A Step Too Far

Sara James Correspondent • Profile

There is nothing typical about Pete and Julia Bland.

Julia Bland: We've never done comfortable domestic. It's always been high octane. My life with Pete has ranged across the most enormous spectrum from the very brightest of golds, shimmering, summertime,  complete and utter frivolity, to horror-movie horrifying, adventures that have gone completely wrong, head injuries, heart surgeries. It's been extreme.

Like most of us, they wanted to live life to the fullest and follow their dreams. But unlike many others, their dreams and challenges - so extraordinary, they were captured on a huge canvas - splashed across newspapers, detailed in a book, featured on television.

Local news: Injured Antarctic adventurer Peter Bland forced to wait for a family reunion...

To the public, Pete was the "ice man". Julia, his stunning wife. Their story was driven by adrenaline-pumping adventure, big ambitions, and even bigger sacrifices. Risks to life ... And love.

Peter Bland: I had no comprehension of the price that I might pay one day for my actions.

Their journey together had a storybook beginning. They met as teenagers in southern Australia where Pete was a farm kid. It was impossible not to notice Julia Knight, an effervescent city girl her friends called "Jools."

Peter Bland: Jools is just gorgeous, you know, she's just like --

Sara James: You felt like she was a step--

Peter Bland: Just out of my league, you know, just out of my league. So-- just, not much. But a little bit.

They became friends... Danced together at parties. But then one day, Pete gathered his courage and asked her out on a date. Jools loved horses, so Pete wooed her with a ride through the mountains near his home, serenading her along the way.

Peter Bland: That date was the beginning of a journey of travel, adventure, experiences like a fantasy.

Julia Bland: There was never any, "Will I, won't I, sort of, go out with him?" It was from that moment on, he was the one.

Jools was raised in a conventional home and was impressed by Pete's sense of adventure, his can-do spirit, his relentless determination.

Sara James: This is a man who doesn't take no for an answer.

Julia Bland: No, he doesn't know the word no. He just has this - incredible energy. Just a great energy.

They were young, in love... And living a dream. They windsurfed in St. Lucia, motorbiked in Greece, sailed the Coral Sea.

Julia Bland: Life was easy, you know? Life was uncomplicated. It was university. It was a bit of work. It was saving up money to get on an airplane and go travel. It was very easy to be in - in love.

Sara James: It sounds like one big, romantic vacation.

Julia Bland: Pretty much was.

After college, Jools settled into a career in corporate public relations. But Pete had no interest in a 9 to 5 job. He earned some money moving racing yachts across the Atlantic, started a shortbread cookie company on the farm, traded commodities overseas.

He was always looking to make a living while exploring the world.

Jools admired the dreamer in Pete and wasn't at all surprised when he signed on for an expedition to the South Magnetic Pole. Little did she know he was about to volunteer to risk his life near the bottom of the Earth.

Of all the things Pete wanted to do in life, going to Antarctica was at the top of the list. One day, when he least expected it, he got his chance... When his best friend had to bow out of a spot on a yacht crew.

Peter Bland:  I said, "Man, I'm there. I'll be there tomorrow morning at 10 a.m." Bang. You know, done.

Sara James:  You couldn't wait.

Peter Bland:  There's no way in the world I'd miss an opportunity to go to Antarctica.

Sara James:  Did Pete come and talk to you before he said yes?

Julia Bland:  Oh no.

Sara James:  And you were supportive of this?

Julia Bland:  Yeah. Look we had-- an understanding that neither of us would ever impinge on each other's wishes and dreams in that way.

And so the very next day, Pete was off - on a voyage he and his shipmates would never forget.

For starters, conditions were terrible... And only getting worse.

Peter Bland: It was a pretty stormy trip. We were in, like, 19 knots, surfing down the face of these waves.

They were being tossed like a toy in high seas, fighting frigid temperatures that glazed the yacht in ice. And then, of course, there were the icebergs.

Peter Bland: And you're on a 60-foot yacht with ten lives onboard. And a quarter of an inch of aluminum between you and the iceberg the size of a small country.

It was difficult and expensive for Pete to call from the yacht, but Jools was used to periods apart and assumed no news was good news.

Julia Bland: As far as I knew the trip was going well.

In fact, it wasn't. In the scramble to dodge an iceberg, a rope had fallen overboard -- wrapped around the propeller -- and crippled the vessel.

For three days they drifted and bobbed, unable to free the rope.

Peter Bland: Well, everyone said, "That's it. We give up. We're gonna turn around and go back."

Their destination was within sight but Pete's shipmates wanted to turn around and limp back into warmer waters under sail power …skip the risky final few miles of the journey to Antarctic shores.

But Pete had another idea.

Peter Bland:  I saw it as an opportunity.

Sara James:  An opportunity for what?

Peter Bland:  To prove myself.

Prove himself… to the patron of the trip. Pete hoped to earn a spot on the next expedition by rescuing this one...

The catch? The only way to reach the propeller was to dive into the ocean, which was just 30 degrees. The ship's doctor said any more than five minutes in the frigid water could be deadly.

Sara James:  This was like “Mission Impossible.”

Peter Bland: Yeah.

Sara James: You had five minutes. Do it or forget it.

Peter Bland: Yeah.

Back at home in Australia, Jools had no idea what Pete was about to do -- and was shocked when she later learned the details.

Julia Bland: There was no wetsuit on board. They'd been left off on the dock. So he was sort of in wet weather gear that was kind of taped up. I just thought what an idiot. I really just thought, that's crazy.

Crazy because Jools knew something Pete's shipmates didn't -- that Pete had a medical history which made the plunge especially risky for him.

At the age of eight, Pete had open heart surgery to repair a hole in his heart. During his recovery, Pete says his father -- a distinguished judge as well as a farmer --  pushed him to do endless exercises, accepting no excuses -- instilling the lesson that, through hard work:

Peter Bland: Anything, anything can be gotten over if your dream is big enough.

And so, tethered to the deck and wearing little more than rain gear, Pete took a deep breath, and went in -- a kitchen knife strapped to his wrist.

Pete knew the immediate physical risk he was taking. But had no idea of the other, greater cost he might pay for his daring deed.

Peter Bland: You can chuck Pete Bland in a hole and he'll get out of it every single time.  It does beg the question, doesn't it?  Why does he keep on putting himself in holes?

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