Tributes paid to veteran yachtsman who survived being stranded at sea for four days

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

The British sailor and entrepreneur Tony Bullimore has died at the age of 79, according to reports.

Bullimore became world-famous after he survived for four days when his yacht capsized in the freezing waters of the Southern Ocean in 1997.

Despite the ordeal in which he huddled in the upturned hull in one of the world’s most treacherous seas and lost a finger due to frostbite, the experience did nothing to put him off sailing.

“Since then I’ve been around the world three times, I’ve broken records,” he wrote in 1997. “I’ve actually passed not far from where it happened. I sat on the boat looking out, over the same seas. Every now and then, you realise how fortunate you are to be here.”

The sailor, who was nicknamed the British Bulldog after his phenomenal rescue during the 1996 Vendée Globe, moved to Bristol in the early 1960s.

It was there that he met a West Indian immigrant named Lalel, whom he married and opened the Bamboo Club with. This was one of the first social venues in the city to welcome the African-Caribbean community, and one that attracted many big names in reggae and soul, including Bob Marley and Tina Turner.

Tributes were paid on Tuesday to Bullimore on social media.

“A Bristol legend both on the waters and on the music scene,” said Bristol’s lord mayor, Cleo Lake, who commended everything Bullimore did to break down racial barriers.

She added: “Sleep well Tony Bullimore and thank you.”

Bristol Lord Mayor (@brislordmayor) A Bristol legend both on the waters and on the music scene. Everything you did to break down racial barriers 🙌🏽. Sleep well Tony Bullimore and thank you @bristolarchives pic.twitter.com/A62g9LJXde

The Bamboo Club was a space for people from different backgrounds to socialise safely. Roy Hackett, one of the key figures behind the 1963 Bristol bus boycott, has previously said that before the club opened in 1966, “you couldn’t go into pubs in Bristol on your own if you were black. You’d get a hiding.”

In a documentary made by BBC Radio Bristol, a friend described Bullimore, an ex-Royal Marine who became a self-made millionaire from various business activities, as “generous and humble, who helped thousands of black people”.

Bullimore first became famous after his yacht, the Exide Challenger, capsized 2,200km off the coast of Australia during the solo round-the-world race.

The then 57-year-old was feared to have drowned but in an astonishing tale of endurance managed to survive after finding an air pocket in the boat’s hull.

After being rescued and brought onboard the frigate HMAS Adelaide, he was suffering from dehydration and mild hypothermia.

He admitted he had almost given up hope when a diver banged on the side of his boat. “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,” he said after the incident.

“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.”