117 Days Adrift

by Maurice Bailey, Maralyn Bailey

A first-hand account by the family whose yacht sank beneath them in the Pacific Ocean, forcing them to take their chances in a rubber raft where they survived for nearly four months. They tell the story of their struggle for survival and of their adaptation to alien conditions.

Genres: Nonfiction, Survival, Adventure, Memoir, Biography, Nautical, Nature

192 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 1974

Reviews

[Ryan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I feel like a jerk for saying that I was a bit bored by this story. I feel like a jerk because this story is true, and the minutiae of how a husband and wife organized their raft so they could survive for 117 days at sea were obviously very important to said husband and wife, as were which days they caught turtles and the days they saw sharks, etc.

I also feel like a jerk because out of this amazing story about human will and ingenuity in the face of horrific conditions, this is what stood out to me:

• In one full-frontal photo taken just after the couple's boat sinks, the man, Maurice, is rowing a dinghy and appears to be fully naked. There's no mention in the text about why he disrobed as their craft sank.

• The woman, Maralyn, calls the raw, white-meat fish steaks they eat "poops."

• One line reads, "I flipped one into the dinghy and it landed in the bowl of livers and genitals Maurice was preparing for our supper."

This amazing couple is British, and I am apparently still in junior high--a bad combination.

I am delighted that Maurice and Maralyn survived their ordeal, and that they logged the details of their survival. Perhaps I've grown accustomed to ghost writers making real-life stories sexier. Or maybe I am just a jerk.

[Sandi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Literally I found this book awash in a sea of books damaged and discarded and ready to go for pulping.

The title and book cover made it a must-do rescue operation for me to reach in an pluck it from doom.

The reviews on GoodReads are few and mixed… I however found it gripping, straightforwardly honest and triumphant.

To address the criticism of the pedestrian writing: it is deeply dependent on the journals and writing kept by Maralyn Bailey, while stranded at sea for 117 days with her husband Maurice. What a precious window into someone who is literally fighting for their life, enduring outrageous hardship, thirst, hunger and mounting despair. What an awesome gift saga they shared with the world in this raw retelling.

I, being so grateful for this amazing hero’s epic journey, find myself admiring the tale as well as the clear and thoughtful narrative.

(Aside: we can’t always have ghost writers or writing giants tell our stories, i.e. Sebastian Junger “The Perfect Storm” or John Krakauer Into Thin Air”.)

This was a journey into the raw fight for survival and the human struggle to maintain hope against monumental odds. A breath taking reading experience.

[Sanjay Manjunath · Rating 5 out of 5]

"ಮೊದಮೊದಲು ಆಘಾತ, ದಿಗ್ಭ್ರಮೆ, ಭಯ ಹುಟ್ಟಿಸಿದ್ದ ಒಂಟಿತನದ ಈ ಹೊಸ ಬದುಕೇ ಯಾಕೋ ಹಿತವೆನ್ನಿಸಲು ಶುರುವಾಗಿದೆ. ಜಂಜಡದ ಆ ಪ್ರಪಂಚಕ್ಕೆ ಮರಳುವುದಕ್ಕಿಂತ ಇಲ್ಲೇ ಇದ್ದು ಬಿಡೋಣವಾ? ಇದೇ ನಮ್ಮ ನಿಜವಾದ ಬದುಕು ಅನ್ನಿಸುತ್ತಿದೆ."
ಈ ಪುಸ್ತಕ ಓದಿ ಮುಗಿಸಿದ ಮೇಲೆ ಈ ಮೇಲಿನ ಮಾತುಗಳು ಕಾಡುತ್ತವೆ.

ನಿಸರ್ಗ ಪ್ರಿಯರು, ಸಾಹಸಿಗಳು ಆಗಿದ್ದ ಮರೈಸ್ ಮತ್ತು ಮರಲಿನ್ ದಂಪತಿಗಳು ತಮ್ಮ ಜೀವಮಾನದ ದೊಡ್ಡ ಕನಸಾದ ಸಮುದ್ರ ಯಾನವನ್ನು ಮಾಡಬೇಕೆಂದು ತಮ್ಮ ಆಸ್ತಿಯನ್ನೆಲ್ಲ ಮಾರಿ ಒಂದು ಚಿಕ್ಕ ಹಡಗನ್ನು ಕೊಂಡುಕೊಂಡು, ಇಂಗ್ಲೆಂಡಿನಿಂದ ಯಾನ ಆರಂಭಿಸಿ ನಂತರದಲ್ಲಿ ಫೆಸಿಫಿಕ್ ಸಾಗರದಲ್ಲಿ ಮುಂದುವರೆಯುತ್ತಿರುವಾಗ ದುರಂತಕ್ಕಿಡಾಗಿ, ಜೀವನ್ಮರಣದ ಕ್ಷಣಗಳನ್ನು ಎದುರಿಸುತ್ತ ಬದುಕಿ ಬಂದ ರೋಚಕ ಕಥೆಯೇ "ಆ 117 ದಿನಗಳು."

ಪ್ಯಾಪಿಲಾನ್, ಪರ್ವತದಲ್ಲಿ ಪವಾಡ, ಮಹಾಪಲಾಯನ ಕೃತಿಗಳು ಕೊಟ್ಟ ಓದುವಿಕೆಯ ಅನುಭವವನ್ನು ಈ ಕೃತಿಯು ಕೊಡುತ್ತದೆ. ಆ ಅನುಭವಕ್ಕೆ ಮುಖ್ಯ ಕಾರಣ ಇದನ್ನು ಕನ್ನಡಕ್ಕೆ ಭಾವಾನುವಾದ ಮಾಡಿದ ಲೇಖಕರಾದ ಗಿರೀಶ್ ತಾಳಿಕಟ್ಟೆಯವರು. ತುಂಬಾ ಅಚ್ಚುಕಟ್ಟಾಗಿ ಅನುವಾದ ಮಾಡಿದ್ದಾರೆ.

ಈ ವರ್ಷ ಓದಿದ ಕೊನೆಯ ಕೃತಿಯಾದರೂ ತುಂಬಾ ಖುಷಿ ಕೊಟ್ಟಿತು. ಅತ್ಯುತ್ತಮ ಕೃತಿ. ❤️

[iread · Rating 4 out of 5]

How can I not give a high score? It's a great thriller and I almost cried when Maurice and Maralyn were saved...Of course, these are pretty simple notes and descriptions of what happened, but somehow they worked - it just all seemed really real. It was great to see the photos, too, although these days (I was lucky to learn a bit about Maurice through my work) Maurice has lost most of the items after exhibiting them all over the world and Maralyn has already passed away.

I just hope nobody ever gets into their situation, as somehow it is hard to believe that everybody would be so resourceful and brilliant as Maralyn and Maurice.

[Thomas Pearson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not amazingly written, but what a story

[Goat · Rating 2 out of 5]

An old seventies edition had been sitting on my shelves for ages; finally got round to it after it was name-dropped (and obviously used as reference material for)'Life of Pi'. This is obviously where Pi's author got his info about the killing of sea turtles for meat, fishing ephemera, water-collection techniques etc. And while it does serve as a true-life survival manual (I now know what to do to stay alive when next cast adrift in a life raft), it's written, as you might expect given its origins as a journal, in a rather pedestrian style, shabbily edited at times (in my old edition anyway) and repetitive, since the account frequently cuts pointlessly between the viewpoints of the two protagonists (a husband-wife couple)describing the same (sometimes not all that interesting) incident.

The Baileys' survival epic was indeed amazing and praiseworthy, and I didn't think this account did it justice. The introduction, as well, by Sir Peter Scott, was pointless and forgettable. But mostly I just wanted more poetry, or darkness, or lyrical description. More gritty truth about day-to-day routines, the psychology of the couple under extreme duress etc. As I said, my edition is 30-odd years old, and maybe the new one has been fleshed out. It was too flimsy a read for such an incredible ordeal.

And I do hope life raft technology has improved a bit in the meantime. I mean, Christ, what use is a raft that loses its orange veneer, comes apart in the water, is constantly in danger of deflation, and delivers undrinkable tainted rainwater from its canopy?!

[Susan Bybee · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best survival stories I've ever read. When their yacht sank after being damaged by an injured whale, Maurice and Maralyn Bailey salvaged as many supplies as they could from the yacht and loaded them in a raft with a dinghy attached.

Maurice became pessimistic about their chances almost immediately, but Maralyn instead found ways to occupy their time and minds, always trying to stay focused on plans for the future. She was cool and inventive, making fishing hooks by removing the clip end of a safety pin and stringing line through the spring hoop.

As their tinned food supply dwindled and hunger set in, the couple proved to be quite adaptable. They quickly overcame their squeamishness about killing and eating turtles and came to look forward to dining on them, particularly the females with eggs.

Hooray to the crew of the Korean fishing boat the Weolmi 306 who rescued the Baileys and used all their resources to restore Maurice (who fared much worse) and Maralyn to health. If you can find a copy, don't hesitate to pick it up. The UK title is 117 Days Adrift and the US title is "Staying Alive". The information here shows that Maurice is the author when in fact the book was co-authored by both Baileys.

[Bruce Cline · Rating 5 out of 5]

Staying Alive by Maurice and Marilyn Bailey (pp 184). This is, hands down, the most readable survival book I’ve ever read (and I’ve read a few!). Aside from this couple’s near miraculous survival of 118 days (acknowledged as the real length of their drifting, rather than the 117 used in other printings), it is richly illustrated throughout, unlike 99% of other memoirs that have one or two collections of photos clustered mid-book. Most of the photos are of their gear, taken after their rescue, and illustrations of scenarios they encountered and wildlife. Marilyn clearly was the most hardy of the two, and likely kept them going when their situation was bleakest. Their yacht sank 300 miles from the Galapagos after an encounter with a whale, and they drifted with the currents and wind, having no effective means of locomotion. After exhausting their rescue supplies, about 30 days worth of food, they survived by collecting rain water and capturing fish and birds. They were eventually rescued by a Korean fishing vessel (the 7th ship they spotted) and were dropped off in Hawaii because of their frailty. This truly is an amazing story and the book is worth hunting up in used bookstores.

[Sheena · Rating 3 out of 5]

A true story of a married couple who were trying to sail around the world. An injured whale sunk their boat and they had to go to their life raft. They were stranded in the life boat for 118 days (the initial news articles said 117 but it was actually 118). They survived by eating turtles, fish, and sharks. They made little playing cards out of paper and designed their future boat to keep their minds busy. It's a really amazing story written from both of their perspectives about how they survived.

[Sandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

true story about a couple from England who plan to sail from the Panama Canal to the Gallapegos Islands, but are struck by a sperm whale, which ends up sinking their ship. They survive for 117 days by catching rain water and fishing for turtles and fish in a small raft and dinghy. It really is amazing to imagine how hopeless everything seemed to them, especially after they watched 7 ships pass them. Survival stories always amaze me and inspire too.

[Ian Chapman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting story of how a very amateur yachting couple made a very long survival voyage after their yacht was sunk by a probably wounded whale in the Pacific. From a diary, and not very stylish in literary terms yet wiih much observation of the oceanic environment. An inspiration to others also. They were rescued by a South Korean deep sea fishing boat, and there are pleasing photos of them shortly after the rescue, eating a meal and on deck with the crew.

[NicholeReadsWithCats]

117 Days Adrift was a straightforward retelling of Maurice and Maralyn's fight to stay alive. It consisteded of journal excerpts and recounting of most of their days. If you're looking for a dramatized tale of survival, this isn't it. However, for those looking for stories about survival and the indomitable will to persevere and stay alive - check this one out.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. It's an old school survival story. The Bailey's are truly fantastic. They decided upon the life they wanted to live and they went for it and even while they were adrift in the ocean, they planned their next boat and trip. Heroic.

[Erika · Rating 3 out of 5]

I can see why Steve Callahan used this book as his how-to guide when he was adrift in a raft in the ocean. You get a sense of their depression in this book, but it reads more like a survival guide than an adventure story. I liked the journal entries scattered in the book, and it read very well.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

A couple survives on two life rafts after being lost at sea. Scary thing but they endured until rescue. Personal accounting of the event from both survivors. Makes you rethink sailing too far off shore.

[The Farmer's Wife · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well written. I especially appreciated how complementary the authors (husband and wife) were to each other. In the big picture, the reader would benefit from more of their back story ~ it was hard to "root" for almost complete strangers from an emotional viewpoint.

[Susie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic true tale of learning to live with less and still finding beauty in your world, no matter how small it becomes.

[Scuppers · Rating 4 out of 5]

A young couple shipwrecks and has to live in a liferaft for 117 days. They survive off of turtle blood and fish.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

The real story here is not surving the elements but spending 117 days with the same person in a tiny rubber dingy.

[Phyllis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amazing true story of survival

[Chris Pimlott · Rating 3 out of 5]

Refreshing and intriguing for how well-prepared, resourceful and resilient the surviving authors were throughout their ordeals.

[Tracyrayn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unforgettable!

[Malunga Mwewa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book when it was warm here in my country(Zambia), but reading it made me feel like it was cold because I was much into it.
Based on the story of survival at sea.

[Tracy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating true account. Really interesting to me how some people manage to survive in these situations by sheer force of will and ingenuity in getting food to eat from the sea.

[JasonReads · Rating 4 out of 5]

I swear people in the 70s were just built different. I would have just died immediately.

[Tom Davitt · Rating 4 out of 5]

In terms of the actual story - this is a 5/5 series of events. The tormoil and misadventures that this couple went through for such an extremely long period of time boggles the mind.

Where this book falls down, is in its delivery, which I would give 2.5/5 stars. In leaving the account to be written by the couple themselves, you can sense that a lot of the mental anguish, fighting, mental deterioration has been omitted. Although this demise is a reality of being in such desperate situations for such a long period of time, it also would have painted the protagonists in a less heroic light. There is a mention of a small fight or two and some depression but otherwise, no insight is given into the horrendous psychological turmoils this couple must have gone through.

This continues to the ending of the book when they are saved. It's almost as if they are describing getting off a bus. There are no tears, no elation and no summation of the struggles they went to. The conclusion is extremely sparse, with no life lessons learnt or conclusive epiphanies. They also leave out about return to normal life, what they had missed, what was easy or difficult to adjust to. Which leads the book to end on an extremely abrupt and anti-climactic note.

Despite all this, I found the whole thing very easy to read and finished it in less than 2 days.

[Cecily Bailey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an inspiring and very real account of what this married couple went through when they were adrift for 117 days. The account is detailed about many aspects of their survival. They subsisted on raw fish and turtle meat, which could be very difficult for most people. They were fortunate enough to to have a few items like hooks and safety pins and some containers off their sunken boat. But, this would not have been enough to keep most of us alive. Marilyn and Maurice just kept trying and watching for help. It took a long time. And, they still talked of getting another boat and cruising the seas again when the ordeal is over. Whether they did, I don't know but will research for answers.

This is a life-threatening adventure in their own words as told by them. I may check out the other book that is a by a 3rd party about their circumstances. regardless, I like this book a lot and felt inspired by their tenacity and perseverance.

[Kitsa · Rating 4 out of 5]

After reading A Marriage At Sea, I felt it was required reading to read their own account of what happened.
It was a quick read, I would think that this very much enhancing the reading of the other. Lots of illustrations to aid you in your understanding of what they endured. Would have preferred that it continued & followed them a bit longer.
But a good read overall, hard to believe they could survive such deprivations.

[Kim Zinkowski · Rating 2 out of 5]

C.

[Humla · Rating 5 out of 5]

årets bok