Sporting hero to be commemorated in Great Blake Race

Media release

September 23, 2014

Sporting hero to be commemorated in first ever Great Blake Race

The inaugural Great Blake Race is set to take place on November 6 and entries are now open for the inaugural yachting contest, named for one of New Zealand’s greatest sailors and sporting heroes.

The Great Blake Race will be a thrilling battle, between ten teams on Auckland’s Waitemata Harbour, with funds raised going to the Sir Peter Blake Trust for future Young Blake environmental expeditions.

Anyone can enter, regardless of experience, as each team of three will be paired with a coach and world-class skipper aboard their Elliott 7 sailing craft. Some of the country’s top names in sailing, who will be lending their expertise as skippers on the day, include: Olympic gold medalists Jo Aleh and Polly Powrie; Olympic silver medalist and skipper of the 1995 All Women’s Americas Cup Team, Leslie Egnot; Olympic Finn class bronze medalist and 1995/2000 Team New Zealand grinder, Craig Monk; Olympian and former Americas Cup Skipper, Chris Dickson; and Olympian Match Racing Class 2012 and national Optimist coach, Susannah Pyatt; as well as several more names still to be announced.

Sir Peter Blake Trust CEO, Shelley Campbell, says that funds raised from The Great Blake Race, to be held in partnership with the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron, will help fund future environmental expeditions to locations such as the Sub-Antarctic Auckland Islands, where planning and surveying work for Blake Station – a world-leading climate research base – is currently underway.

“Young Blake Expeditions seeks to continue the incredible legacy of Sir Peter Blake, who, after a successful sailing career, dedicated his life to driving awareness and action around critical changes happening in ‘hotspots’ such as the Amazon and Antarctica,” says Ms Campbell.

The funds raised from the Great Blake Race will enable young New Zealand leaders to gain invaluable education on important marine environmental issues and, on their return, be able to share their knowledge and passion and with the rest of New Zealand,” adds Ms Campbell.

To enter a team of three costs $5,000 and the entry fee includes team battle ags and yachts ready to race, with all safety equipment, plus a light lunch, the opportunity to mix and mingle with world class skippers, a fun afternoon of racing, prizegiving dinner, entertainment and a live auction. To enter a team or to find out more information about The Great Blake Race, please visit www.sirpeterblaketrust.org/get-involved/the-great-blake-race-is-on.

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