Tony Bullimore Rescue #2
Tony Bullimore Rescue Part 2
The Navy have to get to Terri Dubois to rescue him. Tony Bullimore has a mechanical water maker and uses it to make enough fresh water for him to survive. The Orion aircraft spot Tony Bullimore and drop sonic buoys. They hear no response and they think there is no sign of life.
Tony Bullimore’s wife turns on the TV and she sees the bottom of the boat with the number on it. It all came flooding back to her all the past accidents he had been in. She knew it was serious. Tony Bullimore has to get the life raft free – he swims out about a dozen times to try and loosen it but cannot hold his breath long enough. Tony Bullimore is getting very cold and thinks he might freeze to death. Another cold front is on the way and it going to be a race to rescue the yachtsmen. The HMAS Adelaide has to increase speed to beat the approaching weather. They are still two days from the yachts. Tony Bullimore is so tired and cold. His wife is petrified and she knew that Tony Bullimore would not give up and would fight until the end.
At one time Tony Bullimore thought that he was a goner. HMAS Adelaide searches for Tony Bullimore and they will have to go into the hull to see if he is still alive. They do not know if he is still alive. It has been three days since his yacht has capsized. They do not know if anyone can survive that long in the freezing southern ocean. Tony Bullimore is thinking about his life while his wife is praying a lot. His family stay united and strong. On the 9th January 1997, HMAS Adelaide is ready to pick up Terri Dubois. The helicopter picks him up. It is three hours to Tony Bullimore and they think that they will have to cut through the hull to get to him. The crew is on edge as they get near to Tony Bullimore – they do not know if he is alive inside the hull.
A rubber ducky is sent out while the Orion flies overhead. Tony Bullimore thinks he hears a plane but is skeptical. The rubber ducky goes alongside Tony Bullimore’s yacht and they start banging on the hull. Tony Bullimore says it is like heaven, he dived out the boat and up to the surface to the rubber ducky. The diver jumps into the water to get him and drag him onto the rubber duckie. Tony Bullimore was glad to see them and did not stop talking. Tony Bullimore is winched on board still talking away. The Air force pilots call it a miracle.
Tony Bullimore’s wife and family receive the news that he is still alive and all the stress evaporates. The lesson for everyone was not to give up hope. Tony Bullimore says it was an absolute miracle. Tony Bullimore’s yacht was called the Exide Challenger and was sixty foot long. He was thirteen hundred miles south of Australia in the Southern Ocean when the disaster struck. He lost his keel when the yacht overturned. He is a survivor and a hero. It was the biggest sea and air rescue in the history of the Royal Australian Air Force and Navy. They used four aircraft, six air crew, as well as HMAS Adelaide. This was a battle for survival and a miracle at sea.