Peter Blake

[Peppermint]

A very sympathetic film on Channel 5 tonight showed how he was killed and gave a flavour of the work he was doing.

It looks like he died from being brave and civilized.

Good bloke though.

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[Rob_Webb]

Wish I'd seen it myself but ironaically just come off the phone from long conversation to New Zealand, including some sailing talk. He was certainly a much-loved figure by his fellow Kiwis although this was a bit tainted by criticism from some quarters that he didn't do a great job setting up the recent (failed) Kiwi defence of the America's Cup.... which led to Dickson, Butterworth et al leaving for other better-arranged (and funded) challenges.

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[max_power]

Why carry a gun on board ?

I only saw part of the programme but did he threaten the intruders with a gun ?

Surely this is asking for trouble.

Every girdling book I have read says don't carry one - if you value your own life that is.

Brave ? Perhaps not on this occasion.

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[claymore]

It was a very good piece.
It varied from the newspaper/web articles around at the time but there is little point in trying to delve or theorise.
A good man gone.

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Claymore
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[tcm]

I saw the whole thing. Fabulous filming and i had no idea that the boat was so huge, perhaps 40 metres and 22 on board. I think it was a special build, used to be called erm Antarctica or somesuch before it was Blake's boat as Seamaster.

They showed lots of professional film, a whole hour inc lots of the man himself.

I suppose with hindsight the mistakes they made included the fact that they stayed in the same place for days at a time, allowing casual attackers to formulate a plan. They came after sundown and before the moon rose.

It's clear that they were merely casual attackers after a bit of piracy rather than taking the boat - when Bake was shot they took...a dinghy with outboard. The attackers were caught and sentenced to an average of 32 years each. Not sure how many attackers there were - some say 2oe 3, others said 8. Anyway, v sad and a waste. Didn't seem best to have a gun - Blake seeming to scare the attcakers into shooting, rather than picking them off himself - in which case perhaps he'd be in jail now instead of them...


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[Twister_Ken]

Question

When Peter and Pippa had their first born, did they call it Baby?

Sailed with him once on Ceramco, when he was trying to sell it after a Whitbread. Only screaming up and down the Solent during Cowes Week, trying to attract envious glances. Great fun and a really nice bloke.

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[claymore]

Superb boat as you say - I liked the way they just nosed up to the beaches and climbed off over the stem.
I thought they said she drew 4 ft with the keel retracted - loved the telephoto shots of her motoring up the Amazon - like a saucer!
Never sure about guns - I read once that if you have one you should be prepared to use it, otherwise don't bother carrying one. There was a big lad used to play 2nd row for Workington and he was a nasty piece of work. We planned to hit him in a scrum once - which we did - trouble was we didn't flatten him, only annoyed him more!!
Interesting suggestion that had things been a little different, Peter Blake and Tony Martin could be sharing a similar fate.

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Claymore
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[Peppermint]

Re: Why carry a gun on board ?

Carrying a gun onboard is a fair choice if your going into places like the Amazon. You may need to shoot critters or people who threaten you or your party.

The Caveat is that if your not prepared to use it, and I mean have any inhibitions at all, you might as well leave it at home.

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[tcm]

re tony martin, possibly. Although the two situations are very different, TM planning for the return of his attackers for example.

I am afraid that it sounds as though the red mist descended and Blake was furious at the attack, storming back to the deck with rifle though it was unclear what he planned to do with it especially in confined space. There was no film of them ever using or practising using the rifle, which would surely have been shown.

All a great pity, and surely could have been no worse had PB and crew simply been stroppy and lettem take the dinghy. For exmaple, whilst PB was away getting his gun, one of the crew threw his beer at an attacker who had a gun - and in return the attacker hit him a bit with the but of the gun and gave him a black eye. This seem to be the limit of the attack before the rifle was produced, although no doubt the shooting hastened the departure and the robbery could have continued if they had been compliant. But the attackers didn't plan to shoot, and weren't doing so. Even before this event, the interview with the secuirity chap who was part of the crew was odd, as he stated that "the most important thing was not to be a victim" and mentioned the guns that they carried. By contrats, the most important thing was not to get killed, and have "decoy booty" in the form of fat but fairly cash-free wallets with photocopied american dollars and credit cards stopped long ago.

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[tcm]

Re: Why carry a gun on board ?

Blake certainly did have inhibitions about using the gun. With the gun in his hand, he shouted away a robber who had a pistol away from entering the main area below. Whereas a real shootist would have shot at someone threatening himself or another person with a gun. But but...you would have to bloody good at the shooting, in the legs perhaps, to take down the attacker without killing him, and then be ready to take on all the others who might go berserk. I agree that perhaps a gun to shoot crococdiles or whatever might possibly an item on board, but probably not to be shown if armed attackers arrive.

For a very large boat, and seeing as how (from prior interviews) they recognised that an attack from pirates was very possible, and as one of the crew was a security specialist on board for exactly that reason, it is perhasp surprsing that it seemed that no mention was made of any drill/practice with regard to an attack, that there was no lookout during especially darkest periods of night, that they stayed at anchor in the same place for several days. But nonetheless, a dreadful attack, and not "normal" in that the culprits were caught and punished by the Brazilian authorities.

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[burgundyben]

I dont suppose anyone video'd it?

I went form the office to the boat and by the time I got in was hungry, drank a beer and began cooking monster chilli and forgot it was on.

would be v gratefull, I always forget to watch things I want to see, cos never had a telly for years as it mainly crap mindless chewing gum for your eyes type drivvle

<hr width=100% size=1>Sod the Healey - I think I'll buy an E-Type.

 

[Sybarite]

The boat was originally made for Dr Jean-Louis Etienne who was/is a well known Artic explorer and offshore racer - one of Eric Tabarly's original crew on Pen Duick (6 - I think). The boat was made saucer-shaped so that if ice closed it in, it would ride up on top of the ice instead of being crushed. The keel and rudders are fully retractable.

John

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[Peppermint]

Re: Quite right

Shoot first for middle of mass and move to the next fire position.

The problem may have been averted if the guns had been on deck with a guard. If the guards were obvious I suspect that river pirates might have looked for another target. If I'd intended to detach my security expert either I needed to have two or I needed to have him train the crew. Good defence is often about preparedness and show.

The crew had quite naturally relaxed after a dangerous and demanding passage.

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[Abigail]

Re: Guns or not

Didn't see the programme, but from the coverage at the time always got the impression that, sadly, black eyes and stolen dinghies might have been the all of it if none of the crew (PB or anyone else) had not produced the rifle.

A Danish guy I know was boarded by pirates in the same anchorage as PB - and lost a few dollars etc. He reckons the best defence is looking poor - but that was certainly hard to do on PB's beautiful boat!

More generally it seems to me very dubious to carry one - all the if you have it use it stuff being part of it. I very much doubt in the moment of truth I would remember where it was, how to use it etc all in time. And they cause endless grief checking in an out of countries.

Every time I see this discussion Americans are 4 out of 5 (at least) strongly inf avour of carrying guns - and everyone else is 4 out of 5 (at least) against. I know what that tells me.





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