Whitbread 1985 - 1986

The drama of the Ceramco New Zealand campaign captured the imagination of the New Zealand public. Radio broadcasts by the inimitable Peter Montgomery and written accounts by journalist Alan Sefton and others had brought the battles being waged far offshore into the homes of New Zealanders. By the time the fleet arrived in Auckland, there was a frenzy of public support and the Waitemata Harbour thronged with boats of all shapes and sizes to greet the yachts. The send-off for the next perilous leg to Cape Horn was equally tumultuous with thousands lining the shores and headlands around Auckland and a massive escort of craft on the water.

By the end of the race, Blake was a household name. Even though Digby Taylor in Outward Bound had gained a better overall result (5 th on handicap as opposed to Ceramco’s 11th), it was Blake’s determination to overcome adversity that was the big talking point.

Blake’s initial inclination after his first Whitbread experience had been to say ‘never again’. This was probably partly due to the disappointment of the outcome and partly because of career ambivalence. The way of a professional yachtsman was not clear at that stage and he was by no means certain he could sustain his nomadic way of life.

Similar thoughts attended the end of the Ceramco campaign and he told interviewers at the finish party in Portsmouth he would not do the Whitbread race again. However, even as the party continued long into the night, he and his patron, Sir Tom Clark stood discussing the “what ifs” and “might have beens”. They would probably both have denied it at the time, but, effectively, they were laying the groundwork for the next campaign.

It is not uncommon after any major endeavour for participants, successful or otherwise, to say never again, only later to recant. Blake did it several times. Of his decision to have another go at the Whitbread, he explained: “… when you have lived on an adrenalin high … you forget the discomforts and the misery …Your memory conveniently erases the bad times and calls up only the good. It’s not …(the) real danger, thousands of miles from the closest land, that you remember. It’s the 300-mile days, the roller-coaster rides through big seas in gale- and even storm-force tailwinds, the excitement of arriving in Auckland, the anticipation of visiting exotic-sounding ports.”

For the fourth attempt, Blake was determined to have a full-on maxi yacht. If raising $NZ600,000 for Ceramco was a big task, the $NZ3 million a maxi campaign would demand was seriously daunting. Once again, however, Sir Tom Clark led the charge and, although the Ceramco Company could no longer play in that league, he found a new patron. Douglas Myers was a young and energetic entrepreneur heading up Lion Breweries, New Zealand’s largest beer producer. Myers took up the major sponsorship with another 12 New Zealand companies in subsidiary roles. The Lion campaign was born.

I can’t see any point in racing around the world for seven months with someone you don’t like”

— Sir Peter Blake

Lion New Zealand was a Ron Holland designed masthead sloop, which gained the nickname the Urban Assault Vehicle when it survived and won the stormy Sydney-Hobart race of 1984. It appeared to be bullet proof and, sadly, it proved to be overly conservative.

Blake had asked for a yacht displacing 31 tonnes. He was delivered a yacht of close to 38 tonnes. It was indeed bullet proof, but, in anything but very heavy conditions, it was off the pace.

To compound the problem, the conditions for that Whitbread were unusually light – exactly what Lion did not want. “In some ways, she was the right boat for the wrong race,” was Blake’s summary.

Despite the letdown, Blake had extremely fond memories of the Lion campaign, once remarking it had given him the most fun of all his Whitbread endeavours. Part of that affection is probably due to the fact that he and a delivery crew, which included Pippa and their infant daughter Sarah-Jane (plus 700 disposable nappies) sailed the yacht from New Zealand to England for the start of the race.

For the race itself, Blake assembled an enormously talented crew. There were 22 in all, each handpicked for their particular skills, but also for their compatibility. “I can’t see any point in racing around the world for seven months with someone you don’t like,” observed Blake. As ever, his choices were astute and the crew welded into tight unit that got on extremely well and formed friendships that exist to this day.

This time they suffered no major breakages or disasters, but, once again, Blake’s burning ambition to win the round the world race was denied. Even though Lion was second fastest around the world (behind the Pierre Fehlmann maxi, UBS Switzerland), she finished 7 th on handicap.

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