NZer of the year: Leading by example

No list of outstanding New Zealanders for the year can ignore Sir Peter Blake, whose murder by Brazilian pirates on the Amazon River came when he was at a significant turning point, evolving from international yachting hero into impassioned eco-warrior.

Because of his untimely death, Sir Peter was not eligible for the Herald's title of New Zealander of the Year, but his achievements during the year deserve full recognition.

At the age of 53, Sir Peter was a great leader of men on a new mission: to reverse the degradation of the world's waterways.

Through his blakexpeditions and aboard the 36m flagship Seamaster, Sir Peter and his small crew were on a long voyage which began early this year at the Antarctic Peninsula and was eventually meant to head for the Arctic, Southeast Asia, the South Pacific, Greenland and then back to the Antarctic.

The point, said Sir Peter, was to "make a difference in how people perceive and understand the wonders and the needs of the environment that surrounds us".

As an example of those needs, he often referred to the declining numbers of giant albatross as a barometer of the severe damage being inflicted on the environment by mankind. His mantra was simple and effective: "Good water, good life. Poor water, poor life. No water, no life."

Seamaster was just one part of Sir Peter's crusade. He wanted blakexpeditions to grow into a navy of eco-friendly vessels that would travel the world, spreading the good water message.

As a special envoy to the United Nations Environment Programme, he had spent three months in Antarctica gathering evidence of the effect of global warming, an expedition filmed for three documentaries which will reach an audience of 300 million.

Sir Peter was also an emphatic poster of web-logs, where his no-nonsense style made the day's observations accessible to all. Again and again, he emphasised two points: the beauty of the planet and the accelerating damage being inflicted on it.

Poignantly, he mused in one entry how much he missed his family - "but that is the life we have chosen and it's made up for in the holiday periods".

The hope now is that his death will not be in vain and his mission will be continued. Prime Minister Helen Clark has said the Government will look at financial help for the Seamaster team. Colleagues such as partner Alan Sefton say they are determined to work on. But without Sir Peter, there is a vacuum. As one Seamaster sponsor put it, Sir Peter "was the leader, the locomotive".

2001 – The year in review

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Peter Blake, 1948-2001