Product Description

The Bailey's is a fantastic human story of adaptaion to totally alien conditions. It is a story of amazing courage, resolution and endurance. Essential reading for all who enjoy a gripping true story, 117 Days Adrift is an inspiring tale that has become one of the classics of the sea.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #555589 in Books
• Published on: 1992-01-25
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 192 pages

Customer Reviews

An Exciting Read!
I read this book in one sitting; it's quite a gripping experience to re-live the experience as the Bailey's hold out for an unparalleled 118 days in a rubber dinghy and raft in the middle of the Pacific. Will few supplies and slowly failing equipment, they keep improvising and somehow mentally hold it together long enough for the 8th (!) passing ship to finally spot them after almost 4 months adrift.

The only criticisms I have of this book are that they leave a few questions unanswered. Such as, did they not have a radio?! (Perhaps not standard in 1973?)

No Classic
Having just read "Into Thin Air" I was looking for another gripping true story. This book seemed to promise that, but sadly, it didn't deliver. While what the Baileys did was enormous and awe-inspiring, the story is really quite tepid. LOTS of pictures and drawings to flesh out the skimpy 192 pages. Redundant - day after day the same thing, sometimes told once by Maurice and a second time by Maralyn. I know it was a harrowing experience, I just wish I could have FELT it more

Beyond the limits of human capacity
Maurice and Maralyn Bailey wrote a book about an incredible adventure at sea, but most of all they proved that as a team, humans can face the worst and adapt to the most hostile environment. Sure, few of us would have had the physical and moral strength to spend six months on a leaking live raft drifting out into the vast Pacific, without any hope to be seen or found one day. But the Baileys showed us that it is possible. After several months, when they "had become part of the sea", both were convinced that they could have lived on that way forever, they didn't expect anything from the outside world anymore. Their story teaches us a lesson about humans, our unbelievable resources and our capacity to adapt - as a team. For those who think that +200 pages about drifting in a 2 m2 live raft might become monotonous, be assured that you'll enjoy every page!