4.3 Reading  (Page 3/5)

The whole exercise had to be done underwater and he had to do it in stages – as a lifelong smoker he could hold his breath for only a minute at a time.

“I went up there about a dozen times and each time I’d go back to my little bolthole to warm up for a few hours,” he says.

Tony told his story in fits and starts in the sickbay of the rescue ship.

His feet were swollen from excessive exposure and poor blood circulation. He’d lost the end of one little finger when a door slammed as the yacht rolled, and there were signs of frostbite on one hand.

Despite his condition he hadn’t lost his sense of humour. To the amusement of the crew, his first request on being rescued was typically British – for a cup of tea.

“I’ve been in some situations in my life that I could tell you about.” Tony said as his rescuers listened attentively. “But this was the hardest. I’ve done more than 20 000 miles of ocean racing but I’ve never been through anything like this.”

He confessed there was a time shortly before the rescue when he thought it was over for him.

Then he recalled the experience of a friend who’d had a heart attack. “When he got over, it he opened his bed-room window and said, ‘God, it’s like being born all over again’. That’s how I feel now.”

TEXT 2

Rough sailing in sa for yacht race hero

“Miracle” sailor sparked apartheid row

Johannesburg – Yachtsman Tony Bullimore, who was plucked fom icy seas in a dramatic sea rescue, has faced difficulty many times – including once in South Africa, when he was challenged to a duel to the death over his outspoken opposition to apartheid.

But the plucky, daredevil Briton has never been so close to meeting his maker. His yacht capsized in the Vendee Globe solo round-the world challenge and he spent four days floating inside the hull of his boat, waiting to be rescued.

Reports from the Australian naval vessel that rescued Bullimore indicate the intrepid sailor may lose two of his fingers and will face surgery as soon as he reaches port. One of his fingers was severed when his yacht capsized and another was severely damaged by frostbite.

Bullimore came to South Africa in the early 1960s after leaving Britain and conning his way on board a yacht headed south. He had no crew experience.

His gift of the gab often got him into hot water. After three years here, he left South Africa – where he ran a judo school – and returned to Britain because he claimed he was fed up with apartheid hypocrisy.

He hit the headlines when he was photographed throwing a Springbok badge into a dustbin as a symbolic gesture of his contempt for racism.

He claimed to have been awarded Springbok colours for judo, but inquiries showed Bullimore had never been awarded colours as he claimed, or represented the country at the Olympics.

In the article accompanying the picture, Bullimore was quoted as saying: “I have no respect for this badge that masquerades as a badge of honour from a country of racists”.

Journalists also revealed that Bullimore had actually retrieved the badge from the dustbin. His opposition to apartheid caused a local uproar and one Durban judo champion even challenged Bullimore to a duel to the death in defence of Springbok honour.