Duration: 30mins
Vue Pty Ltd. (c) Peter Bland is an explorer/adventurer who knows that no one gets a free trip. His eye is always on the promotion and the sponsorship dollar, even if it is the video rights to his open-heart surgery. A beguiling business story with a twist about a man who never gives in, beating the odds adrift in the freezing Antarctic, trekking to the North Pole, or braving the corporate world. From the rough landscapes of rural Victoria to the freezing waters of the unforgiving Antarctic, his desire to triumph is amazing and at times unbelievable. Peter is employed at short notice as a navigator on a yacht carrying a British expedition in search of the Magnetic South Pole. The yacht is a round the world sailing vessel built for one. There are three experienced sailors among the ten crew members aboard this small craft. As they near Antarctica a rope is inadvertently dropped overboard and the yacht's propeller is firmly ensnared. Having only sail power in iceberg-strewn seas puts the yacht and all on board in peril. Peter goes to famous British explorer and expedition leader David Hempleman-Adams with a proposition; if he will guarantee Peter a place on a planned expedition in search of the Magnetic North Pole, he will go over the side into the frigid water and attempt to cut the propeller free. There is no scuba equipment on board, but Peter braves the unforgiving temperature and plunges into the water. Four and a half minutes is the maximum time a man can survive in the water before succumbing to acute hypothermia. It takes five minutes for Peter to cut the rope free. He is hauled aboard exhausted, but remarkably he appears unharmed. Shortly after his return to Australia it is discovered that the dive has in fact triggered a serious heart condition. Peter must undergo massive intrusive heart surgery which threatens to leave him a paraplegic. After a long and difficult operation and with phenomenal tenacity he forces himself to exercise and in a few weeks is back training to go to the Magnetic North Pole. Less than 12 months later the unthinkable has happened, Peter is navigating an expedition in search of the Magnetic North Pole. He has pulled through and convinced the Anglo-Australian expedition to put the team's lives in the hands of a man who has recently undergone massive heart surgery.
|
