In a storybook ending rescued sailor gets girl

PORTLAND, Maine — The sailor who was rescued from his storm-battered sailboat by the Maine Maritime Academy in 2015 has covered a lot of miles since then.

Michael Hurley has sailed 7,000 miles, and there’s going to be a storybook ending to his journey: The 60-year-old former corporate lawyer is engaged to be married.

Hurley is completing a voyage from France to the Caribbean to North America with a first mate who is engaged to be his wife.

He’s embarking on a new adventure by putting his boat into storage, getting married and moving to England.

Hurley, who sold his North Carolina law firm so he could sail and write, has traveled far since he was plucked from his storm-battered sailboat by the student crew of the Maine Maritime Academy training vessel. It was the second time he had been rescued and lost his boat.

Despite the bad luck, his wanderlust remained unfulfilled, and he purchased a final sailboat. He signaled his intentions by naming it Nevermore.

This time, his luck changed. He found love while in the United Kingdom writing “The Passage,” a book that drew from his experience of being rescued. His fiancée, Jill Gormley of London, said she had never been sailing before meeting him.

“We didn’t have a single argument in 28 days,” Gormley said, despite cramped quarters, canned food and seasickness.

Michael Hurley / Associated Press Michael Hurley and fiancée Jill Gormley will complete a 7,000-mile voyage June 15. They plan to marry in October.