribbean and up to Nova Scotia.

They initially planned an Atlantic crossing, but bad weather ended their voyage early; instead, they worked on building their eco-home at Saltspring Island.