Stunned silence at cup hub on 'Syndicate Rd'

By JAMES GARDINER and JULIE ASH

The silence was almost eerie.

On the Auckland waterfront - the ultimate legacy to the skill, drive and vision of Sir Peter Blake - the sense of loss hung as heavy as the low cloud that oozed gentle rain.

At Team New Zealand's Halsey St headquarters the first flowers arrived almost as soon as the staff. By mid-morning, the compound, normally secured, was opened for those who wanted to leave tributes.

As people trickled in - women and children mostly, some in tears - team members sat inside in the areas that remained off-limits to the public, or wandered in stunned silence.

Two large plastic banners in the shape of red socks fluttered from the masts of NZL57 and NZL60, the yachts used to defend the America's Cup last year. They lent both poignancy and a measure of irony.

Lucky red socks: Sir Peter's superstition that caught the imagination of a nation. We bought them, wore them, waved them at our victorious heroes.

Luck, in reality, had little or nothing to do with the planning effort and mastery of technology and the elements that saw yachting's ultimate prize captured in San Diego in 1995 and defended in Auckland last year.

Lack of it was probably a far more significant contributor to the seemingly random, apparently senseless, events that saw Sir Peter gunned down in Brazil.

Along "Syndicate Rd", as the street is now known, the challengers preparing for next year's series were flying flags at half-mast. The fiercest of rivals on the water, they acknowledged the man who took on the world so many times, and won.

That their multimillion-dollar buildings line Auckland's shores surrounded by gleaming new developments is testament to Sir Peter. He brought the cup home and led the defence that kept it.

Team New Zealand chief executive Ross Blackman was inconsolable. Sir Peter was one of his best mates.

"I first met him in the late 70s and then really got to know him and Pippa in 1982 and that was the start of our friendship.

"He wanted to make a difference; he certainly did when he started Team New Zealand. The culture we have, the way we live our lives, the way we run things certainly has the Peter stamp on it."

Russell Coutts, who skippered the successful challenge and the defence for Sir Peter, then last year abandoned Team New Zealand in a shock defection to Swiss syndicate Alinghi, was ashen with shock.

His syndicate is next door but any residual bitterness was put aside as he ventured into the rival compound to shake hands and share memories.

"The thing I liked about Peter most was that he was a fair guy," Coutts said.

"He was a great leader, straight up and down."

"He had opinions but he never held a grudge. We had some good times which were fantastic - and nothing will change that."

One of the last Team New Zealand members to see Sir Peter was Dr Mark Orams, a scientist and weather analyst who returned from visiting the Seamaster crew on the Amazon River a fortnight ago.

Dr Orams said it was tragic and ironic that a man who so often risked his life at sea was killed not by an iceberg or a storm but by a man.

At Westhaven, all the yacht clubs had their colours at half-mast.

At the home of the America's Cup, the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron, a small sign read simply: "Sir Peter Blake 1977."

That was the year he joined the squadron, of which he was made a life member in 1995.

Squadron commodore Peter Taylor said Sir Peter was an inspiration.

Full coverage:

Peter Blake, 1948-2001

America's Cup news

Blakexpeditions