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Court hears Blake shooting details

Sir Peter Blake
Blake's death shocked the yachting fraternity  


MACAPA, Brazil -- Legendary New Zealand yachtsman Peter Blake was shot twice in the back while trying to fix a jammed rifle, a Brazilian court has been told.

Blake was killed onboard Seamaster by pirates who raided the boat as it was anchored at the mouth of the Amazon River on December 5 last year.

A judge has heard from witnesses this week ahead of a trial expected to be held in the coming months.

Four of Blake's crew said a gang of six armed and masked men stormed the boat as they drank beer to celebrate reaching the Amazon River.

English crew member Rodger Moore said Blake, one of the most successful sailors in yachting history, alerted the members of the 10-man crew that did not speak English saying: "This is real. This is a robbery."

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Peter Blake: A sailing hero 
 

Moore said he threw his beer in the face of one pirate but was knocked out by a blow to the face with a rifle butt, Reuters news agency reported.

When he woke up the pirates were shooting their guns at the boat as they sped off in a rubber dingy, he said.

"It was the robbers who shot first," he told the judge.

The witnesses said Blake scrambled for his rifle as the pirates fled, firing one shot while several of the robbers were still on the Seamaster and then his rifle jammed.

The assailants still on the boat then gunned him down, they said.

Four of six men in custody have confessed to killing Blake, but said they fired in self-defence after the crew opened fire.

They made off with watches, cameras, cash and a dingy.

Blake, 53, was killed by two shots in the back. His death shocked the world, especially New Zealand where he was a national hero.

During his lengthy career, he won the yachting's most high-profile trophy, the America's Cup, in 1995 and 2000. He was also the only man to compete in the first five Whitbread Round the World races and won it in 1989-90.



 
 
 
 


RELATED STORIES:
• NZ farewells slain hero Blake
December 23, 2001
• Pirates kill America's Cup skipper
December 7, 2001

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