Peter Blake (yachtsman) - Death and Legacy

Death and Legacy

On 5 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. She called Blake 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.

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 Sir Stephen Tindall, Sir Paul Callaghan, Sir Murray Halberg and Sir Ray Avery.

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.