Sir Peter Blake, the world's most famous sailor, who went further and faster then anyone before, was yesterday shot and killed by a group of armed pirates known as "the water rats" in a night-time robbery on his boat in the Brazilian Amazon.
Blake, aged 53, had returned from dinner with his crew in Macapa, a remote city on the northern bank of the Amazon delta, when a gang of up to eight men arrived at his boat by rubber dinghy.
When the gang, wearing motorcycle helmets, made their demands, Blake reached for his gun and shot one of them, according to Brazilian police. In retaliation the robbers opened fire. Blake died from gunshot wounds. Two other members of the crew were injured.
It was a tragic end for the man who dominated the world of sailing for more than a decade, twice securing the America's Cup - the sport's most prestigious trophy - for his native New
Zealand. Blake was also the only man to complete five Whitbread Round the World races, finally winning in 1990 when, uniquely, he finished first in all six legs.
"He was a New Zealand hero and everyone will feel a great sense of sadness at his death,"
Paul East, New Zealand's high commissioner in London, said.
Last night, as tributes continued to pour in from around the world for the man whose other great love was the environment, the New Zealand ambassador in Brazil arrived in Macapa.
Brazilian police said the robbers took a watch and the boat's motor. No one has been arrested.
Blake, who was appointed in July as a goodwill ambassador of the United Nation's environment programme, was on a research expedition - sponsored by Omega - that was progressing up the River Amazon. He arrived in Rio de Janeiro on September 12 and headed north up the Brazilian coast. He reached Belem, where the Amazon meets the
Atlantic Ocean, on October 2. The crew was planning to sail upstream and reach Venzeuela at the beginning of February.
Blake was travelling with 14 crew, including his daughter Sarah Jane. Nine people were on board the Seamaster yacht when the attack happened, just after 10pm on Wednesday.
The riverside near Macapa is well known for its violence, said a man in the city who did not want to be named. "Blake was badly advised to anchor there," he said. "The police definitely know who did it, but they will only catch them if there is enough international pressure."
Blake arrived in Macapa away from the eyes of the local media. "There is no way the pirates knew who he was. For them he was just another tourist with a large boat."
While on his Amazonian journey Blake kept a log on his website. The last entry was written on Wednesday, the day he died. "Status: still motoring. Conditions: pleasant," he wrote.
"Dusk has turned the surface of the river into a greasy grey, with the sky quickly darkening after the sun's orange and golds have gone.
"Again, I raise the question: why are we here? Our aim is to begin to understand the reasons why we must all start appreciating what we have before it is too late. We want to restart people caring for the environment as it must be cared for. We want to make a difference."

Blake, who had started to sail aged five, had achieved what he set out to do in the sport- everything. His domination was a hallmark of his application, persistence and overriding passion for the job in hand. The yacht in which he finally won the Whitbread, Steinlager 2, was built to the limits of the rule for that race. It incorporated his and designer Bruce Farr's thinking and gave him a psychological as well as physical advantage over his rivals.
In those days (1989/90), the race was scored on cumulative time and at the end of the first leg, from Southampton to Punta del Este in Uruguay, Blake had such a commanding lead that he need only sail the rest of the race conservatively to be sure of overall victory.
Buoyed by that success, Blake was sought by Sir Michael Fay to instil a spirit of teamwork into his America's Cup campaign for New Zealand in 1992.
He was devastated by the failure of this campaign, and when Fay stood down Blake picked up the gauntlet, mortgaging his house to pay the $75,000 deposit for a challenge in 1995. At the time he had no support, but he had always had strong backers in his home country and financial leaders provided most of the money needed.
He had, by then, captured the Jules Verne Trophy for the fastest sailing circumnavigation with co-skipper Robin Knox-Johnston aboard the 92-foot catamaran Enza. His "lucky red socks" - knitted for him by his wife Pippa - became an icon. 500,000 pairs were sold in New
Zealand, with half a million dollars helping the challenge fund.
Black Magic, with Blake as skipper, lost only two races in the challenger trials and went on to win the cup in straight races. He received a knighthood, and managed the successful defence of the Cup in 2000, again winning in five straight races.
He had earlier become head of the Jacques Cousteau Foundation. Blake took the foundation's specially designed boat and set off on scientific exploration in Antarctic waters twice before opting for further scientific research up the Amazon.