Clark devastated by death of 'national hero'

9.00 am

Prime Minister Helen Clark said she was "absolutely devastated" to hear the news of yachtsman Sir Peter Blake's death.

She has asked for flags to be flown at half-mast in a mark of respect for Sir Peter, and for condolence books to be available throughout the country for New Zealanders to sign that will later go to his family.

Even before the prime minister's request, flags at all the America's Cup yachting syndicates' bases at Auckland's Viaduct Basin were flying at half-mast this morning.

Miss Clark expected tributes to be made at Parliament today and there would be discussions at a later stage with the family to see if they wanted a memorial event staged in New Zealand for the man she described as the Hillary of the seas.

Sir Peter, 53, was killed by pirates while sailing on the Amazon River in Brazil. Miss Clark visited Sir Peter last month while on a South American tour, and spent time aboard his vessel.

"We were very, very shocked," Miss Clark told Newstalk ZB radio.

"It was three weekends ago we went up there. It was a peaceful spot on the Amazon off a small town ... We had a wonderful 18 or 20 hours or so on the boat.

"There are a lot of Kiwis on it, a couple of young people doing their gap year from the UK from school before going on to university, just a very tranquil scene."

She has previously described her trip to the Amazon as the highlight of her two-week visit last month to five Latin American countries.

Sir Peter had outlined a five-year plan of voyages, including a trip to the Caribbean, sailing the Northwest Passage, and continuing his conservation work.

"I had the chance to talk at great length with Sir Peter and with his wife (Pippa) about the mission he was on, focusing on saving the world's waters and the life forms which live around them, and words really can't express how devastated I feel by this terrible tragedy but my thoughts are with his immediate family who will be simply shattered," Miss Clark said on National Radio.

The crew were on deck when the pirates boarded and Sir Peter was killed after coming up from below.

"I can see the whole scene very vividly having been there. They tended to live on deck because it is hot in that area and it was in the evening. It was dark. They would have been just going around their normal evening business," Miss Clark said.

"Sir Peter, I understand, was down in the bowels of the boat when the pirates came up over the edge. These people are known as rats of the water. The tragedy is that they ran away taking a 15 horsepower Yamaha motor and watches and this man's life was wiped out for that."

Miss Clark said the town near where Sir Peter's vessel, the Seamaster, was located was renowned for "this sort of crime".

Sir Peter's environmental work over the past five years was "totally public-spirited".

"This is the criminal thing, this is a life which has just been wasted by a dreadful, criminal, vandalistic act ..."

Miss Clark described Sir Peter as the Hillary of the waters and New Zealand's greatest sailor.

"I think he is to the waters what Sir Edmund Hillary has been to the mountains. He's just the most amazingly accomplished yachtsman."

Miss Clark described Sir Peter as a "national hero".

"He was an inspiration to all New Zealanders and we will all feel a tremendous sense of loss on hearing this terrible news," she said in a statement.

"The deepest sympathies of all New Zealanders will got to his wife and family and to his crew who have also endured a horrifying experience.

"I am appalled that murderers have taken away Sir Peter's life when he had so much to give through his passion for the waters of the world and the life they nurture."

Conservation Minister Sandra Lee also added to the tributes flowing for Sir Peter.

"New Zealand mourns the loss of an oceans campaigner in sport and for the environment," she said in a statement.

"It is a tribute to Sir Peter that after being heaped with plaudits for his yachting triumphs, he chose to give something back to the natural environment that had sustained him during his sporting career.

"The greatest accolade that people can give to Sir Peter, not just in New Zealand but throughout the world, is to heed his message that we all need to take greater care of our environment."

- NZPA

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