The story of Peter Blake

[@pbvauxhall5920]

Oh boy, this was a very emotional watch. I remember this , but your video brought it back to life fir me i could not help but shed a few tears, What a legacy this man left too, and we just held the cup for the fifth time and Pete did it first.

[@brianmooney8804]

This is only a third of the story. His greatest achievement is creating Team New Zealand and bringing home the Americas cup. Sir Peter Blake's instilling that team ethos in TeamNZ where everyone has a say in the part of the yacht they control this is why TeamNZ can't be beaten. Grant Dalton still lives under the skirts of greatness of Sir Peter Blake.

[@chriskeene241]

I would rate Peter Blake as the second greatest kiwi to have ever lived, a very close second behind the great sir Edmund Hillary. I really wish I could have met him but growing up watching him I feel he had a huge influence on my life. Thanks mr Blake

[@derekness7900]

My experience of Peter Blake was when I was called to NZ to check out Steinlager 2 which was nearing completion. They had noticed that it was delaminating sitting in the boatyard. Something had gone in the build process ( multiple oven cures of the preg preg hull and deck components). We couldn’t work out what had gone wrong, but he made the ballsy decision to bin it and start again. The guys at Southern Pacific ( Tim, JD and Cookie), committed to getting it done in the timeframe, and I agreed to be there for the critical lay up and oven cure stages. The rest is history- but it all came from his cool decision making under pressure and managing the team to get it all sorted .

[@Gottenhimfella]

Who was JD? (I know the other two)

[@derekness7900]

@@Gottenhimfella JD was John Douglas. The yard was managed by Tim Gurr, but the real shop floor management and planning which was crucial in this project was Ian and John- they made it all happen. It was a great experience for me as a mere chemist who had developed the systems that they used to see the inner workings of a top notch boatyard. I also developed a good friendship with the two of them that carried over to future work on AC boats.

[@kiwiwifi]

The Southern Ocean helped him make that decision

[@Gottenhimfella]

The stories Peter told about Burton Cutter in the privacy of long sailing trips made the one he tells here look rather innocuous and quaint! Long distance sail racing in those days was sometimes about as organised as a zoo improvised at short notice by small children. But I had forgotten that the first time they had sailed the yacht was across the start line . . .

[@giholdaway]

I was in Aus by the time the Whitbread races were a thing … with very poor media coverage of anything NZ … and no internet then. I remember following it nonetheless. And then the America’s Cup. I only sailed a few seasons myself … on a slow boat, but still connect with the challenge of it all. When the red socks thing came along I was on (Melbourne’s) Collins St and in a suit every weekday. But I started wearing red socks then and have ever since. More diligently since Sir Peter’s tragic end. I never met the man, but somehow he’s one representation of NZers for me.

[@zoepaulastrassfield2664]

I’m so glad we got this uploaded again! I’m researching the 80s Whitbreads for a writing project and it’s great to have all of this footage from the races!

[@tawharanui5011]

Peter Blake transferred Auckland into the new age. The grotty looking place of Auckland in the 1980s was replaced with modern architecture and infrastructure only because of the America’s Cup won by Peter Blake and his team. Red Socks!😊😊😊😊

[@PeterPan-dw8wg]

where is the rest of your documentaries

[@stuarth43]

did not know him well, but he was a bloody snob, ended up in UK, never talked to the men building his boats met him in 78 when he drew the rig my first boat he did have leadership skills, but he had the best navman in Mike

[@stevenbissett]

I wonder if Sir Peter Blake would be happy with TNZ defending the America's Cup in Saudi.

[@Gottenhimfella]

Given his pragmatic tendency to pick people with the right stuff and then trust them to get on with it, and given that Dalts and Shoebie were two of his most loyal and trusted lieutenants on his favourite Whitbread campaign, I'd say he'd support it if that was their considered proposal, under the circumstances of the day.

[@zoepaulastrassfield2664]

Well, hopefully they won’t have to.

[@stevenbissett]

@Gottenhimfella Absolute bullocks, and you know it.

[@stevenbissett]

​@@zoepaulastrassfield2664The only thing we do know is that Barcelona is not interested.

[@Gottenhimfella]

​@@stevenbissett So, it seems you must have been on familiar terms with Blake? How so?

[@MassimoVerdicchio]

N1❤

[@InformNZ]

Whose documentary is this?

[@RedSkyTelevision]

Bryan Bruce Documentaries Ltd Copyright

[@InformNZ]

@@RedSkyTelevision so the Copyright was bought?

[@RedSkyTelevision]

@@InformNZ We paid for the production we own the copyright

[@InformNZ]

@@RedSkyTelevision Awesome. May I suggest a note explaining this at the beginning

[@AntiVaganza]

@@InformNZ I agree, as a journalist myself, it's great to see the real copyright holders uploading but it's rare, so a lot of us who care about these type of things often question if content is stolen. Since yours is not, I would make a point of explaining that in the description.