A Marriage at Sea: A True Story of Love, Obsession, and Shipwreck

In 1962, Maurice Bailey worked as a compositor at Bemrose printers in Derby, England, and lived alone in a cramped flat on Rose Hill Street. He found Derby stifling and escaped through hobbies like rock climbing, flying, and sailing. Maurice was estranged from his family in nearby Spondon: his father Charles (called Jack), mother Annie, and siblings Reg, Joan, and Bob. His childhood was difficult. He had a stutter, a “hunched back,” and tuberculosis that confined him to bed for months. His mother, Annie, was strict, making him copy the dictionary and hitting him with a ruler for mistakes. After military service in Egypt, Maurice returned home but remained distant from his family. Once he had his own flat and job, he cut ties almost completely, later attending only his father’s cremation and skipping his mother’s funeral.

An acquaintance from the gym, Mike, asked Maurice to accompany a female colleague to a car rally. Maurice panicked at meeting someone new but agreed. When Maralyn arrived in a large Vauxhall Cresta, Maurice was immediately impressed by her ease and confidence. The rally was a disaster: Maurice navigated poorly and lacked money for petrol, forcing Maralyn to pay. Convinced he had ruined everything, he sent an apology letter and flowers. To his surprise, Maralyn responded warmly and called him at work.

On their first date, Maurice took Maralyn to a Chinese restaurant and the theater, both new experiences for her. She was 21 and still lived with her uncle Fred and aunt Ada, who adopted her after her biological mother, Mary, divorced. That night, Maurice and Maralyn whispered for hours at her house, then slept together in her car. At dawn, they walked through a field where Maralyn showed Maurice how to find mushrooms, impressing him with her knowledge of nature.

Maurice recognized that he needed Maralyn for the confidence she provided. Though her half-sister Pat believed Maralyn could have had anyone, Maralyn felt trapped by her parents’ conventional expectations. Maurice introduced her to his hobbies, testing whether she could handle them. She proved to be a sturdy walker, unafraid of bad weather during camping trips in the Lake District, and she insisted on reaching mountain summits despite harsh conditions. Maralyn tested Maurice on a holiday that included her parents; he drove her car at 100 miles per hour with them in the backseat, but she remained unbothered by their disapproval.

Maurice taught Maralyn to sail on the Norfolk Broads, though she could not swim. After she crashed the boat into a riverbank, they spent the afternoon digging it out. Maurice proposed marriage despite fearing rejection. Maralyn gave an immediate, certain yes. Maurice set conditions: no religious ceremony, he kept his hobbies, and they would not have children. Maralyn agreed to everything, sharing his lack of interest in parenthood. They married on December 21, 1963, in a small civil ceremony attended only by Maralyn’s family, then ate sandwiches at their new bungalow in suburban Allestree, Derby.

Over the next few years, despite the modern conveniences of their new life together, both grew restless. In November 1966, Maralyn proposed selling their house to buy a yacht and sail to New Zealand. Maurice was initially hesitant but was won over by her planning and the prospect of escaping England. They studied sailor Eric Hiscock’s guide and selected a Golden Hind model (based on the design of Sir Francis Drake’s The Golden Hind, in which he circumnavigated the world), commissioning Hartwell’s of Plymouth to build it. They chose not to have a radio transmitter, wanting complete isolation. Maurice moved to Southampton first, to be near the building site, working at Camelot Press and living in a bare flat. Maralyn followed after selling their belongings.

In 1968, their boat was ready. They sailed it to Moody’s Boatyard on the Hamble River and moved aboard the unfinished vessel, naming it Auralyn. They spent four years fitting out the interior while working their jobs. At the tax office, Maralyn befriended fellow employee June, who later married Colin Foskett. 

The Fosketts regularly helped with the boat and joined practice voyages. Clear roles emerged: Maurice as captain and navigator, Maralyn managing provisions, June as bosun, and Colin as carpenter. Maralyn became an expert at provisioning, meticulously labeling hundreds of cans. Maurice studied self-reliance techniques, learning to fish and preparing for disasters. He worried about developing seamanship, which seemed to require innate character rather than learned skills.

On June 28, 1972, Maurice and Maralyn departed from the Hamble River after waiting for better weather. They were seen off by Colin and June. As they sailed away, Maurice felt liberated, though Maralyn cried at the last sight of England’s Devon cliffs. They crossed the Bay of Biscay and sailed down the coasts of Spain and Portugal. In Baiona, Spain, they met an English couple, Brian and Sue, also planning an Atlantic crossing.

After sailing to Madeira alongside Brian and Sue’s boat, a violent storm hit Funchal harbor. Maurice acted capably, securing a loose boat and helping others. They continued to the Canary Islands, where they joined other sailors preparing to cross the Atlantic, including Nevil and Sheila with their two sons, and lutenist David with his partner Anne. Maurice broke his toe before a farewell dinner, but they departed La Palma alongside Brian and Sue’s boat.

The 24-day Atlantic crossing followed a strict rhythm. Maurice navigated using his sextant, a process he loved. They saw no other vessels and no whales, prompting Maurice to reflect on whaling’s devastation. When they arrived in Barbados, an excited Maralyn ran up on the deck naked, then exclaimed that it looked like England. 

They celebrated with their friends, who had also arrived. Maurice reluctantly visited the Barbados Yacht Club, and at a party hosted by a local fisherman, Maralyn got drunk on rum and passed out. They spent weeks sailing through the Caribbean, enjoying parties and dinners. 

In January 1973, they departed for Panama, encountering violent storms that damaged the boat. They arranged passage through the Panama Canal and successfully navigated the locks with the help of two fellow sailors, Belgian brothers Jean and Jacques. 

After days spent preparing in Balboa, they departed on February 26 for the Galápagos Islands. The first days in the Pacific were calm and tranquil. On March 3, Maurice calculated they were 325 miles from the Galápagos, roughly three days away.

At 3 am on March 4, Maralyn took over the watch and spotted a distant fishing boat, the first human contact in six days. At dawn, she went below, turned on the stove, and reached to wake Maurice. A violent crash followed, the same whale strike described in Chapter 1. They discovered the hull was fatally damaged and had to abandon ship. After calm, efficient preparations, they left the boat. Maralyn photographed the Auralyn as it sank beneath the waves.

The chapter closes by reflecting on the fate of their vessel. Now one of approximately 3 million shipwrecks on the ocean floor, the Auralyn will, like the Vasa or the Titanic, either become its own ecosystem or gradually disappear into the depths.