Stoic attitude
Apricot met its end in the 1986 Route du Rhum after Bullimore hit an unidentified object during the first night at sea and one of the hulls was damaged. Bullimore managed to sail back towards Brest, but a mix up in communication with a tug over a rendezvous led to the multihull being driven on to a lee shore and destroyed.
His next multihull, Spirit of Apricot, also capsized during a training sail in the Bristol Channel and he and was trapped under the trampoline and a crewman drowned.
Bullimore had many local philanthropic causes and was considered by many in the West Indian community in Bristol to be a mentor and leader. He was variously labelled by the tabloid press as ‘Bulldog Bullimore’ and ‘Captain Calamity’ depending on their agenda at the time. Eccentricity was something the sailing world wasn’t used to, and Bullimore was often given a rougher ride than most. But he never looked for soft treatment. After his rescue from the Southern Ocean, he was asked by a reporter if he would be going for counselling. He replied: “Bugger that! I’ll be going down to the boozer with my mates!”