it doesn't matter how charmed your life may appear, life is still short.

Peter Blake's achievements

A brief timeline of the life and achievements of
America's Cup and Round the World winning
yachtsman Peter Blake, who was killed by pirates in
Brazil on Thursday:

1 October 1948 Born in Auckland.

1974 First round-the-world yacht race as watch
officer on Burton Cutter.

1979 Line honours and course record in Fastnet
race on Condor.

1980 Line and handicap honours Sydney-Hobart
Race on Ceramco

1982 Named New Zealand's Yachtsman of the
Year.

1983 Awarded MBE

1988 Line honours in inaugural two-man round
Australia race aboard Steinlager 1.

1989/90 Line, handicap and overall honours for
Round the World Race aboard Steinlager 2. Named
New Zealand's Sports Personality of the Year in
1989.

1990 Named New Zealand's Sportsman of the Year
and New Zealand's Yachtsman of the Year.

1991 Awarded OBE

1992 Brought in to New Zealand's unsuccessful America's Cup challenge.

1994 Wins Jules Verne Trophy for fastest non-stop circumnavigation of world
aboard Enza. Named World Sailor of the Year and British Yachtsman of the
Year.

1995 Head of New Zealand's successful America's Cup challenge. Knighted for
services to yachting. Awarded (with Robin Knox Johnston) the Royal Yacht
Squadron's Sir Francis Chichester Trophy. Also received New Zealand's
Outstanding Management and Marketing Achievement Award.

1997 Appointed captain of Cousteau Society, combining his duties with planning
for New Zealand's America's Cup defence.

2000 Team New Zealand becomes first non-American team to successfully
defend the Auld Mug. Resigns from Cousteau Society and establishes
"blakexpeditions" to educate people about the world's ecosystems.

2001 January-March Inaugural blakexpeditions voyage to the Antarctic
Peninsula. Appointed a Special Envoy of the United Nations Environment
Programme.

2001 December 5 Killed by pirates while on another blakexpeditions voyage in
Amazonia.

� Reuters
Published on Dec 07, 2001
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