Peter Blake

Blake and Knox-Johnston again teamed up in 1995 in New Zealand's bid to wrest the America's Cup from the United States. In charge of the New Zealand America's Cup team in 1995, Blake had only a limited budget to work with. It was his outstanding leadership and organizational skills that won the race for Team New Zealand, not superior financing. Blake started by breaking his team into five groups, each responsible for a separate specialty: sailing, boatbuilding, design, administration, and public relations, and he mortgaged his house to pay for the entry fee. At the end, when funds ran dry, Blake and his team were supported by the proceeds of sales of Blake's trademark red socks, a pair of which Blake wore throughout the race, and which New Zealanders bought by the thousands.

Blake and his team won the America's Cup on the doorstep of defending champion, Dennis Connor, when they finished the race off San Diego. Team New Zealand dealt the Americans a humiliating defeat, winning the race 5-0, and the New Zealanders returned home national heroes. (The Americans had kept the Cup for 132 years, from the first race in 1851 until 1983, when it was finally won by a team of Australian sailors. However, the Americans won it back in the next race, in 1987.) Both Blake and Robin Knox-Johnston were knighted that same year, 1995, for their contributions to the sport of yachting. Team New Zealand, again with Blake in charge, though not as his ship's captain, went on to successfully defend the Cup in 2000.

Blake told the Herald of Glasgow about preparations for the 2000 race, "We have had a tight budget—but I believe firmly that if you have too much money you look at aspects of research and development that do not matter. Having to mind the dollars makes you focus on those areas likely to be the most productive. Money does not buy the America's Cup. In the final analysis you have to get all the little things right, and that comes down to the talent and commitment of the people on the team."

Blake cited small improvements in every aspect of the design, construction, and sailing of the boat as the contributing factors to winning the race. "Every damn thing matters," he told the Herald, "and if you add up the seconds here and there you end up with the difference between success and failure."

In 2000, Blake founded a nonprofit organization called blakexpeditions, whose purpose was to sail around the world in the cause of environmental conservation, and to, according to Blake's statement on the organization's web site, "convey our experiences, and what we find, through inspirational television, an exciting web site, stimulating educational programmes and informative media and publishing agendas."