Sir Peter James Blake was a famous New Zealand yachtsman. He has sailed all over the world and won the Jules Verne trophy for his record of 74 days, 22 hours and 17 minutes. However Sir Peter Blake became so much more than a sailor. This is his story.
Peter Blake grew up in Bayswater, Auckland. He had two sisters Janet and Elizabeth. Peter Blake also had one brother, Tony. Peter Blake went to Palmerston Boys High School. He was born on the first of October 1984. As his family grew up the ocean became their playground they made boats out of banana boxes Peter Blake loved the ocean from a very young age. Peter Blake’s father Brian Blake was a gunboat captain in the Royal Navy during World War Two. His Mother’s name was Joyce Blake. Peter Blake started competitive yachting when he was seven. His mother Joyce Blake said “He was a natural. You just put him on a boat and he knew exactly what he wanted to do and did it. ”
Peter Blake was knighted in 1995 for his services to yachting and New Zealand which makes him Sir Peter Blake which is how we remember him today. Sir Peter Blake won the America’s cup twice for New Zealand. Sir Peter Blake also won the Laureus World Sport Award for Sport for Good in 2002. He also won the the Laureus Sports Award for Lifetime Achievement in the same year. In 1982 Blake’s Odyssey was published. In 1993 another book was published called An Introduction to Sailing. Sir Peter Blake has a wife called Pippa Blake and two children called Sarah-Jane Blake and James Blake. Pippa Blake gave Sir Peter Blake red socks to wear while he competed in races. The only time the team lost a race was when Sir Peter Blake wasn’t on board and the red socks weren’t there. After years of yachting Sir Peter Blake retired to become an environmentalist. In his many years of sailing the seas Sir Peter Blake had spotted dozens of problems and pollution in our oceans. Sir Peter Blake started a group called Blake Expeditions where he took adults and children all over the world's endangered waterways. On December the 6th 2001 in the middle of his expedition to the Amazon River Sir Peter Blake was shot by pirates at the age of 53.
One of Sir Peter Blake’s quotes was:“Never take no for an answer and never give up If you really believe in what you’re doing and you’re really that keen then you’ll succeed it’s as simple as that”
I agree with everyone who believes Sir Peter Blake was a New Zealand hero. I loved how he sailed the world making people see what is happening in the world’s oceans and helping people stop it happening. He is a great New Zealand hero.
Thank You for reading my biography please tell me what you learnt. Here is a link to the Sir Peter Blake Trust website you can click here if you would like to learn more.
Sir Peter Blake Trust
Thank you for writing such an interesting and clear blog Sophia. I especially liked hearing about the banana box boats. I did not know that Peter had written two books, and I would like to read them sometime.
ReplyDeleteRegards
Steve M