Maurice und Maralyn

118 Days Shipwrecked: A Spectacular Adventure Rediscovered

A charming townhouse, a secure income, ideal conditions for starting a family: Maurice and Maralyn Bailey lead an ordinary suburban life in 1960s England when they decide to break free from societal expectations, sell all their belongings, and travel the world by sailboat – from southern England to New Zealand. When they set sail in early summer 1972, they quickly take to their new life as dropouts, make new friends, and spend Christmas in the Caribbean. Then disaster strikes: On March 4, 1973 – in the middle of the Pacific, en route to the Galapagos Islands – their boat is rammed by a whale and takes on irreparable water. With a supply of provisions that they calculate will last for 20 days at sea, they escape to their lifeboat. In the end, it will take 118 days until their rescue; four months during which they endure hunger, thirst, heat, cold, illness, and storms – all while experiencing moments of pure happiness in harmony with nature.

British journalist Sophie Elmhirst has rediscovered the long-forgotten adventure of the Bailey couple and writes with Maurice and Maralyn a timeless story of freedom and individuality, love and dependence, despair and the will to survive.