Tributes to Sir Peter Blake

From good friends and worldwide admirers

From Robert Middlemas, Seattle.
Once again, the world suffers the loss of one of it's hero's. That seems like (and indeed is) a hollow and undistinguished observation. How does one quantify such a loss? How does one come to grips with and do justice to the man? Simply put, one person can't.

Might a person say that Sir Peter was a hero? To answer that, ask almost any young yachtie in New Zealand. Was Sir Peter an influential member of the sailing world. I take for granted that when Sir Peter spoke, people listened. Was he a great competitor? Nothing was left in the yacht racing world for him to prove. Was he a good husband and father? In my humble opinion, in this day and age, any man who can make a marriage work and raise his children and be there for them has my vote . Did he give back to the sport and the environment that he loved so much? I believe that we were all seeing the very first part of that. If he had intended on applying even half the energy and fortitude to environmental tasks as he did with his other endeavours, then in a very real sense we have all lost something.

The world of yacht racing owed so much to Sir Peter that it can scarcely be imagined what state that world would be in had he not been a part of it. For me, however, all that he had done and accomplished is secondary. My thoughts and feelings flow out to his family, who are without their father and husband. I wish Lady Pippa, Sarah-Jane and James the best in this most difficult time. God bless you. About the only thing each of us can do is remember the man and in some way that is our own, big or small, carry on with what he had intended to do. Which, really, is what is good for all of us.

This world is the only one we all have. Stewardship is the call. We are all responsible for the world we hand off to our children. It is in our hands. We all have lost something. A hero, a friend, a competitor, an influence, a sage, a father, a husband. We will miss you, Sir Peter. You will not be forgotten.

From Fiona Campbell, GBR Meteorologist
There was a strange mood in the Viaduct yesterday. No one went sailing, all flags were at half mast, red ones on the forestays of Team NZ boats. He was a man of great ambition and character who commanded the respect of everyone he met. I feel enormously privileged to have met him. The world's atmosphere and oceans will morn his loss.

From Mikael Ahrenberg
An un-replacable loss to the sailing society! The loss is immense and our thoughts and prays reach out to Sir Peter Blakes family and friends. Please accept our deepest sympathy and condolences. The International 5m association board and members.

Peter with his family onboard the America's Cup winning yacht Black Magic receiving a call from the New Zealand Prime Minister his government team all wearing red socks.


From Christian Fevrier
To peace these hours of great sorrow and the loss of my icon and friend, I send you this tale of pure joy.

In mid December 1994, when in San Diego for the America's Cup, Sir Peter Blake kindly invited me to meet the two Black Magic boats training at sea. We left the compound on an inflatable tender with his wife Pippa and children Sarah-Jane and James.

I had worked closely with the Enza staff during the victorious 1994 Jules Verne Trophy, doing from Paris the calculations for their 13 new world sailing records during their nearly 75 days at sea. Much later, Peter was kind enough to invite me to be their photographer inside the compound for the five races against the defender Young America.

That day, I was wearing socks of quite bright colours, dark pink. A colour that the painters use to call "laque garance" or "rose tyrien"..As a former graphic artist, I like the strength of the unusual colours. Anyway Peter joked at my socks and their unusual colour. "But we are in California !", I tried to reply. "It's the country of the flashy colours under bright sun!"

I had bought them at the Heathrow Airport naturally.

I would say I cannot quote exactly Pippa's words. She is a very talented modern painter. From what I can remember, she said: " Why are you pulling Christian's leg, Peter ? I like the colour a lot! I will get you a pair of the same colour for Christmas". She usually got Peter a pair of thick wool-made socks for your ocean races with Christmas trees on them.

Pippa didn't find the same colour at the San Diego market. In despair, she opted for a pair of red socks. Fifteen days later, the Louis Vuitton first Round Robin was beginning. To please Pippa, Peter wore his new Christmas socks during all the races since January.

Everybody knows that the only day Black Magic didn't win against Australia One was when Peter was ashore with a pain in the shoulder and so unable to trim the huge mainsail. Peter Montgomery, the voice of New Zealand Yachting reported onTV that Black Magic had lost because the Lucky Red Socks were not aboard.

PJ did not explain to his listeners that the Kiwis had lost because, before the starting sequence, that Black Magic's deck had became a hazardous surface, due to the central hydraulic gear blowing out., and their electronic gear was shutting down.

Legends have funny origin sometimes...

Five years later, on November 17th 1999, the French challenge Sixth Sense invited me as 17th man for the race against Abracadabra. Of course, I had my dark-pink socks on again. And, by the strangest hazard, Sixth Sense won the race that day.


Huge tickertape parade in Wellington in front of 250,000 Kiwis. Russell Coutts and Peter present the America's Cup.

More tributes on page two....