Tony Bullimore Rescue
Tony Bullimore Rescue
Below the roaring forties there is no law, below the roaring fifties there is no god. In the Southern Ocean there exists the ultimate challenge for human beings. Tony Bullimore braved the Southern Ocean and survived. He was rescued at sea and he described it as an absolute miracle. Tony Bullimore was two months into a race around the world called the Vendee Globe Around the World Yacht Race. He was down to 57 degrees South and wanted to go down to 60 degrees. He had been across the Atlantic many times but this race around the world was the toughest he had been in. The barometer had started dropping. Tony Bullimore had tremendous respect for the sea – it can be calm one day and monstrous the next. The sky was getting very grey, so he got some food into his belly.
If you do not hang on in rough conditions you will not make it. The waves were massive – fifty to sixty feet, and they were rumbling along like an avalanche. When the wind gets to hurricane strength, the sea can be a horrendous place to be. He opened a can of corned beef, rolled a cigarette and he felt relaxed – the boat was being steered by the automatic pilot and he thought everything was going to be all right. His wife gets lonely when Tony Bullimore is away. Back on the ocean, Tony Bullimore felt a crack and the boat went over. He was way past 50 degrees south and there was no chance of rescue. He went to sleep to wait until the storm passed over. There was no point in being frightened – the greatest fear was fear itself.
The window blows out and he is very cold, the cabin starts filling with water and he had to get his survival suit on. If the hull fills up completely he will have to get out. The life raft is pinned down and he cannot get to it. He gets the distress beacon out and turns it on, then dives down to the broken window to poke it out. If the rescue does not come in a few days, then he will die. The SAR co-ordinator get the distress beacon and set the wheels in motion. There is another yacht in trouble at the same time.
Back at sea, Tony Bullimore is assembling the things that he will need to survive. Bits and pieces of equipment and food are floating off into the sea. It is like a washing machine from hell. He eats the last of the chocolate. In South Australia, the Australian Navy receive news of the accident, they send out aircraft to look for Tony Bullimore and terri dubois. Tony Bullimore tries to get the life raft free but cuts his finger. The HMAS frigate Adelaide is sent to rescue the stranded sailors. They have to sail 1400 nautical miles and they still have to find them. They are going as fast as they can, but have to conserve enough fuel to get back. The mission is very dependant upon their helicopter.
The Orion search planes are doing their search and rescue operation looking for the capsized yachts. It is extremely difficult to search with the white horses in the ocean. They spot Terri Dubois clinging to his upturned hull. They drop a life raft and supplies. Terri hauls the rope in and he has got the raft. They still had to find Tony Bullimore.