Tony Bullimore

{{Infobox person

| name = Tony Bullimore

| birth_date = {{birth date|1939|1|15|df=yes}}

| birth_place = Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England

| death_date = {{death date and age|2018|7|31 |1939|1|15|df=yes}}

| education = Claremont High School, Kenton

| occupation = Businessman, international yachtsman

| spouse = Lalel Bullimore (m. 1960s)

}}

Tony Bullimore (15 January 1939 – 31 July 2018) was a British businessman and international yachtsman. During the 1996–97 Vendée Globe solo round-the-world yacht race, his vessel lost its keel and capsized in the Southern Ocean. He survived for four days inside the upturned hull before being located and rescued by the Australian Navy.

Early life and career

Born in Southend-on-Sea, Essex,{{cite web|url=https://www.theedge-uk.com/view/tony-bullimore|title=Tony Bullimore|publisher=The Edge|accessdate=31 July 2018}} he was educated at Claremont School.

Bullimore moved to Bristol in the early 1960s and married Lalel, a West Indian immigrant. In 1966 they opened the Afro-Caribbean-inspired Bamboo Club, which was billed as "Bristol's Premier West Indian Entertainment Centre", housed a restaurant, theatre workshop, football team and was the headquarters of the Bristol West Indian Cricket Club. The top floor housed the music venue, with DJs playing reggae and American soul music, and bands performed including Bob Marley and The Wailers, Jimmy Cliff, Ben E. King and Tina Turner. The club burned down in 1977, just before the Sex Pistols were due to play there. Bullimore had already opened The Granary club at Bristol's Granary building in the early 1970s, which after ten years he slowly sold off to concentrate on other business ventures. He also became a race relations advocate in Bristol.

Sailing

Bullimore was rescued after capsizing during the 1996–97 Vendée 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 {{coord|52|S|100|E|name=Tony Bullimore distress}}, around {{convert|2500|km|nmi}} off the Australian coast and in winds of up to {{convert|160|km/h|mi/h kn|-1}},{{cite news |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-07-31/british-sailor-tony-bullimore-dies-aged-79/10058536 |title=Tony Bullimore: British sailor who survived four days under a capsized yacht in the Southern Ocean dies aged 79 |date=31 July 2018 |work=ABC News |accessdate=1 August 2018}} Bullimore's boat, Exide Challenger, capsized after the keel had snapped off. Bullimore managed to reach an air pocket in the upside-down boat in pitch darkness, having lost his food supplies, aside from a bar of chocolate. The Royal Australian Navy launched a rescue mission for Bullimore and another Vendée Globe capsized competitor, Thierry Dubois. On 9 January, Dubois was rescued by an Australian S-70B-2 Seahawk helicopter embarked on the frigate {{HMAS|Adelaide|FFG 01|6}}.{{Cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/january/9/newsid_2518000/2518229.stm|title=Bullimore rescued after five days|date=9 January 1997|work=BBC News|accessdate=31 July 2018}}{{Cite news|url=http://old.cruisingworld.com/vendmisc.htm|title=Capsizes and Rescues|last=Roberson|first=John|date=April 1997|work=Sailing World|accessdate=31 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060509091532/http://old.cruisingworld.com/vendmisc.htm|archive-date=9 May 2006|url-status=dead|publisher=Cruising World Publications}}

Adelaide then proceeded further south to where the Exide Challenger had been located by a Royal Australian Air Force 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.Luke Harding and Christopher Zinn, [https://www.theguardian.com/fromthearchive/story/0,,1985507,00.html "Alive - after four days in a watery tomb"], The Guardian, 10 January 1997. Accessed 9 July 2014. HMAS Adelaide then returned both Dubois and Bullimore to Perth.Vetter, Craig, [https://www.outsideonline.com/1920811/godforsaken "Godforsaken"], Outside, January 1998. Retrieved 23 September 2010.

In 2000 he was featured in a BBC documentary about crossing the Atlantic Ocean, with the comedian Lenny Henry.

Bullimore skippered a team that came second in the 2005 Oryx Quest. In 2007, he was involved in another sailing record attempt.[http://www.sail-world.com/index_n.cfm?nid=30786 Sail World - Powerboat-world: Sail and sailing, cruising, boating news]

Death

Bullimore died on 31 July 2018, aged 79, of a rare form of stomach cancer.{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-45016915|title=Bristol sailor and entrepreneur Tony Bullimore dies aged 79|publisher=BBC News|date=31 July 2018|accessdate=31 July 2018}}{{cite web|url=https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/bristol-news/tributes-bamboo-club-pioneer-tony-1844499|title=Tributes to Bamboo Club pioneer Tony Bullimore 'a Bristol legend' who has died|author=Tristan Cook|publisher=Bristol Post|date=31 July 2018|accessdate=31 July 2018}}{{cite web|url=http://www.itv.com/news/westcountry/2018-07-31/round-the-world-yachtsman-tony-bullimore-has-died/|title=Round-the-world yachtsman Tony Bullimore has died|publisher=ITN News|date=31 July 2018|accessdate=31 July 2018}}

Bibliography

[https://books.google.com/books?id=YiPAHAAACAAJ&q=%22tony+bullimore%22 Saved], Time Warner Paperbacks, 1998, {{ISBN|0751523348}}
[https://books.google.com/books?id=8wK9AAAACAAJ&q=%22tony+bullimore%22 Rescue in the Southern Ocean], Penguin Group Australia, 1997, {{ISBN|0140268375}}
[https://books.google.com/books?id=cVw3PQAACAAJ&q=%22tony+bullimore%22 Yachting Yarns], Little, Brown Book Group Limited, 2000, {{ISBN|0316850446}}.

Notes

References

"Bullimore's sister buoyed by rabbis' support", Jewish Chronicle, 24 January 1997, p. 1.
Tony Bullimore, [http://www.bymnews.com/april/bullimore.html "Ready for take off"], BYM News & Magazine
Rob Sharp, [http://observer.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,1951792,00.html "'Missing' yachtsman finally phones his wife"], The Observer, 19 November 2006.

External links

[http://www.bymnews.com/photos/thumbnails.php?album=315 Photo Gallery of Tony Bullimore & his catamaran "Doha 2006"]
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0AkXFaCdMQ0 "Rescue of Tony Bullimore"]. YouTube.
[https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20250102-tony-bullimore-the-greatest-sailing-rescue-ever-made "The greatest sailing rescue ever made"]. BBC in 2025

Category:1939 births

Category:2018 deaths

Category:English Jews

Category:People from Southend-on-Sea

Category:Businesspeople from Bristol

Category:20th-century Royal Marines personnel

Category:Sportspeople from Bristol

Category:Nightclub owners

Category:Maritime writers

Category:English male sailors (sport)

Category:Single-handed sailors

Category:Deaths from stomach cancer in the United Kingdom