Two decades after his miraculous rescue by Australia's air force and navy, English yachtsman Tony Bullimore is planning a visit Down Under to thank the people who launched a $6m rescue mission to save him from a lonely and freezing death.

Bullimore was plucked from the icy vastness of the Southern Ocean by the frigate HMAS Adelaide in January 1997 after spending four days in his capsized yacht, the Exide Challenger .

The fearless sailor had been competing in the disastrous and controversial 1996 Vendee Globe round-the-world single-handed race when his vessel lost its keel and capsized in mountainous seas.

It left Bullimore battling for survival in one of the most isolated parts of the world, 2500kms from Perth and 1500kms from Antarctica.

The yachtsman, who still competes in international events today at the age of 78, told 9Stories from his home in Bristol, south-west England, that his rescue was a "miracle, an absolute miracle" and he is eternally grateful to Australia.

And while the government copped plenty criticism for the cost of the rescue, Bullimore reveals there was never any animosity towards him from those who saved his life

Tony Bullimore, right, wearing his orange survival suit, leaves his stricken yacht after sailors from HMAS Adelaide banged on the side of his boat. (Photo:AP).

"A very senior military figure in Australia told me at the time: 'Don't worry about the bill, Tony. You can't put a price on the goodwill that flowed here from all over the world."

With this in mind, he and his wife Lalel are aiming to visit Australia later this year.

"I'll never forget what the Australian navy, air force and others did for me. I want to catch up with my old friends there including the people who helped save me and take them out for a drink."

Among these are Chief Petty Officer Peter Wicker, the bosun who pulled the Englishman from his stricken boat to the safety of a navy inflatable dinghy on January 9, 1997.

On returning to the Adelaide , the rescued yachtsman asked Wicker for a cup of tea, but he says after that warmed him he was keen for a taste of the traditional navy ration of rum.

'Water started coming in like Niagara Falls'

Looking back 20 years, Bullimore can clearly recall the moment disaster struck.

He remembers his 18m yacht had been handling the rough seas of the Southern Ocean "beautifully" until it lost its keel.

Tony Bullimore is still ocean racing today at the age of 78. (Photo:Tony Bullimore),

“I was sitting there with cup of tea and then bang, the keel popped off," he said. “The moment it banged off, the boat went over so quick. Then it rolled and rolled and rolled."

Bullimore reacted quickly by donning his survival suit and sending out a distress message on his emergency electronic beacon.

“Then I was standing on the bottom of the boat and for most of the night it was OK. Then the window went in and water started coming in like Niagara Falls.”

Bullimore, a former soldier with Britain's famed Royal Marines regiment, fell back on his military training, rigging a makeshift hammock from cargo netting above the icy water in a tiny air pocket of his upturned boat.

He says he concentrated on "doing all I could to deal with the situation and trying not to think about what's coming".

But even his long experience of ocean sailing was put to the test with little to sustain him except chocolate, a few cups of water and sheer determination.

Pilots and air crew from an RAAF Orion patrol aircraft scour the Southern Ocean in their bid to find Tony Bullimore. (Photo: AFP).

"I've been in some situations in my life before that I could tell you about. But this was the hardest," he said.

"I couldn't get any further down in my spirits, and I started to allocate the last few hours ... At the same time, a little bit of the old professionalism hit me: keep going, don't give up."

Timing and a state of readiness by Australian authorities, however, proved to be on Bullimore's side. Since the Vendee Globe race had started from south-west France in November 1996, giant waves and high winds had taken their toll. Two yachtsmen were forced to retire after hitting heavy seas in the Bay of Biscay and others had been forced to pull into port for repairs.

But if the solo sailors thought the worst was over, the sub-Antarctic waters of the Southern Ocean would prove a far sterner test when they reached them around Christmas 1996.

The south offered a shorter round-the-world route and regular strong winds to hasten their voyage.

But it also brought mountainous swells and freezing temperatures.

Tony Bullimore after swimming to the navy zodiac dinghy from his upturned yacht. (Photo: AP).

On December 26, 1996, when the yacht of Frenchman Raphael Dinelli overturned, Australian rescue authorities scrambled to save him, launching long-range RAAF P-3C Orion aircraft to locate the sailor and air drop a life raft.

Then only days later Bullimore's distress call was picked up in the early hours of January 6, 1997 along with one from fellow yachtsman Thierry Dubois.

A mammoth rescue operation hampered by atrocious weather began.

The frigate HMAS Adelaide sped to the search zone, refuelling by tanker mid voyage, while overhead Bullimore and Dubois the RAAF rotated daylight air searches over the area pinpointed by the yachtsmen's satellite-linked beacons.

On the morning of January 9, 1997, after the frigate had rescued Dubois, Adelaide came upon Bullimore's upturned boat after it had been spotted by an Orion aircraft.

No sign of life

But early indications of finding the Englishman alive were far from hopeful. There had been no sign of life from the Exide Challenger when the frigate's helicopter flew over the yacht and no response when the ship's horn was sounded.

With only one option remaining, the Adelaide's captain launched a rubber zodiac inflatable which went alongside Bullimore's boat.

Thierry Dubois and Tony Bullimore aboard HMAS Adelaide after their miraculous rescues. (Photo: AP).

One of the three-man navy team, Leading Seaman Clearance Diver Alan Rub, banged on its hull. To the rescuers' surprise, Bullimore responded and appeared on the surface moments later.

"I started shouting: 'I'm coming, I'm coming.' It took a few seconds to get from one end of the boat to the other, " Bullimore recalled.

"Then I took a few deep breaths and I dived out of the boat. When I saw the ship standing there and the plane going overhead and a couple of guys peering over the top of the upturned hull, it was heaven, absolute heaven."

Four days later when HMAS Adelaide arrived in Fremantle, 5000 people gathered by the dockside, with a navy band playing It's a Wonderful World and flags waving to greet the ship and her rescued yachtsmen.

Congratulations and tributes flowed to the brave Englishman and his Australian rescuers, including a message to both from the Queen.

But while Bullimore and Dubois had enjoyed tremendous luck, contact was lost with another Vendee Globe racer, Canadian Gerry Roufs, who was never found.

And while Australia glowed in international praise, the cost of the rescue mission, estimated to have been $6million and the inherent risk of the event's perilous route came under scrutiny.

A gathering of 5000 people and an armada of small craft greeted HMAS Adelaide when the frigate arrived at Fremantle docks with Tony Bullimore. (Photo: AP).

Some commentators felt organisers of the Vendee Globe were taking for granted Australia's responsibility for keeping watch over a maritime search and rescue area measuring 53million square kilometres.

Bullimore, who again gave the public a mighty scare in 2006 when a yacht he was single-handedly sailing briefly lost radio contact in the Indian Ocean, is adamant Australia gained from the rescues in 1997.

The Englishman said when he returned home "there was nothing but praise for Australia and her sailors and pilots."

And 20 years later, his deep appreciation of the men and women who plucked him from certain death, who he calls the "true heroes" of January 1997, remains as strong as his love for sailing.