| Tony Bullimore to take on the Fastnet record |
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Tony Bullimore, a British sailor famous for having survived five days capsized in the southern ocean, south of Australia will be berthing his 102ft catamaran, ‘The Spirit of Antigua’, in Mayflower Marina next week following an ambitious record breaking attempt. Tony will be sailing the route of the Fastnet race in the hope of breaking its record, which currently stands at 44 hours, 18 minutes and 53 seconds*. He will be leaving on the morning of the 9th August and aims to be at the marina by the evening of the 10th**. He is happy for berth holders to come and see the boat while at Mayflower Marina and plans to remain in Plymouth for several days. The Fastnet route is renowned as being both unpredictable and challenging and sees competitors sail 608 miles from Cowes, past Land's End, across the Irish Sea, around the Fastnet Rock Lighthouse, and back to Plymouth via Bishop Rock. Tony has covered an impressive 400,000 racing miles during a sailing career which spans four decades. During this time he has won the Round Britain Race, the Round Europe Race, and has twice scored class honours in transatlantic races. Most recently he came second in the Oryx Quest 2005 in which he sailed nonstop around the world. Despite his expertise, Tony’s fame was only secured when his 60ft yacht, Exide Challenger, capsized 500 miles from Antarctica in 1997 during the Vendee Globe. He survived for five days in the hull of his upturned yacht before being rescued by the Royal Australian Navy. He had been given just a 10% chance of survival. Charles Bush, managing director of Mayflower Marina, commented: 'No one can doubt Tony’s determination and his experiences to date are simply astounding. Mayflower Marina is proud to support British sailors and will be thrilled to have Tony making the most of our new facilities. We recently invested £2.5m into the marina to attract sailors such as Tony and we hope it will not be that last time he stays with us.' Tony Bullimore added: 'Mayflower Marina’s facilities are some of the best in the UK so it seemed the logical place to berth. I am very excited about the record breaking attempt and am also looking forward to spending some time in Plymouth following its end. The South West is a fantastic place to be and I am delighted to receive such support from the team at Mayflower Marina.' The record was set in 2007 by Mike Slade in ICAP Leopard ** Tony Bullimore cannot take part in the Fastnet race itself as the RORC is not allowing multihulls to compete. More information click here
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