![]() ![]() During these terrifying nights, blasts of water entered with each wave without cease.įor four months at the mercy of the waves and rain neither of them was able to keep dry and due to the rubbing of plastic against salt, the feared ulcers soon appeared.Īfter a month adrift Maurice lost all hope of a possible rescue. The first to suffer was the door and then the joints between the floats and finally the systematic loss of pressure.īoth day and night they took turns every half hour to pump air and bail out water and on stormy days, which could last up to a week, this tiring work was carried out without the minimum possibility of rest. ![]() As occurred with the rest of the captures, t hey ate the birds crude and drank their blood.Īs inflatable rafts are made to float for only a few weeks, theirs began to deteriorate. Soon they had to do the same with the innocent sea birds that landed on the raft and which were ignorant of any danger from these two predators. It wasn’t easy for the couple to sacrifice harmless turtles to eat them crude, but their necessity of survival took precedence. Maurice and Maralyn profoundly loved animals but in the middle of the vast ocean, they needed to feed on these creatures in order to stay alive. The surprising thing was to see how all these animals came near the life craft without any fear at all, leaving the couple totally surprised. This, being precisely what ended up saving their lives.Ī few weeks on from their shipwreck, as they went further into the inhospitable ocean, they began to receive unexpected visits of turtles, dolphins, whales, different marine birds and infinity of fish of all shapes, sizes and colours. Soon their provisions would run out but, more unfortunate, bit by bit the tide took them further away from the navigation routes until they ended up in one of the most inhospitable regions of the Pacific Ocean, a place where no ships ventured, but with a surprising diversity of marine life. But, a s always happens in castaway stories on the sea, these boats just carried on their journeys. They never imagined that this unfortunate mishap would last four months!ĭuring the first few days adrift they came across several merchant vessels as they were still in an area with a certain amount of maritime traffic. In the dawn of 4 th March, some 300 miles from the Galapagos, a Sperm Whale crashed into the hull of the boat and the outcome was that it sank.įrom that moment on this couple would face 117 frenetic days in a small lifesaving raft tied to a small inflatable lifeboat which fortunately they had managed to save.Īmongst their provisions there were several tins of food and 10 gallons of water, sufficient for a few days. In 1973 this couple of nature lovers decided to get rid of all their belongings and buy a small sailboat, so fulfilling their dream of a voyage around the world living in their own boat. It’s not only an old castaway tale, but also a precious fable where the animals are the leading actors and ‘never lose hope’ is the great moral of the story. The history of Maurice and Maralyn is one of the most beautiful I have ever known in my line of work. ![]()
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