Family anchored larger-than-life 'Six Four'

Our best-known sailor was as protective of his private life as he was enthusiastic about his dreams, writes SUZANNE McFADDEN.

When I first met Peter Blake, he terrified me.

It was 1993, and he had asked me to go sailing on his monster catamaran, Enza, about to make an attempt on the record for a non-stop circumnavigation.

He shook my hand, welcomed me on board, and never said another word. But then it was hard to speak. The cat was rocketing along at 26 knots within the confines of the Waitemata Harbour, the G-force pushing your mouth into a permanent "ohh" of wonder.

Initially, it was hard not to think of Sir Peter as somewhat aloof, even a bit arrogant. There was an impression that he was looking down his nose - the problem being he was 193cm (his early sailing nickname was Six Four). I am more than a foot shorter.

But it soon became obvious that Sir Peter was a shy man. An intensely personal man who tried to involve his family in all of his ventures and adventures, but also wanted to keep that side of his life private.

When interviewed about the America's Cup, his answers were often short and sharp, sometimes monosyllabic. But if you changed the subject to his new-found passion for saving the world's seas, he was unstoppable. An hour later, he was still as fervent - rattling off facts and figures about water, sharing his dreams about future blakexpeditions projects.

He would proudly show you around every nook and dark compartment of his exploration boat, the ugly icebreaker Seamaster, as if it was a home he had built himself.

He was never happier than when he was at sea - whether it was exploring rarely visited waterways or on a cruising holiday with his family on the Mediterranean.

He was never one for dressing up. His shaggy blond hairdo, which hardly altered in his adult life, was the bane of mate Alan Sefton's life.

Sefton would constantly carry a spare comb in his pocket, to try to arrange Sir Peter's hair before he made a public appearance. Sefton always threatened to write down combing instructions.

Sir Peter loved country music - wherever he was in the world, he would tune his car radio to a country and western station. He had a sharp sense of humour and was renowned for teasing people.

And, of course, he also loved his family - his two children, 18-year-old Sarah-Jane and 14-year-old James, and his wife of 22 years, Pippa.

The couple shared an incredible relationship that withstood the breadth of oceans.

They often lived apart. During the five years of the previous America's Cup campaign, Sir Peter spent much of the time in their Bayswater house, while Lady Pippa was back in their historic Emsworth cottage in Hampshire, as the children attended school in England.

When they were both in Auckland, they would throw their doors open to sailors and media alike for cocktail parties and barbecues.

Sir Peter and Lady Pippa pursued their own interests - his on the water, hers in front of a canvas.

She had spent a month on board the Seamaster with her husband, painting scenes from the Amazon. They respected and shared each other's passions in life which kept their relationship alive, despite the distance. Sadly, an ocean separated them when he died.

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Peter Blake, 1948-2001

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