A 96-97 edition of the Dantesque Vendée Globe
The 1996-1997 edition of the Vendée Globe saw 15 competitors set off around the world (16 with Raphaël Dinelli in"pirate" mode for lack of qualification in time). However they will be only 6 to finish this edition.
Apocalyptic conditions create capsizes and shipwrecks. Like that of Raphël Dinelli, dismasted in the Indian Ocean, south of Australia and saved by Pete Goss who will divert to recover the sailor at the seaside, after having waited 36 hours in water at 3 degrees.
This edition will also be the one of the disappearance of Gerry Roufs, who confided - the day before his shipwreck - to Isabelle Autissier, to sail in a Dantesque storm with"waves as high as the Alps"
Courage at all times
At 64 e on race day, two emergency beacons are activated. That of Thierry Dubois and Tony Bullimore. 2,500 km off the Australian coast, the two sailors are only 15 miles apart, sailing in an enormous sea (65 to 70 knots of wind).
Bullimore capsizes and manages to find refuge in an air bubble of his boat turned over, without light or food. For five days, injured hands and feet, he fought to survive until the arrival - on 9 January 1997 - of the Australian Navy's Adelaide frigate. When this hull is discovered and without any sign of life, the rescuers will go so far as to knock on it so that the sailor can dive into the icy water and be towed.
On his return ashore, January 13 (NDRL: his birthday) he will entrust "I heard a kind of tchi, tchi, I thought it was a helicopter, but in fact, it was the motor of the small boat sent by the frigate Adelaide who was helping me."
This long wait will have mixed to highlight Bullimore's incredible moment of survival. This fact was underlined by Queen Elizabeth II and earned her international renown. This misadventure did not prevent him from"returning" to the South Atlantic Ocean, where he achieved the South Atlantic Ocean record in 2005 in 11 days 10 hours 22 minutes and 13 seconds on the Doha catamaran.
A musical career
In 1966, Tony Bullimore and his wife Lalel opened a club called the"Bamboo Club" in Bristol. They welcomed Reggae and Soul superstars like Bob Marley, Ben E.King and Tina Turner as well as sound-system parties throughout the sixties and seventies. The club burned down in 1977.
