LE PECQ, France: A 75-year-old Frenchman has reportedly died during a solo attempt to row across the Atlantic Ocean.
The death of Jean-Jacques Savin was reported on a Facebook page that had been following the cross-Atlantic expedition.
In the Facebook post, friends reported that maritime rescue services had located Savin’s body inside the cabin of his boat, named “Audacious,” which had overturned.
“It is with great sadness that we have just learned of the death of our friend Jean-Jacques,” his support team wrote. “The body of Jean-Jacques was found lifeless inside the cabin of his canoe l’Audacieux (The Audacious).”
Savin reportedly activated two distress beacons on January 20.
“Unfortunately, this time the ocean was stronger than our friend, who loved sailing and the sea so much,” Savin’s team posted.
Savin had already crossed the Atlantic in a giant orange barrel on a 2,930-mile journey in May 2019.
Savin had been a military paratrooper and a private pilot. He also had climbed Mont Blanc in 2015.
