A Marriage at Sea

 A Marriage at Sea: A True Story of Love, Obsession and Shipwreck by Sophie Elmhirst is quite a departure from what I usually read for Maria's Book Banter. It’s the true story of Maurice and Maralyn Bailey, a British couple who set off to sail from England to New Zealand.

For the first few chapters, we get to know who the Baileys are as individuals and as a couple. Readers learn that they weren’t satisfied with ordinary life in England. To escape it all, they decide to sail to New Zealand on a boat named Auralyn seeking a fresh start and freedom from the mundane world around them.

While at sea, an abnormally large whale punctured a hole in Auralyn causing it to take on water. Maurice and Maralyn had to abandon it before it sunk.

It then becomes a tale of survival that lasted for 4 months. It was days and nights of rowing for the couple without seeing anything except ocean and sky. Also, during that time, they had to battle weather elements as well as sea creatures. They attempted to flag down nearby ships only to see them turn away from them. The food they saved from Auralyn was rationed so it would last longer. Close to starving to death, all they could think about was food.

Additionally, this book details Maurice and Maralyn’s time on the boat before they encountered the whale and life after they are rescued, which included much unwanted notoriety, and surprisingly even more long voyages.

Reading nonfiction like this is definitely unchartered waters for me. Do you see what I did there? I have read a few memoirs and biographies for this blog, but nothing with an adventurous theme. Has this reading experience converted me into an enthusiast of this genre? Maybe not, but I'm glad I made this selection. It’s good to change it up sometimes and try something new.

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