The previously untold story of how Sir Peter Blake twice came close to sacking Russell Coutts, and tried to resign himself, before the 2000 America's Cup has been revealed.
At a crucial point in the internal power struggle, the man whose murder on the Amazon would lead to a national outpouringof grief told Coutts, Brad Butterworth and Tom Schnackenberg: "Can you tell me what I have to do to get this to improve, apart from shooting myself?"
An exclusive book review on page A5 of today's Weekend Herald tells how a new book, Sir Peter Blake - An Amazing Life, reveals new aspects of the Team New Zealand break-up.
The rift, primarily over how power was to be transferred from Sir Peter and his trusted lieutenants to Coutts and a new guard after the 2000 Cup defence, was debated publicly last year.
But Blake's side of the story has not been told - until now. The book, to go on sale on Monday, is by Blake's long-time friend and business partner, Alan Sefton.
Sefton says Blake's frustration prompted him to want out of the team as early as 1997, and that he believed Schnackenberg had betrayed him as much as Coutts and Butterworth..
The book also reveals that Blake believed the trio's egos were out of control, and that they did not trust their leader.
And it deals with rumours that Blake, Sefton and fellow team executive Scott Chapman were siphoning off money.
Blake, paid a salary agreed by the sponsors, was the highest earner, followed by Coutts. Sefton and Chapman were among the top-five earners, thanks to bonuses earned through their generation of new sponsorship money, the book divulges.
But Sefton angrily denies there were any hidden millions.
Aside from the cup rift, the book features unpublished material about Blake's numerous ocean adventures, and touching insights into his life as a family man.
