118 Days Adrift: Struck by a Whale, Saved by Each Other

They set out for freedom and found a trial by ocean. In March 1973, British couple Maurice and Maralyn Bailey were forced into a life raft and dinghy after a whale struck and sank their yacht, Auralyn. With no rescue in sight, they learned to drink rain, catch turtles and fish by hand, and endure storms, sharks, and starvation. After 118 days, a passing ship finally saw them. They survived the impossible—together.

1) A dream voyage

The Baileys sold up their modest life in Britain, determined to pursue freedom on the open sea. Together they built and outfitted a 31-foot Golden Hind yacht, Auralyn, a project that had consumed much of their savings and energy. In 1972 they set sail from Southampton, slowly working their way across the Atlantic. By February 1973 they had passed through the Panama Canal, full of plans to reach the Galápagos Islands and eventually New Zealand. For Maurice and Maralyn, the voyage was more than travel—it was the embodiment of their shared dream to live simply, explore the world, and test themselves against the ocean.

2) The impact

At dawn on March 4, 1973, while the sea seemed calm, fate struck violently. A massive whale collided with Auralyn, tearing open the yacht’s hull below the waterline. Within less than an hour, the boat that had been their floating home was sinking. Frantic but focused, they inflated a small life raft, launched their dinghy, and scrambled to salvage what supplies they could—tinned food, some tools, and a compass. They could do little more than watch as their handcrafted yacht disappeared beneath the Pacific, leaving them adrift with only the barest essentials between them and oblivion.

3) Into the raft

The first days in the raft were dominated by shock, disbelief, and sheer exhaustion. The two of them floated together in a rubber raft lashed to their dinghy, surrounded by nothing but sky and endless blue water. Their signaling flares failed to draw attention; seven ships passed without noticing them, each sighting a gut-wrenching reminder of how invisible they were on the vast Pacific. Worse still, the raft itself began to deteriorate under the relentless sun, forcing Maurice into constant, delicate repairs to keep them afloat. Every night the ocean tested them with its swells, and every morning they woke sore, hungry, and still unseen.

4) Learning to live off the ocean

When their salvaged rations ran out, the Baileys were forced to become resourceful hunters of the sea. They collected precious rainwater in makeshift containers, rationing every drop. Food came from the creatures around them: seabirds snared with bare hands, turtles wrestled aboard, fish caught using bent safety pins as hooks. They learned to trim away spoiled flesh, eat organs for strength, and even chew fish eyes—nicknaming them “Smarties” to make the act more bearable. Sharks circled ominously, dolphins passed by like fleeting omens, and the sun blistered their skin. Malnutrition and sores set in, but somehow their will to survive remained.

5) Roles that kept them alive

Survival was not only about food and water but about holding onto hope. Maralyn’s optimism and practical leadership kept the couple’s spirits from collapsing. She insisted on small routines, checked Maurice’s wounds, and urged him through despair. Maurice, meanwhile, applied his patience and technical skills to patching the raft, improvising repairs, and attempting crude navigation to guess where currents might be carrying them. Their partnership, forged in ordinary marriage, became a lifeline; together they whispered each night, “Just one more day,” and in that ritual they found the strength to endure.

6) Near misses, long miles

By June they had drifted nearly 1,500 miles (2,400 km) westward across the Pacific. Their bodies had wasted away; each had lost nearly 40 pounds (≈18 kg), their frames reduced to skin, bone, and sheer determination. Sleep was fractured, wounds festered, and storms battered their fragile shelter. Yet they clung to life and to each other, refusing to surrender to despair even when their chances seemed vanishingly small.

7) The ship that turned back

On June 30, 1973, after 118 days at sea, salvation finally arrived. The South Korean fishing vessel Weolmi 306 first appeared to pass them by—another cruel near miss—but then, unbelievably, the ship turned back. The Baileys were hauled aboard, skeletal and weak, having lost nearly 40 pounds each. For the first time in months, they stood on solid deck, overwhelmed with relief as the crew carried them toward Honolulu. Their ordeal had ended, but their story of survival had only just begun.

“Imagine seeing a ship turn—after months of sky and water—and knowing you’re going to live.”

8) Aftermath: telling the story, testing the bond

Back in England, Maurice and Maralyn transformed their ordeal into testimony. They co-wrote 117 Days Adrift (1974), later published in the U.S. as Staying Alive!, recounting the details of their survival with raw honesty. Far from retreating to safety, they eventually returned to the sea aboard a new boat, Auralyn II, unwilling to let fear close their world. In time they lived quietly into older age: Maralyn died in 2002; Maurice in 2018. Their marriage had been tested to the limit, and their story has since been retold as both a survival epic and a testament to partnership and endurance.

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