Finally Tony Bullimore will start !

[tomaz_423]

Today I noticed that Tony Bullimore will finally set sails on May first in an attempt to break the world record :

"British solo circumnavigator Tony Bullimore will set off from the Bellerive Yacht Club, Hobart, at around Noon tomorrow (May 1) in a bid to break the 70 day barrier for sailing solo non-stop around the world"

Team Bullimore - Home

This is now going on and off for so long that I almost lost faith that he ever starts.
We read about start in November, and December, and ....
I mean - the guy is old. He is not getting any younger if he sits there for months.

I remember when Ellen MacArtur went around solo in B&Q (was it two years ago) - I have checked her progress all the time and man, was that good.
Somehow I can not get the same enthusiasm this time with Tony.

Does he really want to race and to win ?
Or is he only wanting to die in glory in the attempt doing it? I hope I am wrong, but I just can not get rid of that feeling.

What do you think about his attempt?

[yachtsmanwa]

I truly believe that Tony is waiting for the very best opportunity to set sail. Yes he is getting on in years but who isn't. He has the experiance and knowledge to do this. How do I know??? Because I have sailed with him and he "is" one of the finest yachtsman I have had the pleasure to sail with.
Mark..
Yachtmaster
Fellow circumnavigator.

[camaraderie]

Tomaz...Thanks for the link. Why do you thin he is not really into breaking the record. Sounds to me like he is just trying to get everything right beore departure tomorrow which you need to do if you want to break a record rather than "mere;y" circumnavigate. While he may be a bit of a geezer...he is certainly more qualified than most to make the attempt and seems to have great personal fortitude. I'd rather go sailing with him than some others I could name!!
Good luck to him!

[tomaz_423]

I read my post again and what is not clear from it is the fact that I admire the guy and I wish him all the best.
Sure he needs a good weather window - after all 70 days is not much time. If he looses a few days shortly after start this would have big impact on the whole attempt: lost time is bad for morale, bad for sponsors and (to me) worst is that Tony would than take even bigger risk to compensate lost time - and that is dangerous. He might chose to go more South despite icebergs, reef later despite big risk of breaking equipment, ...
I am sure he is very skilled and determined, I hope he makes it.
What I admire is that he is trying to do it in his age.
When Ellen had to climb the mast to repair the mainsail she was all bruised and beaten. And she is 23. And she had a smaller boat.
Going alone on a boat of this size ! And we are not talking recreational 3 year circumnavigation - we are talking hard race from start to finish.
I can not imagine what is the "motion comfort" of a racing cat gliding at 25+ knots in Southern oceans. Most people in his age (I think he is 68) have trouble getting in and out of the (sports) car. And he goes racing.
Alone.
Go, Tony Go! Fair winds.

[tdw]

I missed this thread so I've inadvertantly duplicated it in General Discussion but he has departed.

Solo sail against the odds | Mercury - The Voice of Tasmania

[camaraderie]

He has a website for the attempt here:
www.teambullimore.com

I intend to follow it and hope for the best.

[yachtsmanwa]

Hello Tomaz
The motion of Dohar is just magnificent.
She is a delight to sail on but never the less she is quite a handfull at times.

[camaraderie]

His effort is over due to equipment problems:

British yachtsman Tony Bullimore has had to call a halt to his latest solo circumnavigation attempt after a 50mm pin holding the forestay on his 102ft catamaran Doha lost a retaining bolt and begun to pull out.

"If the pin had pulled out completely, the rig would have fallen down and I would have been left adrift." Bullimore said early today, adding. "When I found it during a daylight check of the rig a few days ago, my heart almost stopped. With the rig under so much tension, there is no way of banging the pin back in place. In fact, it is the tension that has stopped it from falling out altogether."Bullimore spent several hours lashing the forestay to Doha's main beam to secure both the stay and the rogue pin, and having already chosen to head north east away from a low pressure system that was to sweep over his course on May 9, is now diverting to New Zealand to affect repairs.

"I'm devastated, particularly after the promising start I had from Hobart when I was running ahead of the record. I have devoted the past two years preparing for this solo round the world attempt. I can only assume that the retaining bolt came loose during the bashing Doha received in the 50knot winds experienced a week ago. All I can say is thank goodness it happened now and not when I was deep in the Southern Ocean or close to Cape Horn."
The rig is now secure and I am sailing under reduced canvas northwards to New Zealand. Once repairs have been completed, I will sail back to Hobart and re-start the Blue Ocean Wireless Round the World Challenge later in the year. "

Neither Bullimore nor his catamaran are in any danger. Doha is currently 1,155 miles SE of Wellington but currently facing headwinds, which are forcing the British yachtsman to sail NE for the moment which will delay his arrival in Auckland.