They say that blood is thicker than water, but in the Blake family blood and water are one in the same. James Blake is the son of legendary New Zealand sailor Sir Peter Blake who singlehandedly put New Zealand first among equals in the realm of long distance offshore racing, the Whitbread Round the World Race (now the Volvo Ocean Race) in particular. But Peter Blake was killed by pirates during an Amazon expidition when son James as only 14. Now, James is filling his father’s shoes as he races in the VOR for the first time. Read the full story in The New York Times.