In early 1973, British couple Maurice and Maralyn Bailey departed Southampton in a 30-foot yacht named the Auralyn. They had sold all their belongings to buy the boat and make the journey to New Zealand, where they had intended to begin a new life. At dawn on March 4, 1973 their yacht was struck by a whale and severely damaged. The pair evacuated to an inflatable raft, transferring as many supplies as they could, including some food and a compass. They survived by almost continually bailing water out of the raft, day and night, while collecting rainwater and killing turtles, birds, and fish with their bare hands for food. The pair said hundreds of animals approached the raft and followed them on their journey. Maurice said the animals helped to alleviate their isolation. At least 7 ships passed the couple during their ordeal, but the crews never spotted the couple, so they floated farther and farther away from land, into remote sections of the Pacific Ocean, all while their raft deteriorated. In the beginning, they would read or play cards, but by the end malnutrition and weather conditions made any physical activity difficult and dangerous. They were finally spotted by a South Korean fishing boat on June 30, 1973. The couple had been lost at sea for 4 months. They had lost 80 pounds each and their legs could barely support their weight. They returned to England and wrote a book of their ordeal — 117 Days Adrift. Maralyn died of cancer in 2002 at the age of 61 and Maurice died in 2018 at the age of 85.
