Jean-Jacques Savin (; 14 January 1947 – disappeared 21 January 2022) was a French

adventurer An adventure is an exciting experience or undertaking that is typically bold, sometimes risky. Adventures may be activities with danger such as traveling, exploring, skydiving, mountain climbing, scuba diving, river rafting, or other extreme ...

. He also worked as a paratrooper, a private pilot, and as a curator of a state park in the

Central African Republic The Central African Republic (CAR) is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Chad to Central African Republic–Chad border, the north, Sudan to Central African Republic–Sudan border, the northeast, South Sudan to Central ...

. In 2018–2019, he crossed the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

by floating alone in a barrel-shaped capsule for over four months. He disappeared during an attempt to row alone across the Atlantic in January 2022.

2018–2019 Atlantic voyage

In late December 2018, Savin boarded a barrel-shaped capsule and began his voyage from

El Hierro El Hierro (), nicknamed ''Isla del Meridiano'' (the "Meridian Island"), is the farthest south and west of the Canary Islands (an autonomous community of Spain), in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Africa, with a population of 11,659 (2023). ...

in the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; ) or Canaries are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean and the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, Autonomous Community of Spain. They are located in the northwest of Africa, with the closest point to the cont ...

. The solar-powered capsule was designed to withstand

orca The orca (''Orcinus orca''), or killer whale, is a toothed whale and the largest member of the oceanic dolphin family. The only extant species in the genus '' Orcinus'', it is recognizable by its black-and-white-patterned body. A cosmopol ...

attacks and waves, and included a kitchen and sleeping bunk. He arrived in the

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

more than four months later, on 27 April 2019, whereupon he declared his voyage a success. After a Dutch oil tanker picked him and his barrel up and ferried them to

Sint Eustatius Sint Eustatius, known locally as Statia, is an island in the Caribbean. It is a Caribbean Netherlands, special municipality (officially "Public body (Netherlands), public body") of the Netherlands. The island is in the northern Leeward Islands ...

, where Savin stayed a few days, a French tugboat took him to

Martinique Martinique ( ; or ; Kalinago language, Kalinago: or ) is an island in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the eastern Caribbean Sea. It was previously known as Iguanacaera which translates to iguana island in Carib language, Kariʼn ...

2022 Atlantic voyage

On 1 January 2022, Savin set off from Sagres, Portugal, in a rowing boat long and wide, with of equipment, including a spear gun, a heater, two

desalinator Desalination is a process that removes mineral components from saline water. More generally, desalination is the removal of salts and minerals from a substance. One example is soil desalination. This is important for agriculture. It is possible ...

s, freeze-dried food, and his mandolin. He was to arrive to the

French Caribbean The French West Indies or French Antilles (, ; ) are the parts of France located in the Antilles islands of the Caribbean: * The two overseas departments of: ** Guadeloupe, including the islands of Basse-Terre, Grande-Terre, Les Saintes, Mari ...

island of

three months later. In the early hours of 21 January, Savin sent two distress beacons to indicate he was encountering great difficulty, with official last contact at 00:34. His boat was found overturned later that day by the Portuguese coast guard, and the next day, a diver commissioned to investigate reportedly discovered Savin's body in the cabin. However, it was later reported Savin had not been discovered in his cabin, and that he had been lost at sea.

References

1947 births 2022 deaths 2020s missing person cases 20th-century French people 21st-century French people Missing person cases in Portugal People lost at sea {{France-bio-stub

2018–2019 Atlantic voyage

2022 Atlantic voyage

See also

References