Tony Bullimore

Tony Bullimore (born circa 1939) is a British sailor from Bristol.

He is most famous for being rescued during the 1996 Vendee Globe single handed around the world race. The race was marked by a number of incidents including the death of another contestant, Gerry Roufs. On 5 January 1997, in the Southern Ocean near 52°S 100°E, Bullimore's boat, Exide Challenger capsized and the majority of press and media reports assumed that the 55 year old sailor was lost. The Royal Australian Navy launched a rescue mission for Bullimore and another capsized competitor, Thierry Dubois. Bullimore was alive and managed to survive in an air pocket in the upside-down boat in pitch darkness, having lost his food supplies - his only food was a bar of chocolate. On 9 January, Thierry Dubois was rescued by an Australian S-70B-2 Seahawk helicopter embarked on the frigate HMAS Adelaide. Adelaide then proceeded further south to where the Exide Challenger had been located by a RAAF P-3 Orion. Adelaide dispatched a rigid-hulled inflatable boat to the Exide Challenger where crew members knocked on the hull. Hearing the noise, Bullimore swam out from his boat and was quickly rescued by personnel from Adelaide. HMAS Adelaide then returned both Dubois and Bullimore to Perth. During the return journey, Bullimore made a point of meeting with each and every member of the boat's crew to thank them for saving his life.

In 2005, Bullimore skippered a team that came second in the 2005 Oryx Quest. In 2007, he was involved in another sailboat record attempt.

See also

• List of select Jews in sailing

References

• BBC ON THIS DAY | 9 |1997: Bullimore rescued after five days, accessed 16 July 2006
• Sailing World, Vendée Globe, accessed 16 July 2006
• "Bullimore's sister buoyed by rabbis' support", Jewish Chronicle 24 January 1997 p.1
• Tony Bullimore, Ready for take off

External links

• Tony Bullimore official site
• 'Missing' yachtsman finally phones his wife
• Photo Gallery of Tony Bullimore & his catamaran "Doha 2006"