24/11/2025
March 4, 1973. A s***m whale rose from the Pacific depths and smashed into Maurice and Maralyn Bailey's yacht, sinking it in minutes. For the next 117 days, the British couple drifted across 1,500 nautical miles of empty ocean in a small raft, surviving on raw fish and rainwater. They were rescued on June 30, 1973—one of the most remarkable survival stories in maritime history.
Maurice and Maralyn Bailey, a British couple in their 30s, decided to sail around the world.
They weren't experienced ocean sailors—Maurice was a printer, Maralyn a secretary. But they'd learned to sail, bought a 31-foot yacht called Auralyn, and set off from England with dreams of adventure.
They sailed across the Atlantic, through the Panama Canal, and into the Pacific Ocean, heading toward the Galápagos Islands.
Everything was going well. The weather was good. The boat was performing fine. They were living their dream.
Then on March 4, 1973, about 300 miles northeast of the Galápagos, disaster struck.
A massive s***m whale—estimated at 40-50 feet long—surfaced directly beneath their yacht and smashed into the hull.
The impact was devastating. The whale's body crashed through the fiberglass hull, creating a gaping hole. Water poured in.
Auralyn was sinking.
Maurice and Maralyn had minutes to abandon ship. They grabbed what they could:
A small inflatable rubber dinghy
A larger inflatable life raft
Some water containers
A few cans of food
Survival equipment (flares, fishing gear, knife)
Then they watched their yacht—their home, their dream—sink beneath the Pacific.
They were alone in the middle of the ocean. The nearest land was hundreds of miles away. They had no radio (it had gone down with the ship), no way to signal for help beyond a few flares.
Their survival began.
The First Days
Initially, they had some supplies—canned food, a bit of water. They rationed carefully, knowing rescue might take days or weeks.
But days became weeks. No ships appeared. No planes flew overhead.
They tried to stay positive. They maintained routines. They talked, told stories, reminisced about home.
But the supplies ran out.
Raw Survival
When the canned food was gone, they had to catch fish.
Maurice fashioned fishing hooks from safety pins. They caught small fish, ate them raw—there was no way to cook.
Later, they caught small sharks, hauling them into the raft despite the danger. Shark meat, raw and tough, became their primary food source.
Water was even more challenging. In the middle of the ocean, surrounded by water, they were desperately thirsty.
They collected rainwater whenever it rained—using any container they had, even their mouths. When it didn't rain, they had nothing.
They tried drinking turtle blood (when they caught sea turtles). It was disgusting but provided some moisture.
Physical Deterioration
As weeks turned into months, their bodies broke down.
They lost dramatic amounts of weight—both probably lost 40-50 pounds.
Their skin burned and cracked from constant sun exposure and salt water. Sores developed. Their lips cracked and bled.
They were constantly weak, dizzy, exhausted.
The psychological toll was equally brutal. The endless horizon. The relentless sun. The desperate hope that turned to despair when another day passed with no rescue.
Ships That Didn't See Them
The cruelest moments came when ships passed.
Several times during their 117 days adrift, ships appeared on the horizon. Maurice and Maralyn would frantically wave, fire flares, try anything to get attention.
But the ships never saw them. A small raft in the vast Pacific is nearly invisible from a ship's deck.
Each time a ship disappeared over the horizon without seeing them, it was devastating. Another chance gone. Another hope crushed.
Survival Partnership
What kept them alive, beyond fish and rainwater, was each other.
They supported each other emotionally. When one was despairing, the other found strength. When one was ready to give up, the other insisted they keep going.
They talked about their future—what they'd do when rescued, where they'd go, how they'd rebuild their lives.
They never stopped believing rescue would come. Even when it seemed impossible, they held onto hope.
Day 117: Rescue
On June 30, 1973—117 days after Auralyn sank—a South Korean fishing vessel spotted their raft.
The ship, Weolmi 306, picked them up. The crew was shocked at their condition—emaciated, sunburned, barely conscious, but alive.
Maurice and Maralyn had drifted approximately 1,500 nautical miles across the Pacific—roughly from the Galápagos region toward Central America.
They'd survived 117 days on a raft with no engine, no navigation beyond the stars, no reliable food or water source.
It's one of the longest documented open-ocean survival stories in history.
Aftermath
The Baileys were taken to Panama, where they spent weeks recovering in a hospital.
Despite their ordeal, they weren't done with the ocean. Remarkably, they later returned to sailing—though never attempting another around-the-world voyage.
In 1974, they published a book about their experience: 117 Days Adrift. It became a bestselling survival story, chronicling in detail their ordeal.
The book is clinical, honest, and harrowing. They didn't romanticize the experience—they described the hunger, thirst, fear, despair, and the sheer grinding difficulty of surviving day after day.
Maurice Bailey died in 2002. Maralyn Bailey lived until 2002 as well (sources vary on exact dates).
Legacy
The Baileys' survival story remains one of the most remarkable in maritime history.
117 days is an extraordinarily long time to survive adrift. Most shipwreck survivors either die within days or are rescued relatively quickly. 117 days represents nearly four months of continuous survival with minimal resources.
What made their survival possible?
Resourcefulness: They adapted constantly, learning to catch fish, collect water, endure conditions
Partnership: They supported each other emotionally and practically
Will: They refused to give up, even when rescue seemed impossible
Luck: They happened to drift into a shipping lane eventually
But primarily, it was their determination to keep living, keep trying, keep hoping.
March 4, 1973: A whale sank their yacht.
June 30, 1973: They were rescued after 117 days adrift.
Between those dates, Maurice and Maralyn Bailey proved that humans can endure almost unimaginable hardship—if they refuse to stop fighting.
Their story isn't just about survival. It's about hope, partnership, and the human capacity to endure.
117 days. 1,500 nautical miles. Two people. One raft.
They survived.
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