Recovered Body May Be Famed Sailor’s

A body believed to be that of drowned French sailing legend Eric Tabarly has been picked up off the coast of Ireland and is awaiting identification, Irish police said Saturday.

Tabarly, 66, a national hero in France for his transatlantic racing exploits, fell overboard from his century-old yacht Pen Duick off the coast of Wales a month ago.

He was awarded a posthumous Legion of Honor after the accident.

Police in the southern Irish county of Waterford said a body thought to be Tabarly’s was brought in Friday evening by a French fishing vessel. The body was found in waters midway between Ireland and Wales.

“The body was decomposed but it was wearing red pants like those Tabarly always wore at sea, as well as the same type boots he wore,” Andre Le Berre told an Irish television station. “But especially, the name ‘Eric Tabarly’ was stitched onto his sweater.”

French media said Tabarly’s wife, Jacqueline, was flown to Ireland by a French navy aircraft to try to identify the body.

A spokesman in Ireland said the police were awaiting dental and other records from France to make a positive identification.

Tabarly, who became France’s most famous seaman after winning the 1964 solo transatlantic race, was lost at sea during an overnight sail change on the Pen Duick.