Tony Bullimore

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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 January 5, 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 January 9 Thierry Dubois was rescued by an Australian Seahawk search and rescue helicopter embarked on HMAS Adelaide (FFG 01). HMAS Adelaide then proceeded further south to where the Exide Challenger had been located by a RAAF P-3 Orion. Adelaide dispatched an RHIB (Rigid-Hulled Inflatable Boat) to the Excide Challenger where crew members knocked on the hull. Hearing the noise, Bullimore swam out from his boat and was quickly rescued by the crew from Adelaide. HMAS Adelaide then returned both Dubois and Bullimore to Perth.

In 2005, Bullimore skippered a team that came second in the 2005 Oryx Quest. He is currently involved with a sailboat record attempt^[1]