Jean Jacques Savin, who turned 75 on January 14 aboard his “Audaz” canoe, eight meters long and 1.70 meters wide, had set sail on January 1 from Sagres, in the south of Portugal, to become “the dean of the Atlantic”, with a feat to “mock old age”
The 75-year-old Frenchman who had been rowing across the Atlantic Ocean since January 1 was found this Saturday, January 22, lifeless inside his canoe, after the distress beacons were activated.
The last contact had occurred on Friday around 00:34 when Savin managed to activate his two security beacons that indicate that he is facing great difficulty.
According to his team, Portuguese maritime security located his capsized boat off the Azores Islands on Friday and this Saturday, a diver was able to descend and visit the boat.
Everything was carried out immediately in coordination with the French, Portuguese and American sea rescue services.
Jean Jacques Savin was – at the time of the last contact – on the high seas, north of Madeira, and was heading towards the small island of Ponta Delgada, in the Azores archipelago, to repair his boat.
After being diverted due to bad winds and considerably lengthening its planned route, the man had serious problems caused by failures of electric batteries and solar collectors.
