It was a wish of the family and relatives of Jean-Jacques Savin. May the investigation into the disappearance of the 75-year-old adventurer off the island of Madeira during his rowing across the Atlantic at the end of January move quickly to “move forward and enter another period [celle du deuil et des hommages] as pointed out, Xavier Daney, the mayor of Arès in the Arcachon basin where the Girondin was from. A request heard by the Bordeaux prosecutor’s office.
According to information from 20 minutes, the latter is preparing to close the investigation opened for “worrying disappearance” and above all to seize a judge to obtain the declaration of death as provided for in article 88 of the Civil Code. It will be done by the weekend at the latest. “We are still awaiting the latest conclusions of the investigation carried out in Portugal on the canoe, explains a person close to the file. From our side, only details remain. There was little doubt about the cause of death and the inquest confirmed that there had been no collision with another boat. »
It is indeed a shipwreck probably due to weather conditions. Jean-Jacques Savin had triggered his two distress beacons and indicated that he was “in great difficulty” on the night of January 20 to 21. His boat had been found, returned, and his identity papers discovered by a merchant ship the following days.
A ceremony and a place in his name
Since then, two investigations had been opened in France and Portugal. The Bordeaux prosecutor’s office heard Jean-Jacques Savin’s daughter in particular last week before returning her father’s belongings to her. The next step is therefore the formalization by a judge of the death of the Girondin. It could go there too very quickly. In the meantime, the town of Arès is preparing to pay tribute to its hero. A ceremony will be organized and a building in the village will take the name of Jean-Jacques Savin in the coming months.
As a reminder, the septuagenarian made himself known in 2019 by achieving the feat of crossing the Atlantic in a barrel, simply pushed by the winds and currents. The former paratrooper and national park curator in Africa had taken four months to reach the West Indies. At the time, 20 minutes had followed him very closely through various reports. For him, these challenges were “a way of taunting old age” as he recalled before his departure to sea on January 1st aboard The Bold. A name that suited him perfectly.