Youth on the water
Peter Blake was born in 1948 in Bayswater, a coastal suburb of Auckland, to a father who was a gunboat commander (light warship) in the Royal Navy. With his three brothers and sisters, he sailed from an early age on his parents' boats and grew up with the sea as his playground. Summers spent at sea stayed with him in mind and at school, Peter dreamed of a boat. With his brother Tony, he peeled sailing magazines according to trends and imagined his own boat designs.
Holidays on the family grounds by the sea
His first boat
At the age of 8, his father built him a small 7-foot wooden dinghy (P-class yacht) called Pee Bee. On board, he sailed for hours and hours, sailing through the port of Waitemata Harbor, exploring the surrounding coves, until he became too tall to pass under the boom without hitting himself during the tack changes.
He then evolves on a Zeddie (former New Zealand dinghy) called Tango with "its menacing black hull, its bright orange mainsail and its spinnaker with black and orange stripes."
The first family sailings
Family cruises
When he was 13, Brian and Joyce - Peter's parents - sold their land in Mairangi Bay, where the family spent their holidays by the sea every year. They reinvest their earnings in the purchase of a 30-foot sloop called Ngarangi (the Maori word for sky). Eighteen months later, the family traded him for the 34-foot Woollacott ketch, Ladybird. A sailboat "with a varnished wooden spar, polished copper aerators, a real beauty" peter described Peter. A boat that had a particular influence on the Blake family and Peter in particular and that belonged to the family for 35 years.
The young sailor is accompanying his parents on a round trip between Auckland and the Tonga and Fiji Islands. He later admitted that he was forever affected by his first storm.
Ladybird, the family sailboat
A born sailor
For Peter, sailing is natural as his mother, Joyce, tells us. As soon as he took the helm of a sailboat, he knew exactly what to do and realized it without hindrance. On board, he awaits perfection, as his sister Janet explains: "We shouldn't just sit back and move faster. If he liked to win, he did it first and foremost while having fun."
Peter (right) with his brothers and sisters
Build your own boat
As a young man, Peter Blake alternated between cruises aboard Ladybird and dinghy racing. While he studied mechanical engineering at the Auckland Technical Institute (now Auckland University of Technology), his passion for sailing was devastating. So much so that he decided to build his own boat, in a makeshift hangar in the family garden.
At night, you can hear the noise of the power tools to bring forth the future 23-foot (7 m) keelboat according to Van der Stadt's plans. Like its "Zeddie", this new boat - Bandit - has a black hull and an orange and black spinnaker. And Peter quickly made a name for himself by winning the Junior Offshore Championship in his first season.
This is how family cruises are now done with two sailboats. Peter and his brother Tony on Bandit, and the rest of the family on Ladybird.
Family cruises
His first offshore race
On the local scene, Peter's navigational prowess is increasingly recognized. He is invited to participate as a team member in many major events, including the Ton Cup or the Round North Island race.
He was then invited to participate in his first offshore race around the Pacific Islands. A memory that will leave a bitter taste to this outstanding competitor, always ready to win. Stuck in a calm zone, the crew preferred to celebrate rather than sail.
Although professional yachting is still unknown, Peter's interest in racing is growing. After the sale of Bandit, he started building a new 26-foot model - Oliver Twist - based on Holman & Pyes' plans. But it is time for him to broaden his horizons.
