‘A Marriage at Sea’ by Sophie Elmhirst

Maralyn and Maurice Bailey were always a little unconventional. Maurice was a loner, precise. Maralyn was extroverted and energetic. But when they married in the 1960s, they both felt they had found their person.

Together, they dreamed of running away from their ordinary lives — of selling everything and sailing the world. And in 1972, they made it happen. They set course for a fresh start in New Zealand and left England in a 31-foot yacht.

All went well until they reached the Pacific, where a chance encounter with a whale sank their boat. They managed to get a few supplies onto their life raft, where they waited for help to come.

And waited.

And waited.

Exhausted, starving, struggling to survive and get along, their marriage was put to the ultimate test.

But when they were finally rescued after more than 100 days adrift at sea, they were a stronger couple than before.

Author Sophie Elmhirst discovered the Bailey’s true story on a message board and knew she had to bring it to a new generation — with the added twist that this isn’t just a personal survival story. It’s a marital survival story.

She joins host Kerri Miller on this week’s Big Books and Bold Ideas to talk all about “A Marriage at Sea.”

Guest:

• Sophie Elmhirst writes regularly for the Guardian Long Read. In 2020, she won the British Press Award for Feature Writer of the Year. Her book, “A Marriage at Sea,” was published in the U.S. in July 2025.

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