Survived against the odds after capsize
BRITISH sailor and entrepreneur Tony Bullimore became worldfamous after he survived for four days in the upturned hull of his boat when it capsized in the freezing waters of the Southern Ocean in 1997.
Bullimore, who was dramatically rescued by the Australian navy, died on Tuesday aged 79.
BBC and ITV reported he had been suffering from cancer.
In 199697, he had been taking part in the Vendee Globe singlehanded aroundtheworld race in his boat, the Exide Challenger, and was 2200km off the coast of Australia.
The then 57yearold sailor and former Royal Marine, nicknamed the British bulldog, was feared to have drowned.
On January 5, 1997 both Bullimore and another competitor, Frenchman
Thierry Dubois, activated distress beacons while navigating extremely cold and rough seas.
The Royal Australian Air Force was scrambled to drop life rafts, radios and emergency supplies until the pair could be rescued properly.
Dubois clung to a life raft until he could be airlifted to safety.
But the situation became grave when organisers lost contact with Bullimore, whose weatherbattered and upturned yacht had been spotted in the extremely cold Southern Ocean seemingly without him on board.
A frigate was sent to help, but it meant an anxious few days until it could get anywhere near the Challenger.
Then — a glimmer of hope.
A sonar buoy detected faint tapping noises inside Bullimore’s boat’s hull, but rescuers were unsure whether the sounds were made by the sailor or by the movement of loose rigging.
On January 9, Australian naval crews who managed to get near the stricken yacht pounded against the vessel in the hope the Briton was inside.
Moments later, a weary Bullimore emerged.
He had swum out from underneath the hull where he had been surviving, in a makeshift hammock inside the cabin, entombed by the freezing water gradually creeping closer to him, existing on meagre rations of chocolate and water.
Bullimore lost part of his little finger on his left hand and suffered mild hypothermia, dehydration and frostbite.
An Australian military spokesman said his survival was ‘‘remarkable’’ and Bullimore, too, acknowledged the odds were against him.
He said: ‘‘Every now and then, you realise how fortunate you are to be here.’’
Bullimore was a founding member of the famous Bamboo Club in Bristol, which he opened with wife Lalel, in 1966.
The nightclub hosted stars including Bob Marley and the Wailers, as well as Ben E. King, before it closed in 1977 after a fire. — BPA