Sir Peter's boat sold to French businessman

The yacht Sir Peter Blake used for his environmental expeditions and died defending against Brazilian pirates has been sold to a French businessman.

The sale of the Seamaster marked the end of a chapter, former crewmate Don Robertson said today.

"We spent a lot of time on the boat and did some wonderful things, but there's the realisation that this is the end," he said.

"I try not to get too emotional about it, but we don't have Sir Peter and we don't have the boat. It's going to good hands and we move on with our lives."

Mr Robertson was in charge of photography and communications on the Seamaster when Sir Peter was shot dead on the Amazon River in December 2001.

He handled the sale on behalf of Sir Peter's estate and said the new owner was businessman Etienne Bourgois, who runs Paris-based fashion company Agnes B.

Mr Robertson declined to disclose the amount paid for the 36m schooner, and was unaware of the source of a previous report quoting an asking price of US$1.75 million ($2.96 million).

He said there had been international interest in the yacht, including from Russia.

New Zealanders Mark Jones, Marcus Waters and Graham Charles had also wanted to buy the boat for their Adventure Philosophy project to highlight the degradation of the earth's waterways.

The three sailed on the Seamaster when Sir Peter took them from South America and dropped them off for a successful 800km kayak traverse of the Antarctic Peninsula in early 2001.

Mr Robertson said the vessel was at Rhode Island in the north-eastern United States, where it had been sitting inactive since Sir Peter's death.

"It's in quite good condition, but like any boat, there's a lot of work to be done at any time," he said.

"It needs refitting and updating of machinery and so on."

Mr Robertson was unsure what would what would happen now to Blakexpeditions, the vehicle Sir Peter set up for his environmental work.

The Seamaster was built in France in 1989 and was originally known as the Antarctica.

A statement issued by Mr Etienne said he intended to keep the name Seamaster, as chosen by Sir Peter, to honour the New Zealand link to the boat.

The yacht would continue to be used for gathering knowledge of and protecting the environment, and he hoped to add a new dimension by including artists and writers on future journeys.

He said the crew would include former sailors from Blakexpeditions.

- NZPA