Storm forces Bullimore north

by Team Bullimore/Sail-World.com on 7 May 2007 British round the world yachtsman Tony Bullimore has been forced to divert well north of the rhumbline, to the north east, to climb out of the way of a vicious low pressure system sweeping up behind his 102ft catamaran Doha.

The Low, highlighted in yesterday’s report, is due to bring storm force winds to the region on May 9, and after the battering he received a few days ago from another Southern Ocean buster, Bullimore took the prudent decision today, to get out of its way.

Lee Bruce, Team Bullimore’s weather guru, predicts that the winds will increase to 30-40kt from the NNW in the near term, and then back through to the NW later.

Doha’s subsequent drop in speed puts Bullimore behind the 71day 14 hour solo circumnavigation record he is chasing, and will require a superhuman effort once the Low has passed by for the 68 year old sailor to claw back time before Cape Horn.

It is still early days into the Blue Ocean Wireless Round the World Challenge and Bullimore remains confident that his bigger multihull has the legs to catch up on Dame Ellen MacArthur’s benchmark time in the lighter winds of the Atlantic.

Within Australia, Bullimore is famous for his 1997 rescue in the Vendee Globe race, when he spent five days in the Southern Ocean trapped in the upturned hull of his stricken yacht after the keel board snapped off.

Sailing his 102ft catamaran Doha, Bullimore was timed across the line at 05:50:09 GMT (15:50 local) on Tuesday May 1st.

Bullimore must arrive back in Hobart inside 71 days and 14 hours to set a new record. The current record was set by fellow Briton Dame Ellen MacArthur in 2005.