Peter Blake (sailor)

For other people named Peter Blake, see Peter Blake (disambiguation).

Sir Peter James Blake, KBE (1 October 1948 in Auckland – 6 December 2001 in Brazil) was a New Zealand yachtsman who won the Whitbread Round the World Race, the Jules Verne Trophy – setting the fastest time around the world of 74 days 22 hours 17 minutes 22 seconds on catamaran Enza, and led his country to successive victories in the America’s Cup. In honour of his services to yachting, Blake was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1995, and received an honorary doctorate in 2000 from AUT University.

Sir Peter was on the Amazon River monitoring environment change when he was murdered in Brazil on 6^th December 2001. The Prime Minister of New Zealand (Rt. Hon. Helen Clark) called Sir Peter a living legend and a national hero in her eulogy she said in part:

Our small nation went into shock. Peter Blake was a living legend. As an outstanding sailor, he had brought great honour and fame to New Zealand. His death was unthinkable.

Yet it had happened. Over this past week we have been a nation struggling to come to terms with our grief. The sense of loss has been immense.

In that grief, our hearts went out to Lady Pippa Blake, to Sarah-Jane and James, to Peter’s mother Joyce; his sisters, Jan and Elizabeth, brother Tony, and all other family members.

While New Zealand has lost a national hero, the family has lost a husband, father, son, brother, and close relative. Our thoughts are also with all members of the Seamaster’s crew who were with Peter, and his old friends and colleagues who have backed him all these years. Many family members and friends have come from New Zealand to be at this last farewell today.

Whitbread Round the World Race

Blake's first Whitbread was in 1973 as watch captain on board Burton Cutter skippered by Les Williams.

In the 1977–78 race, he rejoined Les Williams this time with co-skipper Johnston on board Health’s Condor.

For the 1981–82 race, Blake mounted his own campaign as skipper of Ceramco New Zealand, a 68 ft sloop designed by an up-and-coming naval architect called Bruce Farr.

Blake returned to the Whitbread Round the World race in 1985 with one of the race favorites, Lion New Zealand, sponsored by the Lion Brewery.

In the 1989–90 Whitbread race, Blake skippered Steinlager 2 to an unprecedented clean sweep. His team walked off with line, handicap and overall honours on each of the race's six legs.

America's Cup

Brought in at the last minute by Carl McKenzie to manage New Zealand's 1992 America's Cup challenge, Blake led the Kiwi team to the challenger finals with NZL-20. However, Italy emerged from the controversial series with the Louis Vuitton Cup, and went on to face America³ in the America's Cup match.

In 1995 Blake was back, this time as the syndicate head of Team New Zealand. With NZL 32, "Black Magic", they made a clean sweep, beating Dennis Conner 5-0. His "lucky red socks" (a present from his wife) became something of a trademark. It was commonplace to see New Zealanders sport red socks or fly them from car aerials during the Cup races and a highly successful "fundraising edition" of official red socks emblazoned with the sail numbers of the two NZL yachts was produced to help fund the syndicate. Subsequently, following his murder, red socks became a badge of mourning to his many admirers.

In 2000 Team New Zealand, still led by Blake, became the first non-American team to successfully defend the Americas Cup, beating Prada 5-0.

After the 2000 defence Sir Peter stood down from the team.

Blake was inducted into the America's Cup Hall of Fame in 1996.

Post racing

In 1997, Blake became the Cousteau Society's head of expeditions, and skipper of the Antarctic Explorer, which he later purchased from the Society and renamed Seamaster. After leaving the Society he led expeditions to Antarctica and the Amazon aboard Seamaster during 2001. The same year Blake was named special envoy for the UN Environment Programme.. He began filming documentaries for blakexpeditions, a company he founded.

Death and legacy

On 6 December 2001, pirates shot and killed Blake while he was on an environmental exploration trip in South America, monitoring global warming and pollution for the United Nations. The two-month expedition was anchored off Macapá, Brazil, at the mouth of the Amazon delta, waiting to clear customs after a trip up the Amazon river. At around 9 pm a group of six to eight armed, masked robbers wearing balaclavas and crash helmets boarded the Seamaster. As one of the robbers held a gun to the head of a crewmember, Blake sprang from the cabin wielding a rifle. He shot one of the assailants in the hand before the rifle malfunctioned; he was then fatally shot in the back by assailant Ricardo Colares Tavares. The boarders injured two other crew members with knives, and the remaining seven were unhurt.

The only booty the attackers seized from Seamaster was a 15 hp outboard motor and some watches from the crew. Authorities eventually captured the pirates and sentenced them to an average of 32 years in prison each; Tavares, the man who fired the fatal shots, received a sentence of 36 years 9 months.

Prior to the attack, the yacht's crew had been very careful when travelling up the river and back down again; they always had crew members on watch. Only upon return to Macapa did they relax their guard.

Sir Peter is survived by his wife Pippa, Lady Blake, and their two children Sarah-Jane and James. National Geographic has stated that blakexpeditions plans to continue Blake's environmental work.

Around 30,000 people attended a memorial service held for Blake at the Auckland Domain on 23 December 2001, and included tributes from Blake's family, the New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark, the Brazilian Ambassador, and Neil and Tim Finn. Helen Clark spent a night aboard the Seamaster three weeks prior to the attack.

Sir Peter Blake is buried at Warblington churchyard, near Emsworth on the south coast of England. It is a pilgrimage destination for New Zealanders, who sometimes leave New Zealand coins on the headstone. Emsworth is where Pippa and Peter settled and raised their two children. His headstone bears the words of John Masefield's famous poem, Sea Fever: "I must down to the sea again, to the lonely sea and sky, and all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by....".

On 23 October 2002, the International Olympic Committee posthumously awarded the Olympic Order, one of its highest honours, to Blake.

In December 2003, the Sir Peter Blake Trust was established, with the support of the Blake family, "to help New Zealanders make a positive difference for the planet through activities that encourage environmental awareness and action, and leadership development."

The Trust has a range of initiatives, including the annual Sir Peter Blake Leadership Awards. These awards consist of the Blake Medal, awarded each year to an outstanding New Zealand leader, and the Sir Peter Blake Emerging Leader Awards, presented annually to six people recognised as younger leaders of considerable potential. The winners of the Blake medal include Stephen Tindall, Professor Paul Callaghan, Sir Murray Halberg.

Seamaster was originally built in France. After Blake's death she was eventually purchased by Etienne Bourgois and renamed Tara. She continues to undertake successful expeditions.

External links

• The Guardian: Tributes for Peter Blake
• Official Sir Peter Blake Trust Website
• NZ Herald: Blake Medal to honour leaders
• NZ Herald: Blake trust names winners
• Official Tara Expeditions Website