BBC ON THIS DAY | 9 | 1997: Bullimore rescued after five days About This Site | Text Only 1997: Bullimore rescued after five days The lone yachtsman, Tony Bullimore, feared drowned after his boat capsized in the Southern Ocean five days ago, has been found safe and well. Mr Bullimore survived on "a little chocolate, water and sheer determination" crouched in the upturned hull of his yacht. He is said to be suffering mild hypothermia and dehydration but is otherwise well. His drifting yacht, the Exide Challenger, was spotted by an Australian navy ship. There were no visible signs of life, but when the rescuers banged on the boat's hull, they were amazed to hear Mr Bullimore knocking back. Asked for a cup of tea Rescue co-ordinators say the yachtsman is very lucky to be alive. He was wearing a survival suit which helped protect him against the extreme cold - but trapped in the boat's living quarters he probably had only enough air to last six days.

Mr Bullimore said his first reaction to hearing his rescuers outside his boat was, "absolutely ecstatic, I thought it would never happen." Arriving on board the naval rescue ship, HMAS Adelaide, Mr Bullimore was said to be "babbling with excitement". He also asked for a cup of tea. His wife, Lalel, was told of the news of his rescue at the couple's home in Bristol. She is now preparing to fly out to Australia for an emotional reunion with her husband. She says she always believed her husband would be found. She described him as a "survivor." Mr Bullimore was taking part in the Vendee Globe single-handed non-stop round-the-world race. Questions are already being asked about the high cost of the rescue operation and whether it is too risky to send lone yachtsman into the dangerous Southern Ocean. Tony Bullimore was rescued after five days in the Southern Ocean In Context Tony Bullimore was reunited with his wife Lalel at the British High Commission office in Perth. He needed decompression treatment in a specialised medical centre for a few weeks after his ordeal. On his return to Britain, he was invited to an audience with the Queen. Tony Bullimore's ordeal did not put him off sailing.

He filmed a TV programme with comedian Lenny Henry in which they sailed from Kent to the Caribbean. In an interview in the Observer in 2002, he said he planned to continue sailing in races all over the world. One good thing came out of his accident, he was put in touch with a daughter he never knew he had. She made contact after she saw him on television. I was there As a Royal Air Officer on exchange duties with the RAAF I was on the Search and Rescue P3 Orion flight that first sighted Bullimore's yacht upside down in the Southern Ocean. We spent days flying backwards and forwards the 1,500 miles plus from Perth to the yacht to update its position and, hopefully, give Tony some indication that we knew where he was - if he was still alive. My crew was on the scene when Tony appeared from under the hull. That's job satisfaction! Phil Buckley, USA 1997 Facts for Kids | KidzSearch.com January 8 – Mister Rogers receives a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame . January 9 – Yachtsman Tony Bullimore is found alive five days after his boat capsized in the Southern Ocean.

January 18 – In north west Rwanda , Hutu militia members kill 3 Spanish aid workers, 3 soldiers and seriously wound 1 other. January 19 – Yasser Arafat returns to Hebron after more than 30 years and joins celebrations over the handover of the last Israeli -controlled West Bank city. 1997 1997 by • 1990s January 09 - Yachtsman Tony Bullimore is found alive five days after his boat capsized in the freezing Southern Ocean, 2200 km off the coast of Australia. 17 - Comedian Bill Cosby 's only son is murdered while changing a flat tyre on his Mercedes convertible in the early hours of the morning. The body of Ennis William Cosby (27) is found near the Santa Monica Mountains in California. 20 - Bill Clinton is inaugurated for his second term as President of the United States. 21 - Colonel Tom Parker - former manger of Elvis Presley - suffers a stroke and dies in Valley Hospital, Las Vegas. February 04 - A Santa Monica civil jury finds OJ Simpson culpable in the deaths of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman.

The court awards the Goldman family $8.5 million in compensation. 05 - Three of Switzerland's biggest banks create a 100 million Swiss franc ($71 million) Holocaust Memorial Fund after years of international pressure. 06 - Diane Blood (32) wins the right to use her dead husband's sperm to conceive a child in the UK. 11 - A group of scientists in Edinburgh announce that they have successfully cloned a ewe using the cell of another adult sheep. Dolly the sheep was actually born on 5 July 1996, but the announcement was delayed so that her development could be monitored before it was made public. Dolly was put down in 2003 when it was found she had a fatal lung disease. 19 - A New York judge dismisses a $7 million lawsuit filed against Mötley Crüe for the hearing loss apparently suffered by a fan at one of their concerts. March 05 - North Korea and South Korea meet for the first time in 25 years for peace talks. 20 - The maker of Chesterfield cigarettes settles 22 state lawsuits by admitting the industry has marketed cigarettes to teenagers. 22 - The Hale-Bopp comet comes closest to the earth.

Amateur astronomers Alan Hale in New Mexico and Thomas Bopp in Arizona separately discovered the comet on the same day in 1995. After this year's appearance it is calculated that the Hale-Bopp comet will disappear from sight again until the year 4397. 26 - 39 members of the "Heaven's Gate" cult commit mass suicide at a million-dollar mansion outside San Diego, California by drinking a deadly cocktail of vodka and barbiturates. The members believed that by killing themselves they would gain passage on a UFO trailing the Hale-Bopp comet, currently visible in the night sky. The bodies are found dressed in dark pants and Nikes, and draped with purple shrouds. 30 - Channel 5 is launched on British television. April 07 - Liam Gallagher of Oasis marries actress Patsy Kensit . 12 - 20 anti-tank mines are found under a bridge in Sarajevo, Bosnia, on the Pope's planned route around the city. The devices are discovered the day before the Pope is due to arrive, but the visit goes ahead as planned. 13 - Golfer Tiger Woods (21) becomes the youngest ever winner of the US Masters.

He also becomes the first black golfer to win a major tournament, with a winning margin of 12 strokes. 21 - The ashes of 1960s LSD guru Timothy Leary and Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry are blasted into space in the Earth's first space funeral. 22 - A four-month siege at the Japanese embassy in Peru is brought to an end when the building is stormed by security forces. All 12 of the Tupac Amaru rebels inside the embassy are killed, with all but one of the 72 hostages freed. 25 - The US Senate ratifies the global treaty banning the development, production, storage and use of chemical weapons. May 03 - A group intent on gaining independence for Texas from the United States surrenders to the authorities ending an armed standoff in which two people have been held hostage. 03 - At Dublin's Point Theatre, Katrina & The Waves win the 42nd Eurovision Song Contest with Love Shine A Light. 04 - The Labour Party wins a landslide victory in the UK general election ending 18 years of Conservative government. Tony Blair will be the new prime minister - at 43, the youngest British PM for nearly 200 years.

29 - Singer Jeff Buckley drowns in the Mississippi while in Memphis, Tennessee to record his second album. He had taken an impromptu midnight swim fully clothed, only to be sucked under by the wash from a passing barge. His body was washed up a week later. He was 30 years old. June 04 - Former Small Faces bassist Ronnie Laine (51) dies at his home in Trinidad, Colorado, following a long struggle with Multiple Sclerosis. 13 - Timothy McVeigh is found guilty of planting the 1995 bomb that killed 168 in Oklahoma City and is sentenced to death by a court in Denver, Colorado. 30 - London publisher Bloomsbury issues the first of J K Rowling's novels for children, entitled Harry Potter & The Philosopher's Stone. The series of books subsequently sells over 400 million copies. July 01 - British governor Chris Patten transfers control of Hong Kong back to the Chinese authorities after more than 150 years of British rule. 01 - Actor Robert Mitchum dies in Santa Barbara, USA. 02 - Screen legend James Stewart dies in Los Angeles.

03 - President Clinton makes his first formal response to accusations of sexual harassment by Paula Jones. He denies all the charges and asks that the judge dismiss the case. 04 - The US Pathfnder probe, launched on 4 December 1996, lands on Mars and sends back pictures of rocky landscape. Argument rages over whether or not to send humans next time. 09 - Mike Tyson is banned from boxing for biting Evander Holyfield's ear. 10 - Scientists in London discover DNA from a Neanderthal skeleton which supports the theory that all humanity descended from a single woman, dubbed African Eve, between 100,000 and 200,000 years ago. 13 - The body of Che Guevara is returned to Cuba for burial. 15 - Italian fashion designer Gianni Versace is gunned down on the steps of his Miami Beach residence by gay serial killer Andrew Cunanan, who kills himself in a nearby houseboat a few days later. Cunanan was being sought by the FBI in connection with four other murders. 31 - Police in New York City intercept five bombs believed to be intended for use in terrorist attacks on city subways.

August 06 - Apple Computers and Microsoft agree to share technology in a deal that gives Microsoft a stake in Apple's survival. 21 - In the largest food recall in US history, Hudson Foods Inc closes a plant in Nebraska after recalling 25 million pounds of ground beef potentially contaminated with E coli bacteria. 25 - A court in Berlin sentences former East German leader Egon Krenz to six years in prison for the shoot-to-kill policy employed by border guards against people trying to flee East Germany. 31 - Diana, Princess of Wales , is involved in a car accident in an underpass off the Place de l'Alma in Paris. Her companion, Dodi Al Fayed, and driver Henri Paul are killed but Diana and her bodyguard Trevor Rees-Jones are still alive. It takes two hours to cut Diana from the wreckage and she is pronounced dead by doctors at Salpêtrière hospital at 04:00 local time. September 05 - After a lifetime caring for the sick and needy, Mother Teresa (87) dies at the headquarters of the order she founded in Calcutta.

06 - More than one million people line the route of Diana's funeral procession in London, and almost 2.5 billion watch it on television. 09 - Sinn Fein - the political wing of the IRA - formally renounces violence and takes its place in talks on Northern Ireland's future. They are joined shortly by Northern Ireland's main Unionist party - the first time all the major players meet around one table. 09 - Veteran actor Burgess Meredith dies in Malibu. 12 - A referendum in favour of devolution means that Scotland will have its own parliament for the first time in over 300 years. 24 - Student Barry Loukaitis of Frontier Junior High, Moses Lake, Washington, is convicted of shooting dead two of his fellow students and one teacher. His lawyers claimed he committed the murders in emulation of the Pearl Jam video for their song Jeremy. 26 - A double earthquake in central Italy badly damages the Basilica of St Francis in Assisi, killing four people and destroying a priceless set of frescoes by the medieval artist Cimabue. The church is restored at a cost of $50 million and reopens in 1999.

October 12 - John Denver dies at the age of 53 when the experimental aircraft he is flying crashes into Monterey Bay, California. 31 - A Boston (US) jury finds British au pair Louise Woodward (19) guilty of second-degree murder of 8-month-old Matthew Eappen who died in her care. Woodward will later have her conviction reduced to manslaughter. November 08 - Chinese engineers divert the Yangtze River to make way for building work on the Three Gorges Dam. 13 - Saddam Hussein expels six UN arms inspectors from Iraq. Suspecting that the Iraqi leader is continuing to manufacture chemical weapons, Clinton weighs whether or not to attack him. Hussein eventually backs down and lets the inspectors get on with their business. 22 - INXS singer Michael Hutchence is found dead, hanging by a leather belt from the back of his hotel room door in the Ritz Carlton, Sydney, Australia. The coroner concludes he took his own life after consuming drugs and alcohol. December 11 - Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams becomes the first political member of the IRA to meet a British leader in 76 years when he visits prime minister Tony Blair in London.

11 - More than 150 countries meet in Kyoto, Japan, and agree to control the Earth's greenhouse gases. 17 - 122 governments sign the Ottawa Treaty, which bans antipersonnel land mines. Over 150 countries have now ratified the treaty but superpowers such as Russia, China and the United States have not signed. 31 - The Kennedy family suffer yet another tragedy when Michael Kennedy - 39-year old son of the late US Senator, Robert - is killed in an accident while skiing on Aspen Mountain in Colorado. : Lee Saunders : Global Timeline : 1997 : : GLOBAL TIMELINE : 1997 Janusry 1st Kofi Annan succeeded Boutros Boutros-Ghali as the new Secretary General of the United Nations. Boutros Boutros-Ghali had stepped down from office December 31st 1996. January 9th Yachtsman Tony Bullimore was found alive five days after his boat capsized in the Southern Ocean. January 19th Yasser Arafat returned to Hebron after more than 30 years and joined the celebrations over the handover of the last Israeli-controlled West Bank city.

January 20th In the United States, President Bill Clinton started his second term as President of the United States. January 22nd In the United States, Madeleine Albright became the first female Secretary of State after the confirmation by the United States Senate. January 23th Mir Aimal Kasi received the death sentence for a 1993 assault rifle attack outside CIA headquarters that killed two people and wounded three others. January 27th It was revealed that French museums had nearly 2,000 pieces of art that were stolen by Nazis during WWII. February 4th O. J. Simpson was found in a civil court to be liable for the deaths of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman. Simpson was ordered to pay $35,000,000 in damages to the families of the two victims. February 4th On their way to Lebanon two Israeli troop-transport helicopters collided killing 73 people. February 4th Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic at first contested the results, but then recognised opposition victories in the November 1996 elections.

February 5th The so-called 'Big Three' banks in Switzerland announced the creation of a $71 million fund to aid Holocaust survivors and their families. February 6th In Britain, widow Diane Blood won the right to use the sperm of her dead husband to have a child. February 13th Astronauts from the Space Shuttle 'Discovery' on mission STS-82 began servicing and repair work on the Hubble Space Telescope. February 19th Deng Xiaoping died at 92. Xiaoping was the last of the People's Republic of China's major revolutionaries. His death signalled weeks of mourning for the leader in China. February 22nd At at the Roslin Institute in Scotland, scientists announced that an adult sheep named 'Dolly' had been successfully cloned and was born the previous year, on July 5th 1996. February 23th On the Russian Space station, Mir, a large fire occurred while in orbit. March 4th United States President Bill Clinton blocked federal funding for any research on human clone research. March 6th In Sri Lanka, the Tamil Tigers overran a military base and killed more than 200 people.

March 13th India's Missionaries of Charity chose Sister Nirmala to succeed Mother Teresa as its leader. March 22nd The comet Hale-Bopp had its closest approach to Earth. The comet was discovered on July 23rd 1995 by two independent observers, Alan Hale and Thomas Bopp of the United States. March 26th In the United States, 39 bodies of the Heaven's Gate cult were found in Rancho Santa Fe, San Diego. The members had committed suicide, convinced that their souls could take a ride on a spaceship that they thought was hiding behind the comet Hale-Bopp. April 7th Soviet cosmonaut Georgy Shonin died aged 62. Shonin served as back-up on the Soyuz 4 mission, 14th January 1969 and commander on the Soyuz 6 mission on the 11th - 16th October 1969. April 14th The new trial of former Nazi SS captain Erich Priebke began. He was accused of being involved in the 'Ardeatine massacre' in 1944 in Italy.

Also accused to have participated in the deportation of 6,000-7,000 Jews from Italy to the Auschwitz death camp, and to have been involved in the torture of political prisoners. April 21st First space burial, carrying the remains of 24 people on a modified Pegasus rocket into earth orbit, until re-entry on May 20th 2002. 'Earthview 01: The Founders Flight' had Gene Roddenberry (Star Trek creator) and Timothy Leary buried on the flight. April 22nd A 126-day hostage crisis at the residence of the Japanese ambassador in Lima, Peru ended after government commandos stormed and captured the building rescuing 71 hostages. One hostage died of a heart attack, two soldiers were killed from rebel fire and all 14 Tupac Amaru rebels were slain. April 27th Andrew Cunanan murdered Jerffrey Trail, which began a murder spree that would last until July and end with the murder of the fashion designer Gianni Versace at his home in Florida.

May 1st In Britain, the Labour Party ended 18 years of Conservative rule in the 1997 British general election. May 2nd Due to Labour winning the British general election, Tony Blair, leader of the Labour Party, was appointed Prime Minister of Great Britain. May 10th An earthquake near Ardekul in north eastern Iran killed at least 2,400 people. May 11th IBM's (upgraded) chess supercomputer 'Deeper Blue' defeated Garry Kasparov in the last game (6) of the rematch of the 1996 clash. 'Deeper Blue' won the match 3.5-2.5 and became the first computer to beat a reigning World chess champion in a match. May 12th The Russian-Chechen Peace Treaty (Khasavyurt accords) was formally signed by President Boris Yeltsin and President Aslan Maskhadov in the Kremlin. Hostilities had ended with the signing of the Khasavyurt accords by General Aleksandr Lebed on August 31st 1996.

May 16th US President Bill Clinton issued a formal apology to the surviving victims of the Tuskegee Syphilis Study and their families, 25 years after the 40 year "study" was exposed by reporter Jean Heller. June 2nd In the United States, Timothy McVeigh was convicted on 15 counts of murder and conspiracy for his role in the 1995 terrorist bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. June 11th The British House of Commons voted for a total ban on handguns. A direct response to the 'Dunblane Massacre' of March 13th 1996. June 13th In the United States, a jury sentenced Timothy McVeigh to the death penalty for his part in the April 19th 1995 Oklahoma City bombing. June 25th A Russian unmanned Progress freighter spacecraft collided with the Russian Space station, Mir. July 1st The United Kingdom handed over sovereignty of Hong Kong to the People's Republic of China.

July 4th NASA's Mars Pathfinder space probe, launched December 4th 1996, after a 7-month voyage landed on the surface of Mars, a region called Chryse Planitia. July 8th NATO invited the former Eastern block countries of the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland to join the alliance in 1999. July 13th The skeletal remains of Che Guevara were exhumed from beneath an air strip near Vallegrande, Bolivia and were returned to Cuba for burial alongside some of his other comrades of the revolution. July 15th Serial killer Andrew Phillip Cunanan shot fashion designer Gianni Versace to death outside Versace's US home in Miami, Florida. July 22nd The trial of former Nazi SS captain Erich Priebke ended. He was found guilty of 'crimes against humanity' and involved in the 'Ardeatine massacre' in 1944 in Italy. Also found guilty of deporting of 6,000-7,000 Jews to the Auschwitz death camp, and to have tortured political prisoners. He was sentenced to 15 years years in prison.

August 1st In the United States, the aircraft and aerospace manufacturers Boeing and McDonnell Douglas Corp completed their merger. August 26th The Independent International Commission on Decommissioning was set up in Northern Ireland, as part of the on-going peace process. August 31st In France, Diana the Princess of Wales was killed after a car crash in the Pont de l'Alma road tunnel in Paris. Two other people in the car were also killed, and one survived. Dodi Al-Fayed, an Egyptian businessman, died as did the driver of the car Henri Paul. Diana's bodyguard Trevor Rees-Jones was the only passenger that survived. September 5th Mother Teresa, Albanian missionary and humanitarian, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize died. September 6th The funeral of Princes Diana took place at Westminster Abbey in London, England. A shocked British public displayed their grief and sympathy, as funeral was watched by over 1 billion people worldwide. September 11th Scotland voted to create its own Parliament after 290 years of union with England. September 18th Wales voted in favour of devolution and the formation of a National Assembly. September 25th UNSCOM inspector Dr.

Diane Seaman caught several Iraqi men sneaking out the back door of an inspection site with log books for the creation of prohibited bacteria and chemicals. October 2nd UK scientists Moira Bruce and John Collinge with their colleagues independently showed that the new variant form of the Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease was the same disease as Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) or 'mad-cow disease'. October 15th Andy Green set the first supersonic land speed record for the ThrustSSC team, led by Richard Noble of the United Kingdom. ThrustSSC went through the flying mile course at Black Rock Desert, Nevada at an average speed of 1,227.985 km/h (763.035 mph). October 15th The Cassini-Huygens spacecraft was launched from Earth. The combined craft had the European Space Agency (ESA) Huygens probe, the destination was Saturn's largest moon, Titan.

October 17th The remains of Che Guevara were laid to rest with full military honours in a specially built mausoleum in the city of Santa Clara, where he had won the decisive battle of the Cuban Revolution thirty-nine years before. October 27th Stock markets around the world crashed due to a global economic crisis scare. October 29th Iraq stated it would shoot down U-2 surveillance planes that were used by UNSCOM inspectors. October 30th In the United Statesss, British au pair Louise Woodward was found guilty of the baby-shaking death of 8-month-old Matthew Eappen. November 3rd In France, striking truck drivers blockaded ports during a dispute over pay. November 10th In the United States, a jury in Fairfax, Virginia, found Mir Aimal Kasi guilty of the murder of two CIA employees in 1993. November 11th In Ireland, Mary McAleese was elected the eighth President of Ireland. November 12th In the United States, terrorist Ramzi Yousef was found guilty of masterminding the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.

November 16th After nearly 18 years of incarceration, the People's Republic of China released Wei Jingsheng, a pro-democracy dissident, from jail for medical reasons. November 17th In Luxor, Egypt, 62 people were killed by 6 Islamic militants outside the Temple of Hatshepsut. The terrorist attackers were killed by police. November 19th In Carlisle, Iowa, Bobbi McCaughey gave birth to septuplets in the second known case where all seven babies were born alive. December 3rd In Ottawa, Canada, representatives from 121 countries signed a treaty prohibiting manufacture and deployment of anti-personnel landmines. The United States, People's Republic of China, and Russia were the only countries that did not sign the treaty. December 12th The trial of the terrorist, 'Carlos the Jackal', (Ilich Ramírez Sánchez) began in Paris, charged with the murder of the two policemen and the Israeli double agent Michel Moukharbal in Paris in 1975. December 23rd The trial of the terrorist, 'Carlos the Jackal', real name Ilich Ramírez Sánchez, ended in Paris.

Sánchez was found guilty and was sentenced to life imprisonment. December 27th Loyalist paramilitary leader Billy Wright was assassinated in Northern Ireland, inside Long Kesh prison. December 29th Hong Kong began to kill all the chickens within its territory (1.25 million) to stop the spread of a potentially deadly influenza strain. December 31st In the United States, son of Robert F. Kennedy, Michael LeMoyne Kennedy died. Kennedy was killed in a skiing accident when he hit a tree while playing football on skis, in Aspen, Colorado. Britain and the World 1997 1997 Jan9 Yachtsman Tony Bullimore was found alive, five days after his boat capsized in the freezing Southern Ocean, 2,200km off the coast of Australia. Jan17 Comedian/actor Bill Cosby's only son was shot to death, the victim of a possible robbery attempt while changing a flat tyre on his Mercedes convertible along a freeway, police said. The body of Ennis William Cosby, age 27, was found about 1:45 a.m. in a pool of blood next to the car of a woman passer-by.

The murder occurred in near the Santa Monica Mountains not far from the exclusive Bel-Air section of Los Angeles. Szymon Serafinowicz a 86 year old former carpenter from Banstead Surrey is cleared of the murder of jews in Mir Bylorussia in 1941 - 942. The jury judged him unfit to plead but the evidence pointed strongly at his involvement in an auxillary police unit that assisted the Germans in the massacre of the local Jewish population Jan20 Her Majesty's Royal Yacht Britannia began her final voyage . The journey included a visit to Hong Kong for the handover from the British rule to China. The boat is now moored at the Port of Leith in Edinburgh as a visitor attraction Jan30 Underground anti-road protester Swampy ends his sit-in at the site of the Newbury Bypass Feb4 16 months after O.J. Simpson was cleared of murder charges, a civil trial jury blamed him for the killings of his ex-wife and her friend and ordered him to pay $8.5 million in compensatory damages.

Feb5 Three of Switzerland's biggest banks created a 100 million Swiss franc Holocaust memorial fund after international pressure from critics Feb6 In the UK Diane Blood, 32 won the right to use her dead husbands sperm to conceive a child Feb23 Science takes a giant, if controversial, leap forward as the existence of a sheep named 'Dolly' is announced to the world. Dolly's special status was due to her being the first mammal ever cloned from an adult cell. After her death, she was stuffed and placed in state in the Royal Museum of Scotland. Feb27 Divorce became legal in Eire. Apr14 343 people die In Fire In Hajj, Saudi Arabia. More than 300 people, mainly from the Indian sub continent, died and a further 1,300 were injured when fire raged through a massive pilgrim camp on the Plain of Mena, seven miles form Mecca. Former Nazi SS captain Erich Priebke, accused of Italy's worst World War II atrocity, went on trial for the second time in a year. He was found guilty and sentenced to five years imprisonment (22July).

Mar27 The bodies of 39 members of the Heaven's Gate cult were found after killing themselves in a mass suicide; they said they hoped they would join aliens following the Hale Bopp comet. Apr7 In Konton, Hong Kong, fire destroys a 21-story building - 9 dead 150th Grand National steeplechase was won by Lord Gyllene (14-1), ridden by Tony Dobbin; Suny Bay came second; Camelot Knight came third and Buckboard Bounce came fourth. The race was held on a Monday for the first time because of an IRA bomb scare on 5th April led to the evacuation of the course Apr11 Turin Cathedral, Italy is damaged. In the early morning fire broke out in the city's C15th Cathedral of St John, repository of the famous holy relic, the Turin Shroud. The fire gutted the Guarini chapel, where the shroud was housed, but the relic and the rest of the cathedral were saved. You can visit Italy and see the damage that was done to the Guarini chapel.

Apr21 The ashes of 1960s LSD guru Timothy Leary and "Star Trek" creator Gene Roddenberry were blasted into space in the world's first space funeral. Apr22 Peruvian troops stormed the Japanese ambassador's residence in Lima, freeing 71 hostages. One hostage, three soldiers and all 14 guerrillas were killed May4 Labour win a landslide victory in the General Election ending 18 years of Conservative government. Tony Blair becomes Prime Minister and chooses Gordon Brown as Chancellor of the Exchequer Jul7 The U.S. Pathfinder probe landed on Mars Jul9 Mike Tyson was banned from boxing for biting Evander Holyfield's ear. Jul13 Body of Che Guevara is returned to Cuba for burial Jul15 Italian fashion designer Gianni Versace was shot outside his Miami beach mansion by Andrew Cunanan. Aug31 Princess Diana dies in a Paris car accident. Sep6 Over 2 billion people tuned in to watch Princess Diana's funeral. Sep26 234 dies in air crash in Indonesia.

Probable cause was the increasing smoke rising from numerous forest fires in Indonesia Jun30 14 January 1997: Tony Bullimore gets back to dry land | Sport | The Guardian 14 January 1997: Tony Bullimore gets back to dry land The British sailor Tony Bullimore made headlines after his boat sank on a round-the-world race Tony Bullimore spent five days trapped in his overturned yacht's hull before he was found. Photograph: POOL/Reuters Tony Bullimore Friday 15 January 2010 19.04 EST First published on Friday 15 January 2010 19.04 EST Share on Messenger Close I was competing in the Vendee Globe, deep in the Southern Ocean when I got caught up in a major storm - winds gusting at over 100mph, and mountainous seas. I'd been running in this weather for about 12 hours, as it got worse and worse, and then there was an almighty crack, the keel snapped off, and the boat instantly capsized. It took a couple of seconds from start to finish.

To start off with the boat was dry, but the boom was floating around under the boat and when it smashed one of the big windows the water flooded in. From that moment the temperatures went down incredibly. In those conditions, if you don't know what you're doing you'd be dead in five or 10 minutes. I didn't think I would be rescued. The nearest land mass was Antarctica, about 700 land miles south, but you wouldn't get rescued by anyone from there. Australia was my only hope, but it was 2,500km away. I had something called an Epirb, a distress radio beacon, which I set off. The signal was picked up by Falmouth coastguards. They informed the Australian rescue services, and they put together a plan pick me up. I was stuck on the boat for five days. I suffered from dehydration, frostbite, I had one of my fingers chopped off. You're only interested in survival. After three or four days I'd come to the conclusion that I wasn't going to be rescued, but you can't just give up. The Australians eventually tracked me down. I remember hearing a noise.

I put my ear to the side of the boat and heard people shouting in English. I shouted back: "I'm here, I'm coming out." I swam down, clear of the ropes, and out of the boat. When I surfaced there was an almighty cheer from the ship. They were just glad it hadn't been a wasted journey. They lifted me up to deck, and took me down to the sickbay. I was there for an hour or so while they were dabbing at my feet, which were black and blue with frostbite. My hands weren't good, and my face wasn't so good at the time. Then the captain came down. "If there's anything you want, let me know," he said. "What I'd like," I said, "is a mug of tea and a cigarette." He said the tea's no problem, but there's no smoking below deck. A while later I was taken to another room. A steward came in with a tray, and on it was a pot of tea and a box of matches, with a note from the captain saying, "On this special occasion I'll allow you to smoke in this room." My feet haven't been right since.

I can walk on them, but they feel different to how they did before. And every time I look down at my left hand, I look at my missing finger and start thinking back. I had five days to think about my life and what I'm doing here. But it didn't put me off sailing. Since then I've been round the world three times, I've broken records. I've actually passed not far away 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. Then what happened Now 70, Bullimore is aiming to break the round Antarctica sailing record at the end of this year. Missing yacht: US Coast Guard 'did all it could' - BBC News BBC News Missing yacht: US Coast Guard 'did all it could' 20 May 2014 Close share panel Image copyright Other Image caption James Male, Andrew Bridge, Steve Warren and Paul Goslin (l-r) are all experienced yachtsmen The UK coastguard says it believes its US counterpart has done everything it could in the search for four Britons missing after their yacht apparently capsized in the Atlantic Ocean.

The Cheeki Rafiki got into difficulties 620 miles (1,000km) east of Cape Cod in Massachusetts on Thursday. The search was called off by the US Coast Guard on Sunday. The families of the crew have called for the operation to resume, while experts said the men could be alive. The four crew members are Paul Goslin, 56, from West Camel, Somerset; skipper Andrew Bridge, 22, from Farnham, Surrey; Steve Warren, 52, also from Somerset, and 23-year-old James Male, from Southampton. The men were sailing back from a regatta in Antigua when the boat began taking on water and diverted to the Azores. Contact was lost early on Friday. It is thought they could have moved to a life raft after capsizing. 'Push this message' The families say they are to meet Foreign Secretary William Hague later. Graham Male, whose son James is one of the missing men, earlier told the BBC he wanted Prime Minister David Cameron to intervene.

Media captionYachtsman Tony Bullimore: "I strongly believe they could still be alive" "What we'd really like to do is get to David Cameron himself and really try and push this message that as a country we're known to pull the stops out for our own nationals, we should be getting someone out there now to help them." Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt, the MP for another of the men, tweeted that it was too soon to give up and a petition urging authorities in the US to continue the search has amassed more than 150,000 signatures . But a spokesman for the US Coast Guard had said the men could only have survived for about 20 hours after the "time of distress". Fully briefed And a spokesman for the UK government said on Tuesday that the US service had been "open and collaborative throughout". The spokesman added: "They have assured us that they did everything they could, and would have done exactly the same for US citizens.

"This included an air search of over 20 sorties, involving three different aircraft, conducted for twice as long as their standard procedures required, in very difficult and challenging weather conditions." Keith Oliver, head of Maritime Operations with HM Coastguard, said: "Based on the information provided to us, we believe that the US Coast Guard has done all they can to locate the stricken yacht and her crew. "Our thoughts are with the family and friends of these four sailors at this extremely difficult time." Image copyright Daily Telegraph Image caption The crew of the 1,000ft Maersk Kure took this picture of what appeared to be an overturned yacht The families themselves have praised the US Coast Guard, but urged it to do more. Mr Goslin's daughter, Claire, thanked the service for its "fantastic" work so far. "But I know what Dad's like," she added. "He will be doing anything in his power to make sure he and his fellow three crew mates are safe. "Don't give up; they need your help." Mr Goslin's wife, Cressida, said the search should be resumed for a couple of days, adding: "We just feel that they're not being given a chance.

"If we don't try to rescue them we're just going to leave them to starve to death." Media captionClaire Goslin pleaded to coastguards: "Don't give up, they need your help" Mr Male's father, Graham, told ITV Meridian: "They waited until the first beacon had run out before they actually set the second beacon - that's rational-thinking people." And Mr Bridge's mother, Mary, said: "I'm a bit numb, actually. We wanted him back. Media captionMary Bridge, mother of skipper Andrew: "I'm a bit numb, actually" "We know they've worked hard for two days but my husband and I and my other son and the other families all wish them to resume the search for these four men." Kay Coombes, sister of Steve Warren, said: "They are four strong-minded, physically strong sailors, they knew they were in difficulties and had every opportunity to get into the life raft which would have had provisions for several days. "But if no-one is looking for them, they won't be found." Media captionKay Coombes, sister of sailor Steve Warren: "If no-one's looking...

they can't be found" Possible sighting Image copyright Ocean Safety A typical 12-person life raft, similar to that believed to have been on board Cheeki Rafiki, would have been equipped to the international standard ISO 9650, says Alistair Hackett from suppliers Ocean Safety. That standard specifies everything from the type of fabric and glue used to make the raft to the emergency contents it must have on board. The raft and its emergency pack would have included one litre of water per person, Mr Hackett says, as well as flares, thermal protective aids, paddles, pumps and a 30m line to tow a drogue to steady the craft. The US Coast Guard said locator beacons activated by the crew indicated they were in a position 1,000 miles east of Massachusetts on Friday morning. The yacht was facing 15ft waves, 50mph winds and sea and air temperatures of 15C (60F), the US Coast Guard added. A spokesman said it had "saturated the area" in a two-day search involving three US and Canadian aircraft and three merchant vessels and "we would have found them" if it had been possible.

On Saturday, a cargo vessel which was helping with the search spotted and photographed an overturned hull which matched the description of the Cheeki Rafiki. But when he called off the hunt on Sunday, Capt Anthony Popiel said: "Based on the extreme conditions at sea, but assuming best-case emergency equipment, the estimated survival time past the time of distress was approximately 20 hours. Crews searched for 53 hours." And a further spokesman for the service said on Monday that unless there were "new developments about the case" the search would not be resumed. Image caption The search took place over more than 4,100 square miles in the mid-Atlantic A number of well-known figures have added their voice to calls for more to be done. Sir Richard Branson said: "People have been at sea for a long period of time in life rafts before and have turned up alright". Yachtsman Tony Bullimore, who survived five days at after his boat capsized in the Southern Ocean in 1997 has signed the petition calling on the US Coast Guard to resume its search. He said there was "every opportunity that they could still be out there".

Television presenter Ben Fogle, who rowed across the Atlantic, said: "We've heard too many stories over the years of shipwrecked sailors found in tiny rafts." Media captionAlistair Hackett explains how people survive inside a life raft The 12-person life raft they are believed to have had on board would typically be 1.66m high and 3.3m across. Alistair Hackett, from suppliers Ocean Safety, said it would have probably have had one litre of water per person on board, as well as survival equipment such as flares and thermal protective suits. 'Highly unlikely' However, oceanographer Simon Boxall from the University of Southampton said: "It is highly unlikely, beyond reasonable doubt, that they would have missed a life raft; they are bright red or bright orange. "And if the people were in a life raft and were aware there were rescue aircraft, they would have had distress flares and beacons on board and they would have deployed them." The Royal Yachting Association said typical supplies on a life raft would include survival suits, water, food, flares and a first aid kit.

Question: In January 1997 which British yachtsman was found alive five days after his boat capsized in the Southern Ocean?
Answer: Tony Bullimore