A Step Too Far

Pete Bland and nine shipmates had been tossed in high seas off Antarctica for three days when Pete volunteered for an icy plunge -- a daring attempt to cut through thick rope tangled around the yacht's propeller.

Back at home, Jools was stunned -- and troubled that Pete would volunteer for what seemed perilously close to a suicide mission.

Sara James: Does he think he's Superman?

Julia Bland: Yes.

Sara James: There's nothing he can't do.

Julia Bland: No.

But Pete had his eyes on the prize. If he succeeded, he'd earn a spot on an upcoming expedition to the North Magnetic Pole - and a chance to make history as the first Australian to get to both poles.

He knew he had just five minutes -- any longer in such frigid water could be deadly.

Off you go, Son. Don't get tangled with the line. Don't go cuttin' the safety line off.

With the crew waiting anxiously on deck, Pete went under... And started hacking at the rope.

Peter Bland: And it wasn't coming free quickly.  And I-- even my little frozen mind knew that the strategy that I'd gone down with to cut this rope free wasn't gonna work.  Because it was too much rope.

Out of breath, Pete had no choice but to surface... Then dive back down and try to uncoil the rope. He had been in the water more than four and a half minutes.

Peter Bland: I kinda just leaned back and just let my hands do the job. And I just did that and I knew, FOOM! As the rope came off, I-- I fell away and up I went.  And I remember they just hauled me in, you know.  I was done.

On the deck, Pete's crewmates knew Pete had passed the five-minute mark. The crew rushed to warm his shivering body.

Peter Bland: I was just throbbing. My head was just f-foom...

When Jools heard how long he'd been in the icy water...

Julia Bland: I mean, if it was life-threatening, you know, if-- if   somebody's life depended on it, that's something, you know. But, I mean, it sounds quite ridiculous that you would do that.

Still, Pete had saved the trip and his chance to step on Antarctic soil. He returned home, on top of the world -- and ready to take a different plunge.

Julia Bland: He got down on one knee, and I-- and asked me, and I actually said, "Are you serious?"  'Cause I thought, "I'm not telling you what my answer is unless I know he's serious, because then you're one step ahead of me.  And you know what my answer will be." I, of course, said yes.

Life seemed perfect…but things were about to take a frightening turn.  Pete was training hard for that "payoff" trip to the Arctic  -- when  he suddenly felt dizzy and sick. Jools rushed  him to the doctor.

Julia Bland: It was his aorta, which had blown up to the size of a football.

Pete had an aneurysm in the main artery carrying blood from his heart. If the aneurysm burst, it could kill him. He needed surgery...and soon.

Peter Bland: I said, "Oh, doc, all right.  Thank you for that. Thank you.  Can you do it tomorrow?  Can you fix it tomorrow?  Or can you leave it for six months?" And he said, "No.  But why?"  And I said, "I'm sorry, Doc.  I'm Pete Bland and I'm gonna be the first Australian to the North Magnetic Pole. And I'd really appreciate it if you could knock that surgery out quick smart. 

The man who didn't know the word "no" couldn't hear the bad news.  Jools could.

Julia Bland: The fellow said, "I don't think you're understanding what this means.  This is a life-threatening situation.  You might not walk again. You know, you need to reconsider your life."

But what seemed most troubling to Pete was when the surgeon told him he'd have to forget about his trip to the Arctic.

Peter Bland:  I cried and I'll never forget it.  And Jools knew why I was crying. Why I was upset. Why I was devastated. And it wasn't because of the surgery.

Sara James: It was because of the dream.

Peter Bland: It was because of the dream. She knew that I'd allowed my dream to be ripped out of me.

Doctors thought his condition was - at least in part - a result of Pete's icy plunge. It seemed Pete's quest for adventure was beginning to take a toll.

Julia Bland: I didn't like the idea of this time bomb ticking away in his chest.  I wanted it out.  I wanted it fixed.

But surgery carried its own terrifying risks:  paralysis, even death. Would this crisis be Pete's wake-up call to step back from a life on the edge?

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