He wanted to be the rowing dean of the Atlantic: a Frenchman found dead in his boat

A 70-year-old Frenchman, who was known to have crossed the Atlantic with a barrel in 2019 and was trying to paddle again, was found dead on Saturday in his boat off the Azores.

Jean-Jacques’ body was found dead in the cabin of his boat darkThe team of volunteers who followed the adventure of 75-year-old adventurer Jean-Jacques Savin announced in a press release.

He found the Portuguese Maritime Security yesterday [vendredi] The boat unfortunately returned off the Azores. A diver managed to get off the boat and visit the boat on Saturday,” the text identifies, which adds that “the ocean this time was stronger than our friend, who loved navigation and the sea so much.” The exact circumstances of the tragedy have not yet been determined.

His team said it showed no sign of life from Thursday night to Friday and had set off “two distress beacons”.

During the last contacts, Jean-Jacques Savin was offshore, north of Madeira, and was on his way to the small island of Ponta Delgada, in the Azores archipelago, to make repairs.

According to his daughter Manon, “everything was immediately carried out in coordination with the French, Portuguese and American naval rescue services.”

Shortly after leaving Sagres (southern Portugal) at 1^{is being} Confused by the gale-force winds, the adventurer quickly faced adversity, extended his initial route by 900 kilometers, and then encountered serious power and communication problems.

And on Wednesday, Jean-Jacques Savin, on his Facebook page, mentioned “the high swell and the strength of the wind”, adding that he had to “use [son] Manual desalination.” “It costs me physical energy. Don’t worry, I’m not in danger! “

Living in Aris, in southwest France, he intended to row across the ocean in a canoe to become “the dean of the Atlantic,” a “mockery of old age.”

He had celebrated his 75th birthday on January 14 on his 8m long and 1.70m wide boat, equipped with two cabins and a rowing station.

À son bord, 300 kg d’équipements, comprenant de la nourriture lyophilisée, un point de chauffage, un fusil-harpon pour pêcher, un désalinisateur électrique et un autre manuel, sa mandoline, du champagne, du sauternes et du foie ter his birthday.

He laughed shortly before he left: “I’m going on vacation to the open sea, I’m taking three months off.”

A great sportsman and “adventurer at heart,” this slender and muscular former military paratrooper spent more than four months in 2019 in a barrel-shaped boat measuring 3m long and 2.10m in diameter. And so he had crossed the Atlantic Ocean alone, driven by winds and currents.

This former private pilot and curator of a national park in Africa joined the West Indies, which he hoped to rejoin by kayaking.

“I go to class 8 hours a day, and when it blows hard, I shut myself down,” he said before starting his flight.