0:00

A listener note, Against the Odds

0:02

uses dramatizations that are based on true

0:04

events. Some elements, including dialogue,

0:07

may be invented, but everything is

0:09

based on research. Marilyn

0:18

Bailey winces as water whips across

0:20

her face. There's so much

0:23

rain she can barely see. With

0:25

her shaky, skeletal hands, Marilyn clutches

0:27

the bottom of the life raft.

0:30

Her stomach is empty and she feels

0:32

queasy. She's hungry and

0:34

scared. Scared that she

0:36

and her husband, Maryse, won't be able

0:39

to survive much longer. It's

0:42

June 5th, 1973. Marilyn and Maryse have been adrift in

0:47

a pair of rubber lifeboats in the Pacific

0:49

Ocean for 94 days. For

0:51

over a week, dark clouds have

0:54

been pouring rain down on them

0:56

almost nonstop. Last night, they

0:58

had to continuously bale water from their

1:00

partially deflated life raft without a break.

1:03

And today, they've been caught in a

1:05

raging storm for hours. Maryse

1:08

is in the dinghy, which is tethered to the

1:10

life raft. He's trying to fish,

1:12

which seems crazy in this weather, but

1:15

hunger has made them both desperate. Marilyn

1:18

watches him, hoping he catches something quickly so

1:20

he can come back to join her

1:22

in the life raft. Maryse

1:25

turns to say something to her, but

1:27

just then, Marilyn feels the

1:29

life raft being thrust upwards by

1:31

the immense force of a monster

1:33

wave. She feels

1:36

herself rising higher and higher, then

1:39

suddenly crashing back down. Marilyn

1:42

finds herself knocked onto her back.

1:45

Somehow, the life raft is still

1:47

afloat. But what about the dinghy? On

1:50

all fours, she crawls to the

1:52

small opening in the life raft's

1:54

funnel-shaped roof. And when she

1:57

looks out, what she sees fills her

1:59

with The

2:01

dinghy is still there, but it's been

2:04

flipped upside down by the violent wave,

2:07

and there's no trace of

2:09

her husband anywhere. Marilyn

2:14

can barely hear her own screams

2:16

and all the wind and rain. She

2:19

wishes she could dive into the crashing waves

2:21

and go after Marie, but

2:23

that would be a testament. She

2:26

can't swim. Marilyn

2:28

stands the surface of the raging

2:30

sea and whispers to herself, Come

2:33

back to me. You can't leave

2:35

me alone. Come back. At

2:38

that very moment, Marie's head emerges

2:40

out of the water. She's

2:42

at least 50 feet from the dinghy. Her

2:45

eyes meet for a fraction of a second,

2:48

then Marie disappears again. The

2:51

waves are several feet high, and she's

2:53

pulling him back down. Each

2:56

time that Marilyn loses sight of his

2:58

head for two or three seconds, her

3:00

stomach drops, but she won't let

3:03

him die here. She has

3:05

to find a way to get him back into

3:07

the labors. Suddenly,

3:10

the sea fits Marie's out again,

3:12

directly in front of the upside

3:14

down dinghy. Marie!

3:17

Behind you! Grab the dinghy! Marie

3:20

turns around, somewhere at this ornament.

3:23

He grabs hold of the rubber belt. Grab

3:26

the rope and pull yourself over.

3:30

Marie's lips are blue, and

3:32

he's trembling uncontrollably, but

3:35

slowly, bit by bit,

3:37

he manages to pull himself all the

3:39

way to the entrance of the life-hole.

3:43

He collapses. He's

3:45

exhausted. Marilyn grabs his arms. With

3:48

her last ounce of strength, Marilyn

3:51

pulls him into the raft. They

3:54

wrap their arms around each other and

3:56

hold on tight for several minutes. alive

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FDIC terms apply. From

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Lendry, I'm Cassita Peckle.

5:33

And this is Against the Odd. In

5:45

1973, English couple Maurice and

5:47

Marilyn Bailey found themselves stranded

5:49

in the Pacific Ocean after

5:51

whales struck their yacht in

5:53

Sanchas. At first, they

5:55

managed to survive by eating turtles and

5:57

fish and collecting rainwater to drink.

6:00

But as weeks turned to months and

6:02

they drifted farther from land, the Baileys

6:04

began to wonder how much longer they

6:06

could hold on before someone came to

6:08

the rescue. This

6:10

is episode three, creatures

6:13

of the sea. Maurice

6:23

Baileys hangs a fish fillet out to

6:25

dry on a makeshift mast they've built

6:27

on their dinghy. He's managed

6:29

to preserve about 20 fish so

6:31

far. He's being careful not

6:34

to let what fish they have go to

6:36

waste. Anything from today's catch

6:38

that they don't eat right away, they'll

6:40

dry out and save for later. At

6:43

first, Maurice feared that all their fishing

6:45

equipment was lost when their dinghy capsized

6:48

in the storm a few days ago.

6:51

But miraculously, Maryland managed to find

6:53

another safety pin at the very

6:55

bottom of their emergency bag and

6:57

used it to make another fish

6:59

hook. Now they're extremely

7:01

careful not to lose it. Apart

7:04

from their water supply, it's the

7:06

most precious thing they have. It's

7:09

9 a.m. on June 12, 1973. 100

7:14

days since their yacht, the Orland, sank,

7:16

leaving them adrift in the Pacific Ocean.

7:19

At the moment, they're in a particularly

7:22

bountiful area. Their boats

7:24

are constantly surrounded by all sorts

7:26

of animals. There are

7:28

turtles and dolphins everywhere. The

7:31

bright blue wolf herrings with their

7:33

shimmering yellow tail fins taste

7:35

great, even raw. And

7:37

countless sea birds circle overhead. Their

7:41

life raft has become a small

7:43

floating ecosystem. Maurice

7:45

stands up to reinflate the dinghy. Twice

7:48

a day, they have to pump air into the

7:50

dinghy and the life raft needs it every 15

7:52

minutes. It's so

7:54

hot that Maurice is wearing nothing but

7:57

a shirt to protect him from sunburn.

8:00

his underpants. But at

8:02

night, it often gets so cold that

8:04

it feels like they could freeze to death. Their

8:07

carefree time on the Orland seems

8:09

like a faraway dream. Now

8:12

it's just him and Marilyn,

8:14

the ocean, and his increasingly frequent

8:16

thoughts of death. Maurice

8:19

is running a high fever and has

8:21

a severe cold. Marilyn's

8:23

shins are black and blue from

8:25

constantly rubbing against the rubber floor

8:27

of the raft. Her

8:29

face is sunken and her skin

8:32

hangs loosely over her bones. She

8:35

must have lost 30 pounds, but

8:37

she hasn't lost her optimism. Don't

8:40

forget, today is Sunday, which is

8:42

Orland Memorial Day, and it's

8:45

the 100th day we've survived. Today

8:47

we're going to have a feast. Maurice

8:50

smiles at her. For a

8:52

while now, she's been telling him what she

8:54

would eat every day if she actually had

8:56

a choice. She goes in

8:58

order, from breakfast, onto snacks,

9:01

lunch, and sometimes she imagines

9:03

entire dinner parties. Marilyn

9:06

gives Maurice a loving pat on the arm.

9:08

For breakfast today, I think I'll have

9:11

melon, poached eggs, and a slice of

9:13

bread with so much butter, plus

9:15

coffee and a glass of freshly squeezed

9:17

orange juice, of course. Maurice

9:20

nods as she goes on describing

9:22

her dream meals. But unlike

9:25

Marilyn, Maurice is losing faith that

9:27

they'll ever get to taste all

9:29

those delicacies again. He

9:32

looks at the compass. They're drifting

9:34

further north and west, away

9:36

from the nearest land. When

9:38

they first sank, they were maybe 300 miles

9:41

from the Galapagos Islands, and only

9:43

250 miles from the coast

9:45

of South America. Now, Maurice

9:48

estimates that they're about a thousand

9:50

miles from the nearest coast. Maybe

9:53

their life raft will be found in Alaska

9:56

someday, Maurice thinks, and

9:58

then he's seized by a violent He looks

10:00

at Marilyn who has her eyes closed, imagining

10:03

her breakfast. But he

10:05

knows their situation has never been more

10:07

hopeless. It's

10:14

June 21st, day 109. Maurice

10:17

lies in the back of the

10:19

life raft, trying to keep his eyes open.

10:22

It's been over three months since he or Marilyn had

10:25

been able to get a full night's sleep, and they're

10:27

both exhausted. But

10:31

he can't let himself drift off, not now. He's

10:33

on life raft duty. Every 15 minutes, he has to pump

10:36

air into

10:38

the slowly deflating raft. He

10:41

also has to bail water,

10:43

though he's no longer sure if it's doing

10:45

any good. The bottom of the

10:47

raft seems to always have several

10:50

inches of water in it, no matter how much

10:52

they bail. Maurice

10:54

doesn't know how much more of this he can take, the

10:57

last few days have been extremely difficult.

11:01

But today, at least the sun is

11:03

shining, and the water is calm, for

11:05

the first time in almost a week. Maurice

11:08

blinks himself awake and looks at Marilyn.

11:11

She's sitting at the open entrance to

11:13

the raft, dragging her

11:15

hand listlessly through the water. She

11:18

smiles. This one little shark

11:20

keeps circling right under my hand. It's almost like

11:23

he wants me to pet him. Careful. I think he'd sooner eat

11:25

you than make friends with you. Oh, relax. See?

11:29

He just let me run my finger down

11:31

his back. His skin is so rough. Sharks

11:34

are among the many fish that

11:36

seem to congregate around their boat. They

11:39

were scary at first, but

11:41

now Maurice and Marilyn have gotten used

11:43

to them. They've never once attacked the

11:46

boats or shown any interest

11:48

in anything except eating the

11:50

occasional fish. Suddenly,

11:53

Marilyn reaches both hands into the water.

11:56

Maurice watches, astonished. And she lifts

11:58

the shirt off. of the water by

12:00

its tail. It plales

12:03

around wildly, mouth open,

12:05

flashing its sharp teeth. It's

12:08

not a big shark, maybe two and

12:10

a half feet long, but its

12:12

thrashing body seems to fill the

12:14

cramped interior of the life raft. Marie,

12:17

help me! Marie grabs a

12:19

towel and wraps it around the shark's

12:21

snapping jaws as fast as he can.

12:23

Have you lost your mind? How

12:26

long do you think I can survive out of

12:28

the water? We're about to find out! Together,

12:30

they pin the shark to the bottom of the life

12:32

raft. After a few

12:34

minutes, the animal finally stops swiggling.

12:38

Marie removes the towel and, without saying

12:40

a word, hulls the dead

12:42

shark into the dinghy, where he begins

12:45

gutting it with her blunt pocket knife.

12:48

Marie has barely finished his work

12:50

when he hears a blood-curdling scream.

12:54

He looks up to see that Marilyn has grabbed

12:56

another shark out of the water and is pulling

12:58

it into the life raft. Marie

13:01

can't believe it. Knife

13:03

in hand, he pulls on the rope, pulling

13:05

to the left of the life raft, and

13:08

then reaches out and stabs a knife deep

13:10

into the shark's tail. Blood

13:13

gashes out. Marie

13:15

jabs the knife into the shark over

13:17

and over again until it goes still.

13:21

But Marilyn is unstoppable. I

13:23

got another! I got another!

13:25

For God's sake, Marilyn, please

13:27

stop! I'm begging you! Marie

13:30

can hardly believe his eyes. He

13:33

rushes over as fast as he can to kill

13:35

this one, too, before it bites off her arm.

13:38

That evening, once all the stress

13:40

is behind them, Marie is actually

13:43

glad that his wife was so enthusiastic.

13:46

They have loads of shark meat now. While

13:49

they eat, they're in a better mood than they have

13:51

been in a long time. Marie

13:54

still feels extremely weak and

13:56

has severe chest pains, but

13:59

at least his... His stomach is full and his

14:01

fever has gone down. They

14:04

talk about where they'll go on their next trip once

14:06

they've been rescued. Usually, Maryland

14:09

does most of the fantasizing for both of

14:11

them, but today, Maurice

14:13

joins in. I definitely want

14:15

to sail to Patagonia. There's great

14:17

wind and it's deserted. Yes, I'm sure

14:19

we'd always have really good wind

14:21

there, but it's so cold

14:23

that far south. Not in summer. Why

14:26

not someplace warmer, like Fiji

14:29

or Hawaii? Hey, maybe

14:31

that's where we're drifting to right now. We'll

14:33

wash up on Waikiki Beach. Maurice

14:36

laughs and smiles at Marilyn. He

14:39

just hopes her optimism can get them

14:41

through whatever else might be coming. It's

14:46

June 27th, 1973, day 115. Maurice

14:52

is crouched at the entrance of their

14:54

life raft, staring up at the sky,

14:57

a million stars twinkling down at him.

15:01

Every now and then, a shooting star

15:03

paints an endlessly long streak across

15:05

the dark blue night sky. Even

15:09

though his strength continues to fade,

15:11

Maurice feels a strange sense of

15:14

peace tonight. He thinks about

15:16

his life, in particular, about

15:18

all the things he's grateful for.

15:21

He can't help but grin when he

15:23

realizes that despite his predicament, he

15:26

considers himself one of the luckiest men

15:28

in the world, married to

15:30

someone as remarkable as Marilyn, what

15:33

he wouldn't give to be able to grow old with her.

15:37

He's often imagined what his wife would look

15:39

like with white hair, sitting in

15:41

a rocking chair on a farm in New

15:43

Zealand. Suddenly,

15:45

Maurice is torn from his thoughts.

15:48

Bubbles rise to the water surface in front

15:50

of him. They burst

15:52

and then drift apart in rings. Something

15:56

seems to be coming up very

15:58

slowly from the depths. of

16:00

the ocean, as if the

16:02

creature were shy. And

16:04

then a large glassy eye appears

16:06

directly in front of him, staring

16:09

at him. Maurice stares

16:11

back. It's

16:14

the eye of a whale. Its

16:16

spotted leathery skin shines on the

16:18

surface of the water. Maurice

16:21

knows that a similar creature was responsible

16:23

for sinking the orland, but for some

16:26

reason, he doesn't feel afraid. I

16:29

think he's hypnotized. He

16:32

silently nudges Marilyn to get her attention.

16:35

Her eyes are closed and she still

16:37

hasn't noticed their visitor. That's

16:39

how quietly the whale rose to the surface.

16:43

When Marilyn sees it, her eyes

16:45

go wide. What does it

16:47

want with us? I don't know, but

16:49

if it tips us over, I don't think I'll

16:51

have the strength to save you. Just

16:54

grab the ropes and don't let go, okay? The

16:57

whale must be about 25 feet long. It's

17:01

so close, they can almost touch it. For

17:04

several minutes, it just quietly floats

17:07

alongside them. Its

17:09

calm presence almost seems like a

17:11

message, like this animal is

17:13

telling them that they now belong. That

17:16

the ocean has accepted them. Then

17:20

the whale disappears back into the depths.

17:24

They are now part of the Pacific, Maurice

17:26

thinks. They feel like

17:28

creatures of the sea, not

17:30

land dwellers. Somehow

17:33

this encounter with the whale has given

17:35

Maurice a strange sense of peace. Marilyn,

17:39

on the other hand, seems

17:41

energized. That was

17:43

so amazing. I wish I'd taken

17:45

a photo. No one will believe this

17:47

story. The way she

17:49

says it, Maurice realizes that Marilyn

17:52

still believes they'll make it back.

17:55

He hopes she's right, but at

17:57

the same time, he finds himself

17:59

feeling awkward. Godly reconciled to his

18:01

fate. Tonight, for

18:03

the first time, he feels

18:05

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500-500 audible.com/the odds. A

20:15

bead of sweat runs down the back of

20:17

Marilyn's neck. Today the sea

20:19

is calm and the sun is hot.

20:22

She leans over the edge of the life

20:24

raft and uses her bowl to tip some

20:26

seawater onto their pets. Two

20:29

small turtles that Marilyn has named Pet

20:31

and Thelma, who are in the dinghy.

20:34

Marilyn talks to them as if they were her

20:37

best friends. From time to

20:39

time, they let the turtles out on a

20:41

line in the open water to swim. It's

20:44

June 30, 1973. 118

20:47

days since they were forced to abandon ship. Marilyn

20:52

feels surprisingly good today because she slept

20:54

for more than an hour for the

20:56

first time in as long as she

20:58

can remember. And

21:00

now it's Marisa's turn. She

21:03

looks over to where he lies sleeping, naked

21:06

as God made him. The

21:08

life raft is rocking him gently

21:11

on almost imperceptible waves. A

21:14

light southerly wind blows a cool breeze.

21:17

Marisa's beard is so long and

21:19

bushy, he looks like the castaway

21:21

from the stories, Robinson Crusoe. Marilyn

21:25

watches him take quick, shallow breaths

21:27

as he sleeps. His

21:29

house has really deteriorated over the

21:32

past few days, and

21:34

Marilyn suspects he won't last much

21:36

longer. She feels a sharp

21:38

pang in her heart as I thought of it.

21:41

Then she freezes. She

21:44

sticks her head out of the life raft to

21:46

look around. She could

21:48

swear she hears something. The

21:51

horizon is empty. Still,

21:53

she decides to shake Marisa awake.

21:58

I hear a ship's engine. Leave

22:00

me alone, Marilyn. Wake up

22:02

Wayne instead. Marilyn realizes

22:04

that Maurice is hallucinating again.

22:08

Sometimes he's convinced that there's a third person

22:10

in the life raft with them, an

22:12

American they met in Panama named Wayne.

22:16

Marilyn grabs the binoculars and her yellow

22:18

rain jacket and crawls from the life

22:20

raft into the dinghy. She

22:23

stands up and waves the jacket around

22:25

wildly, causing the boat to rock

22:27

back and forth. There

22:29

is nothing to be seen far and

22:31

wide. But Marilyn persists. Very

22:35

faintly under the sound of lapping

22:37

water, she can clearly hear

22:39

engine noises. She

22:42

can see from her husband's expression that

22:44

he thinks she's gone completely crazy.

22:47

Ships disappeared from our lives long ago.

22:50

Maurice, I don't have time for your

22:52

pessimism right now. Now, wave

22:55

your jacket with me. Let's go. That's

22:58

what you want. As soon as

23:00

Maurice joins her on the dinghy, Marilyn

23:02

sees it on the horizon. A

23:04

ship coming towards him from

23:06

the east. Over here! Over

23:10

here! Marilyn jumps up and

23:12

down, struggling to keep her balance in

23:14

the wobbly rubber boat. Maurice

23:17

is so weak that standing up

23:19

is a huge effort, but he

23:21

manages to do it and starts waving

23:23

his rain jacket over his head. The

23:26

sun reflects off the yellow water

23:28

repellent material. The

23:30

ship is approaching. Now,

23:33

through the binoculars, Marilyn can make out

23:35

the details. It's a

23:37

small rusty white fishing vessel. And

23:39

from the looks of it, it will pass

23:42

very close by them, about a

23:44

half a mile away. Marilyn

23:46

counts back. It's the

23:48

first ship they've seen in 43 days. Maurice

23:53

drops to his knees. The

23:55

ship is pulling away, but

23:57

Marilyn refuses to give up. She

24:00

shouts and screams and waves her jacket

24:02

as high in the air as she

24:05

can despite how weak her wiry arms

24:07

feel Please, please come

24:10

out! Please! You

24:13

would attack. Save

24:15

yourself the energy. Your

24:18

louse is here on the ocean now.

24:20

With the fish and the

24:22

birds and the turtles. But

24:26

Marilyn doesn't listen to him. She

24:29

knows if the ship doesn't rescue

24:31

them, then it's over. They

24:33

can't survive any longer. Captain

24:41

Seo Jung stands on the bridge of

24:43

his ship and scans the blue horizon

24:45

of the Pacific Ocean. He's

24:48

happy to be back in these waters. For

24:50

the past two and a half years,

24:53

he and his 20-man crew have been

24:55

tuna fishing in the Canary Islands. But

24:57

now they're finally heading home to

25:00

Busan, South Korea. Captain

25:02

Seo takes off his jacket and drapes it

25:05

over the back of his chair. His

25:07

ship, the Wulmi 306, sails

25:10

smoothly over the calm water. It's

25:13

almost four o'clock in the afternoon. Time

25:15

for a coffee. But

25:17

just then, he sees his chief

25:19

engineer, Bysook Don, rushing up the

25:22

stairs to the bridge. He's

25:24

carrying a pair of binoculars and seems

25:26

worked up. Captain, one

25:29

of our men spotted something at sea. He

25:31

thinks it might be an SLS signal. Here

25:34

in the middle of the ocean, there's nothing for

25:37

hundreds of miles. Seo frowns

25:39

and looks at the coordinates. It

25:42

seems impossible. He's never

25:44

seen another ship in this part of the

25:46

Pacific, but he trusts his crew.

25:49

They're skilled at spotting things on the horizon,

25:51

or the surface of the water. He

25:54

grabs his binoculars from the wreck and then

25:57

walks swiftly towards the bow. crew

26:00

have gathered at the railing. They're

26:02

all pointing in the same direction. Sullis

26:06

is binoculars to his eyes, and

26:08

he sees it. Something is

26:10

moving back and forth, like

26:12

someone waving a flag. Men,

26:15

gather all rescue equipment and

26:17

first-aid supplies. As he

26:19

continues giving orders, Captain Sull runs back

26:21

to the bridge. If there

26:24

really are people there, then

26:26

they urgently need help. Marie

26:32

sits in the dinghy with pet and

26:34

Thelma, gently petting one of the turtles

26:37

on its shell. He's

26:39

trying not to get upset. He

26:41

thinks it's completely absurd that Marilyn

26:43

still hasn't given up. The

26:46

ship must be at least two or

26:48

three miles away at this point, if

26:51

only they had another emergency signal. If

26:54

they don't, the ship can't

26:56

see them. Marilyn

26:58

continues shouting and waving her

27:00

rain jacket, but then she

27:02

stops. Good, Maurice

27:05

thinks. She's finally facing

27:07

reality, but when

27:09

he looks up at his wife, she's still

27:12

staring at the horizon, and there's

27:14

a smile on her face. It's

27:17

coming back. Marilyn hands

27:19

him the binoculars. Maurice

27:21

peers through them, and what

27:23

he sees gives him goosebumps.

27:26

The ship really is coming back. You're

27:29

right, Marilyn. It's a ship. You

27:32

saved us. Come on, let's

27:34

put some clothes on. We can't

27:36

get rescued like this. Maurice

27:39

remembers that they're both completely

27:41

naked. They've gotten so used

27:43

to not wearing clothes that it didn't occur

27:46

to him. Together, they

27:48

climb into the life raft and start to

27:50

get dressed. As he

27:52

pulls on shorts and a tattered shirt,

27:54

Maurice feels a tremendous weight lifting

27:57

off him. They didn't give

27:59

up. They've managed the

28:01

impossible. They've survived for

28:03

almost four months. Instead

28:06

of trying to fight against the Pacific Ocean,

28:08

they fought hard to live by its rule.

28:13

As the ship approaches, Maurice feels

28:15

a hint of sadness. He'll

28:17

miss the solitude of the open ocean.

28:20

He'd gotten used to it, but

28:22

as he glances at his wife's face

28:24

and sees silent tears of joy running

28:26

down her cheeks, he

28:28

feels an overwhelming sense of

28:30

gratitude. Now he

28:33

gets to spend the rest of his life

28:35

with this amazing woman. The

28:38

ship maneuvers alongside them. As

28:40

it gets closer, they can make out

28:43

a few figures waving over the railing.

28:46

Now faces, too, real

28:48

people. Maurice can't

28:50

help but laugh out loud. He'll

28:53

probably never forget the shock in the

28:55

crew's eyes. He realizes

28:57

how pitiful he and Marilyn must

28:59

look. Two skeletons

29:02

sticking out of two half-deflated

29:04

rafts. One

29:06

more storm and they would have

29:08

sunk for shore. Marilyn

29:13

watches as a thick rope line falls

29:16

into the water just past the dinghy

29:18

where she and Maurice are sitting. Then

29:21

the second one lands right next to them

29:23

in the bow. Maurice

29:25

ties the end of the line tightly to

29:27

the dinghy's rubber handles and signals to the

29:29

men on the other end. Then

29:32

they can feel themselves being pulled

29:34

towards the ship. Marilyn

29:37

cranes her neck to look up at

29:39

the railing. When they are close

29:41

enough, she puts her hand on the side of

29:43

the ship. Tears freely

29:45

run down her cheeks. Now

29:48

that it's happening, she can hardly believe

29:50

it. They are really

29:52

being rescued. The

29:54

sailors' voices sound strange and surreal.

29:58

They shout down to them and wave. Marilyn

30:01

waves back and wonders what she must

30:03

look like. She hasn't

30:05

looked at herself in a mirror for almost

30:07

four months. Her legs are

30:09

just too thick. The

30:11

rusty ship seems gigantic to her,

30:14

but it's so much smaller than a container ship.

30:18

She wonders who it belongs to and

30:20

what kind of men they are. She

30:23

looks up at the railing again. A

30:25

young Asian man in a white t-shirt is

30:27

looking down at her. She's

30:29

wearing a captain's hat. Do you

30:31

speak English? Yes! We

30:34

are English. Then

30:36

a hanging ladder drops down for them. Maurice

30:39

pulls the dinghy towards it so that

30:41

Marilyn can climb up first. But

30:44

then a sailor jumps down onto the dinghy. Holding

30:47

the ladder at the bottom, he signals for Maurice

30:49

to go up. Maurice looks

30:51

over at Marilyn. She nods for

30:53

him to go first. Maurice

30:56

shakily stands up and clutches

30:58

the wobbly ladder. Marilyn

31:01

watches as her husband slowly pulls

31:03

himself up, little by little.

31:06

Fortunately, it's a small ship and it's

31:08

not very far to the railing. Several

31:12

hands are already reaching out towards him,

31:14

helping him up. Marilyn

31:17

watches from below as the crew takes

31:19

her husband on board. She

31:22

smiles shyly at the sailor who has now

31:24

joined her in the dinghy. It's

31:26

her turn. When

31:29

Marilyn puts her first foot on the

31:31

ladder, she feels how weak she

31:33

has become. The limbs are

31:35

stiff. They don't want to do what

31:37

she asks. After

31:40

the first step, she slips and falls

31:42

back. But the sailor

31:44

is there immediately, supporting her from

31:46

behind. The other men

31:48

shout things to her from above that she

31:50

doesn't understand. At least six

31:53

hands reach out to her. And

31:56

all of a sudden, without her

31:58

knowing exactly how, Marilyn is still there. Maryse

32:00

is sitting on the solid deck of the

32:02

ship. She

32:04

looks around. Where's Maryse?

32:07

A large blanket has been spread out a

32:10

few yards away. Maryse

32:12

is kneeling in the middle of it, surrounded

32:14

by several men who are all talking to

32:16

him in broken English. She

32:19

tries to get up to join him, but falls

32:22

back again. Her legs suddenly

32:24

can't hold her weight. Two

32:27

sailors help her up and carry her over

32:29

to the blanket, where she lies down next

32:31

to Maryse. He

32:33

strokes her cheek lovingly. Darling,

32:36

look, they prepared something

32:38

for us. Marilyn

32:40

sits up. In front

32:43

of her stands a large man wearing

32:45

a white apron around his waist. He's

32:48

beaming at her, revealing a wide

32:50

gap in his teeth. He

32:52

has two cups of warm milk in his

32:54

hands. When the

32:56

smell of it hits Marilyn's nose, she

32:59

bursts into tears again. All

33:02

around her are smiling, happy

33:04

faces. Maryse

33:06

takes her hand, squeezes it

33:08

firmly, and looks deep into her

33:11

eyes. Tears

33:13

are also streaming down his emaciated

33:15

face. We made it, Marilyn.

33:18

We actually made it. Marilyn

33:21

turns to the cook and smiles as

33:23

she takes a cup of steaming milk

33:25

from his hand. She

33:28

can't believe the Orland sank 118

33:30

days ago. That's

33:34

almost four months, but

33:36

somehow she and Maryse

33:39

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You need Indeed. Merise

34:36

limps through a narrow corridor aboard the

34:38

Woomy 306 with

34:40

Marilyn at his side. He

34:42

can feel the Korean fishing boat vibrating

34:45

as its powerful diesel engine start up

34:47

again. The sailor who's

34:49

escorting them stops and gestures to

34:51

a wood panel door. As

34:54

they're led into the officer's cabin,

34:56

Merise's eyes land on a bed.

34:59

A proper mattress, clean

35:02

white pillows and blankets. To

35:04

the left is a small table and

35:07

to the right a separate toilet. Tears

35:09

of joy blur his vision. But

35:12

when he looks in the bathroom mirror, he

35:15

shudders. He quickly turns away

35:17

from the strange face looking back at him.

35:20

The door opens and the man

35:22

in the captain's hat introduces himself.

35:25

His name is Captain Sejong, but

35:28

he tells him they can just call him Mr.

35:30

Saul. Then he asks them

35:32

to sit down at the table. Tell

35:35

me you're not Russian. If

35:37

you are Russians, that's a big problem.

35:40

No, we're English. I need

35:42

to be sure you're not Russian spies. Merise

35:45

and Marilyn exchange a sideways glance.

35:48

Is he serious? Why would

35:51

spies be adrift in the Pacific Ocean?

35:54

But then, Merise thinks about how Korea

35:56

is divided into North and South,

35:58

with the North controlled... by a

36:00

Russian-aligned communist government. Maybe

36:03

that explains the captain's paranoia. Marilyn's

36:07

face suddenly brightens. We

36:09

can prove we're English. We have our

36:11

pastures. Marilyn fishes their

36:13

passports out of their sea bags, which

36:16

the crew carried on board. Captain

36:18

Suh takes the passports and looks at them

36:20

for a long time. Then

36:23

he peppers Maurice and Marilyn with

36:25

questions, wanting to know where

36:27

they're from, where they were going, and

36:30

how long they've been traveling. As

36:32

they answer each of the questions, he looks

36:35

at them in disbelief, then

36:37

jots down the most important information

36:39

in his logbook. It

36:41

takes half an hour before the interrogation is

36:43

over. Finally, the

36:45

captain smiles. We'll help you,

36:48

but my crew is very exhausted from working

36:50

so hard. They all want to get

36:52

home quickly. Thank you very

36:55

much. Any port is fine

36:57

with us. We'll even go with

36:59

you to Korea. Yes, it doesn't matter which

37:01

port. Captain

37:03

Suh opens the door. It's the

37:05

cook with a gap in his teeth, and

37:07

he's holding a large tray, two

37:10

plates of steaming vegetable soup, bread

37:12

and butter, two fried eggs,

37:15

and two large glasses of milk. Maurice's

37:18

mouth is watering. The

37:21

cook places the tray on the table in front of them.

37:23

He warns them to eat slowly and not

37:26

too much, or they'll get sick. There

37:28

will be plenty more later. Then

37:31

Captain Suh and the cook leave the room. After

37:35

the door closes, the Baileys stare in

37:37

disbelief at the food laid out in

37:39

front of them. Maurice's hand

37:41

shakes as he grabs a spoon,

37:44

dips it into a bowl of soup, then

37:47

blows on it carefully. He

37:49

savors the taste of the warm broth as

37:52

it runs down his throat. He

37:55

looks up from the soup bowl. Marilyn's

37:57

eyes are closed, and she's biting

37:59

into a bowl. piece of bread with

38:01

a thick slab of butter on top.

38:05

The door opens again. Captain

38:07

Suh tells them he's radioed his company in

38:10

Seoul and told them about the rescue, and

38:12

if they want, he can also send a

38:14

message to their family in England. Maurice

38:17

almost can't believe it. They're

38:20

finally going home. It's

38:26

a beautiful summer's day in Derby, England,

38:29

but it's dark in the little

38:31

house where Susan, Marilyn's 58-year-old mother,

38:34

lives by herself. She's

38:36

drawn the curtains. She doesn't want to

38:38

see anyone. She's been on

38:40

sick leave from work for weeks and

38:43

has barricaded herself inside her home. It's

38:48

July 1, 1973, and she hasn't heard

38:50

anything from her daughter in over 12 weeks. She

38:54

spends most of her time, like right now,

38:56

lying on the carpet in Marilyn's

38:59

childhood bedroom. At

39:01

first, she just cried, but

39:03

now there are no more tears. She

39:06

feels so empty. Memories

39:08

of her daughter keep coming back to

39:10

her. In particular, she

39:13

revisits the last time she held Marilyn

39:15

in her arms. How

39:17

she let go of her hand for the last

39:19

time and then waved as

39:21

her yacht disappeared into a small

39:23

dot on the horizon. Where

39:26

is that yacht now? Where

39:29

is her daughter? The

39:32

last postcard she received from Marilyn

39:34

was from Panama City. It

39:36

confirmed that Marilyn and Maurice left the port

39:39

of Balboa on February 28, but Susan hasn't

39:42

received a single postcard since. She

39:46

can no longer deny it. Her

39:48

daughter never arrived in the

39:50

Galapagos. came

40:00

over and scolded her for making

40:02

her worry. She had better

40:04

answer at this time. Susan

40:07

pushes herself up off the floor and

40:09

shuffles towards the hallway. Yes?

40:13

Yes, this is Susan. Susan

40:16

puts her hand down on the hallway

40:18

table for support. Her knees

40:20

are weak. It's a

40:22

foreign voice with an accent she can't

40:24

quite place, asking if

40:26

she's related to someone named Mary Bailey.

40:30

Marilyn Bailey? Yes, that's

40:32

my daughter. Please tell me

40:35

she's alive. The voice on

40:37

the other line sounds like it's coming from

40:39

very far away. Susan's

40:41

hands shake, her lips

40:43

tremble, and there's an

40:45

enormous lump in her throat. Then

40:49

she finally lets go and

40:51

breaks down sobbing. Marilyn

40:57

stands on the deck of the Woolmeath 306 as

41:01

it sails into Honolulu Harbor. She

41:04

wonders what it will be like to have Earth

41:06

under her feet again. She

41:08

and Maurice have been aboard the Korean fishing

41:10

vessel for almost two weeks.

41:13

The cook has done a great job feeding them,

41:16

bringing a little more food to their cabin

41:18

each day. The ship's

41:20

engineer, who had some medical training, brought

41:23

them daily vitamins and anti-inflammatory

41:25

pills and dressed their sores. Marilyn

41:28

and Maurice slept through the first few

41:30

days after their rescue, only waking

41:33

up to eat or take their pills. Their

41:35

joints were so stiff that they could

41:38

hardly move anyway. After

41:40

their first walking exercises, their

41:42

legs and feet swelled up so much that

41:45

they decided to take it slowly. They

41:48

were left alone to rest for the first

41:50

three days, but from the fourth day

41:52

onwards, their cabin was swarming

41:54

with visitors. Everyone

41:56

in the crew wanted to know how they

41:58

had managed to survive. for so long. Marilyn

42:02

still feels overcome by the warmth the crew

42:05

has shown them. She

42:07

and Maurice have been constantly presented with

42:09

gifts. Toothpaste, clothes,

42:11

chocolate and cookies, even

42:14

cosmetics for Marilyn. The

42:16

sailors had purchased many of these things

42:18

in the Canary Islands as souvenirs for

42:20

their families and friends, but they

42:23

voluntarily gave them up. Some

42:25

of them even gave Maurice his belt,

42:27

because Maurice's pants, which were also a

42:30

gift, kept slipping off his hips. The

42:33

crew wanted the Bailies to travel with them

42:35

to Busan in their native country, but

42:38

the Korean shipping company decided that

42:40

the shipwrecked passengers needed to be

42:42

medically examined as soon as possible,

42:45

and that the captain should head for

42:47

the nearest possible port. Marilyn

42:50

stares at the coastal landscape again. Honolulu

42:53

is now right in front of her. The

42:57

mountains rising behind it look

42:59

impossibly lush and green. Maurice,

43:02

who's been standing next to her for some

43:04

time now, takes her hand. Ready?

43:08

I don't know. Are you?

43:11

It won't be so bad. Mr.

43:14

Seh warned them. The news

43:16

that a British couple survived for almost

43:18

four months on the Pacific Ocean on

43:21

two small rubber boats has become

43:23

a global sensation. While

43:25

still on board, the Bailies received

43:28

numerous telegrams and interview requests from

43:31

all over the world. Finally,

43:34

the Wilmy docks at a pier

43:36

in Honolulu Harbor. Marilyn

43:38

squeezes her husband's hand before letting

43:40

go. The only thing

43:43

between her and dry land is

43:45

a rickety wooden gangway. She

43:48

hesitates. This

43:50

is the first land she will set

43:52

foot on after almost four and a

43:54

half months at sea. Marilyn

43:57

takes a step forward onto the

43:59

gangway. The sandals she

44:01

was given are too big, and she holds

44:03

tightly onto the railing, trying to end the

44:06

fall. There are people

44:08

and cameras everywhere in front of her.

44:11

Captain Suh is close behind her, followed

44:14

by Marie. Despite how

44:16

skinny he is, Marilyn thinks

44:18

Marie's looks quite distinguished in his

44:20

white shirt and long pants. It

44:23

just has got fazed, now clean-shaven,

44:26

that betrays the toll this experience has

44:28

taken them. Then,

44:31

Marilyn feels the pavement beneath her

44:33

feet. They're finally on

44:35

land. But before she

44:37

can really enjoy the moment, she's

44:40

bombarded with questions from reporters. Marilyn

44:44

smiles shyly as cameras snap away.

44:47

She looks back at Marie, who's grinning

44:49

broadly. She's happy to see

44:51

him looking so confident again. Marilyn

44:54

is glad to be back in civilization,

44:57

even if everything still seems very

44:59

strange. She feels safe,

45:02

but also a little wistful. As

45:05

bad as it was, she'll miss

45:08

her life at sea. Marilyn

45:14

and Maurice Bailey drifted over 1,500 miles

45:17

across the Pacific Ocean until they were

45:19

rescued on June 30, 1973. In

45:24

the hospital, Maurice was diagnosed with

45:27

thrombosis, as well as a severe

45:29

ear infection which left him nearly

45:31

deaf in one ear. He

45:34

also suffered a blood clot in his

45:36

lungs, which caused irreversible damage, giving him

45:38

breathing problems until the end of his

45:41

life. Marilyn had no

45:43

health problems, apart from the sores on

45:45

her legs and buttocks. One

45:48

year after their ordeal, the Bailies were

45:51

back at sea in a new yacht, which

45:53

they named Orland II. After

45:56

their rescue, the Bailies wrote a

45:58

book entitled Seventeen days

46:00

addressed say it actually survived a

46:03

one hundred and eighteen days on

46:05

the Pacific, but it was originally

46:07

misreported. so the rescue had happened

46:09

one day earlier and the publisher

46:11

decided to stick with the incorrect

46:14

number. After.

46:16

Maryland died of cancer in two

46:18

thousand and two, Murray sled a

46:20

solitary life. In two thousand

46:22

and sixteen two years before his death,

46:24

he gave a very personal interview to

46:26

a filmmaker. When asked if he would

46:29

want to go through the same experience

46:31

again, he replied, if I could go

46:33

and do it with the knowledge someone

46:35

is going to collect me. After four

46:37

months I would do it again. It

46:40

was a wonderful experience because of never

46:42

been close to nature like that for

46:44

so long. See. Was

46:47

or less the animals

46:49

were neighbors. Murray

46:51

said that without Maryland strength, he

46:53

didn't think they would have made

46:56

us telling the filmmaker. We

46:58

wouldn't have been able to survive. It's.

47:00

Just. That Maryland was able to

47:02

sustain. The Will to Live.

47:07

Paper. Members you can do against

47:09

the odds ad free on Amazon

47:11

Music, download the Amazon Music app

47:13

today or even listen ad free

47:15

was wondering Plus an Apple podcasts.

47:18

Free! Go tell us about

47:20

yourself by completing a short

47:22

survey at Wonder he.com/survey. This

47:28

was the third and final episode

47:30

of our series addressed in the

47:32

Pacific. A. Quick note about our scenes

47:34

in most cases we. Can't know exactly

47:36

what was said, that everything is

47:38

based sort of research. If you

47:41

like to learn more about this

47:43

event, we highly recommend The Buck

47:45

One Hundred and Seventeen Days addressed

47:47

summaries and Maryland Bailey I'm your

47:49

host Cassie to tackle Cure a

47:51

Funk Wrote this episode. Translated

47:53

by Sharma Cohen for Monk

47:56

Studios. Sound design by Rob

47:58

She'll August Audio and. is

48:00

Sergio Enriquez. Coordinating producer

48:02

is Desi Blaylock. Produced

48:05

by Alita Rosanski and Emily Frost.

48:08

Managing producer is Matt Gint. Senior

48:10

managing producer is Ryan Lohr. Senior

48:13

producer is Andy Herman. Executive

48:15

producers are Jenny Laura Beckman, Stephanie

48:18

Jens, and Marsha Lewy. For

48:20

Wundery. It's

48:28

been eight years since Sabine laid eyes on

48:30

her college sweetheart Wyatt. Back then

48:33

he was the most sensitive boyfriend, but

48:35

her family persuaded her to end things and she's

48:37

moved on. Kinda. They're about to

48:40

cross paths at an A-list wedding

48:42

in the picturesque French countryside and

48:44

she's suffering from major butterflies. But

48:46

that won't stop a social climber

48:48

like Sabine from getting what she

48:50

wants. Influence, Meet Cute's newest podcast

48:52

available exclusively on Wundery Plus, is

48:54

the modern-day interpretation of Jane Austen's

48:57

persuasion about an influencer at a

48:59

star-studded wedding who won't stop until

49:01

she has it all. The wedding's

49:03

guest list is a who's who

49:05

of insiders. Sabine's social media following

49:07

is in the millions. Wyatt's

49:09

at the top of his game

49:11

too, having become the most in-demand

49:13

photographer in LA. Then there's Hollywood's

49:15

ick girl Henrietta Louise Musgrove who

49:17

immediately hits it off with Sabine.

49:19

But there's a catch. Henrietta has

49:21

eyes for sweet sweet Wyatt and

49:23

she needs Sabine's help to capture

49:25

his heart.