“We are appalled”, admits this Monday one of the relatives of Jean Jacques Savin at 20 minutes face to the approximations of the Portuguese authorities about the disappearance of the adventurer. The latter denied Sunday evening having discovered the body of the septuagenarian in his canoe after having affirmed the contrary 24 hours earlier to the family of the native navigator
of Ares in Gironde. There would therefore still be hope at this stage, even if it remains extremely slim.
Jean-Jacques Savin, 75, had left Sagres in southern Portugal on January 1 to try to row across the Atlantic after having already done so in a barrel in 2019. But very quickly, he was confused due to bad winds with an initial route extended by 900 kilometres. Last week, he was facing serious energy and communication problems according to his last exchanges with his relatives.
What do we know about the shipwreck?
The browser has not given any news since Friday at 0:34. He was then off Madeira and was on his way to the small island of Ponta Delgada, in the Azores archipelago, to repair his canoe. The Bold. According to his team, he had just triggered his two distress beacons and indicated that he was “in great difficulty”.
Since then, his boat has been found, returned, as evidenced by a photo released by the Portuguese Navy, and a waterproof bag containing the navigator’s identification documents was discovered by a merchant ship.
Why so much confusion around the discovery of the body?
The greatest vagueness reigns around the body of Jean-Jacques Savin. On Saturday, the Portuguese authorities in charge of the investigation told his relatives during a telephone conversation that he had been discovered inside the boat, explains Xavier Daney, the mayor of Arès. A version finally denied Sunday evening by the Portuguese navy to AFP: “The search ended yesterday at the end of the day (Saturday) without it being possible to find the victim”, she indicated. While specifying that during the rescue operation the rescuers had “strong reasons to believe that a body could be inside”.
Problem, the entourage of the browser has had no new official communication for its part since Saturday. “The family is completely lost. It’s terrible especially for his daughter. She was even preparing to leave there to repatriate her father’s body, ”laments the city councilor.
What do the navigator team and the French authorities say?
“There have been some confusions that we are currently trying to clear up. We don’t know any more. We are waiting for information, ”said his entourage at first. But the anger has been rising in recent hours.
In an attempt to get things moving, Xavier Daney contacted the Gironde prefecture early on Monday in order to obtain clarification as quickly as possible. This simply asserts 20 minutes to keep abreast of the situation via his diplomatic adviser and the French embassy in Lisbon but without knowing much more. For example, we do not know if new searches are planned in the coming hours to find Jean-Jacques Savin.