Editorial: A life of challenge and conquest

Perhaps a British yachting journalist once summed up Sir Peter Blake most appropriately. If, he wrote, you were on an airliner in mid-Atlantic and learned that three of the plane's four engines had died, Sir Peter was precisely the type of man you would like in the pilot's seat. The words were written 20 years ago as Sir Peter was about to leave Portsmouth at the helm of Ceramco, New Zealand's first entry in the Whitbread round-the-world race.

Already the sense of calm and authority he exuded was as apparent as a growing reputation in international yachting. His subsequent achievements, which elevated him to the highest rungs of both the sport and the world environmental movement, merely lent the words a heightened credibility.

In the first instance, Sir Peter's physical stature gave him an aura. But that would have counted for nought if not accompanied by a fierce determination and a meticulous attention to detail. And those would have counted for only so much if not for his understanding of the essence of leadership.

Sir Peter had the good sense to pick crew members who were as complementary as they were highly capable. These sailors were then given responsibility and space to perform to their very best. In return, they demonstrated a trust in Sir Peter and a loyalty that, at the time of his America's Cup triumphs, encompassed an entire nation.

Before Sir Peter, New Zealand enjoyed sporadic yachting victories. The talent was present but not the drive, organisation and ardent ambition. Sir Peter's greatest legacy to his country is the inculcation of a sense of professionalism - and the string of almost uninterrupted successes that this inspired. All the great yachting trophies have fallen to NZ - the round-the-world race, the Admirals Cup, Olympic medals and, ultimately, the America's Cup, the sport's holy grail. Sir Peter's stamp was all over the winning of the cup in San Diego and a defence that was as exhilarating as it was emphatic. His stamp is also over a multitude of benefits to his home city and the country, be it the development of the Viaduct Harbour or the soaring fortunes of the boat-building industry.

Challenge and conquest were the hallmarks of Sir Peter's life. At least once, he vowed that a just-completed round-the-world race would be his last. He wanted to spend more time with his family. Yet he could not close a chapter of his life until it had been completed to his satisfaction. And, once that chapter had been written, the new challenge always drew him back to the sea, in some shape or form.

As he matured, he began to look beyond personal ambition to wider global issues. His work with the Cousteau Society, then as a special envoy of the United Nations Environmental Programme and with Blakexpeditions, was in many ways a perfect fit; the chance to combine a love of sailing the world's oceans and waterways with his passion for raising awareness of threatened areas.

Sir Peter approached this challenge with the meticulous planning that typified his every venture. He had completed three months in Antarctica and, after spending two months in the upper reaches of the Amazon, was about to move on to the Orinoco. No amount of planning, save perhaps navigating the Amazon in a gunboat, could have protected him from bandits. The apparently arbitrary nature of his death simply intensifies the tragedy.

New Zealanders will feel Sir Peter Blake's death most deeply. But his yachting triumphs mean little to the vast majority of the world's people. They care little for the sport or the reasons for this country's ascension to its pinnacle. The vast majority do, however, share an anxiety about the damage being done to planet Earth. Yet that concern waxes and wanes and too often remains unexpressed.

People need a passionate and adventurous leader to inspire them and speak out on their behalf. Our loss is the world's loss.

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Peter Blake, 1948-2001

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