TV Pick of the week: Blakey

James, Pippa and Sarah-Jane Blake share many fond memories. Photo / Supplied

"If anyone wants to get depressed about this, come and see me, and we'll do it together." That's what, in true blue Kiwi fashion, Sir Peter Blake told his crew after the mast snapped in half on Ceramco in the middle of the Atlantic during the first New Zealand team attempt at a Whitbread Round The World race.

The crew had put their hearts and souls into the attempt and were gutted about the mast failure. It says a lot about Blake that he talked the crew into jury-rigging the boat and continuing on to Cape Town anyway. He was an outstanding leader - and that comes across strongly in this feature-length documentary about his life.

It offers all the ingredients of an excellent blockbuster movie - exciting action sequences on the high seas, the determination of an underdog, nail-biting competitive racing, triumph over adversity, revealing and heartwarming family scenes, compelling characters (wife Pippa Blake really is one strong woman), and tragedy.

Blakey, as he was fondly known, was one of the most charismatic sportsmen and public figures New Zealand has known, and his family wanted to create something memorable the public could share.

Here, they've collaborated with director Mark Albiston and many friends, colleagues and family, to create a collage of interviews and footage from public and personal archives which follows the arc of Blake's rise to his death in December 2001 at the hands of pirates on the Amazon River while monitoring environmental change for the United Nations.

It's a deeply personal insight into the Blake family, with Pippa and Peter's brother, Tony, giving candid interviews. Tony's stories about the first boat Peter built called Bandit, Pippa's recollections of their shared fondness for toys from exotic countries, and daughter Sarah-Jane's re-telling of his best bedtime stories all create a picture of much more than simply a yachting hero.

Grant Dalton also offers insight into his yachting rivalry with Blake and their mutual respect. As well well-known yachtsmen and explorers share their memories of races and expeditions.

The footage of the 1995 America's Cup Campaign - including the "get your lucky socks on" jingle and Peter Montgomery yelling, "the America's Cup is now New Zealand's cup" - is particularly poignant. That homecoming tickertape parade was quite something.

A completely different, and chilling, perspective comes from crewman Don Robertson's recollections of that final night in the Amazon. The world lost a real hero but Blake's inspiration lives on.

His son, James, has put on the mantle of explorer and campaigner and is studying to be a nature documentarian so he can continue his father's environmental mission.

When: Tuesday, 8.30pm
Where: TV One
What: An amazing life and legacy.

-TimeOut