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are the possible parents of your wanderer likely to have left a will?

You might find a mention of "my son, now of xyz" or mention of grandchildren etc that can tie families together

My gran told several stories that turned out not to be true:

Story: Her father went out to China with the Sassoon family and was vet to the Imperial stables
Fact: Her father did go to China and was a vet. No connection found to the Sassoon family and certainly no connection to the Imperial stables which would have been in Peking not Shanghai where he was.

Story: He came in from work one day, and suddenly dropped down dead while ringing the bell for tea.
Fact: He came in drunk from work, had a row with his wife about his drinking & gambling habits, drank a bottle of poison - and then dropped down dead.

Story: On their return to England they lived in a big house where they often entertained the local Army Officers
Fact: On their return to England her mother helped out in the family pub next to the Army Barracks

I have an Auntie Bunty who's real name is Margaret
and a great-aunt Molly who was Florence Mary

you may never find out full details beyond what you already have.

I too have someone on my tree who was said to have "drowned at sea" (this tim from the Liverpool area).

When I posted a question on another board I was given this info:

If a person died from sickness or (say) a heart attack at sea on board a British-registered ship the event was reported by the vessel's master on reaching a British port, and should feature in the GRO Marine Deaths Registers, indexes to which are to be found on fiche at most Record Offices and many good libraries. Copies of actual entries in the registers can be accessed (for a fee) via a handful of subscription sites eg Find My Past, though FindMyPast's coverage is currently limited to the years 1850-1890.

However, if a vessel sank with all hands, or simply disappeared without trace, there was no-one to 'officially' report the deaths of those known to be on board, so as a general rule you won't find any of their names in any official record. If you haven't been able to locate the death of a seafaring ancestor or relative (or of someone who may have been a passenger on one of the many 'emigrant' ships which were lost in the 1800's/early 1900's) then this could well be the reason.

If a seaman was washed (or fell, or 'jumped') overboard from a British-registered ship and drowned, without his body being recovered, then the vessel's master would have done no more than record the 'incident' in the ship's log.
Unless a body was recovered, and formally identified, there WON'T be an entry in any official 'death at sea' record.