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OBITUARY MICHAEL "MICK" ELLWOOD 1938 TO DECEMBER 25, 2011 A "LEGEND OF THE SEA" BY BRUCE DUNCAN S ome people become legends in their own right over a period of time, but very few create a family name that will continue to be a living legacy of a great man. Countless people have had the pleasure of Mick Ellwood's vast knowledge of fishing and diving, not only during his time as owner and skipper of the renowned charter vessel Whai, but many also owe their lives to his many rescue missions over the years. Born the son of a paperhanger in Saltburn Yorkshire in 1938, Mick immigrated to New Zealand with his uncle in 1954 to start a new life in the Bay of Plenty. At a country dance in the Apata Hall he met Dulcie, who became his wife, soulmate and best first mate for life. When he joined the Tauranga Underwater Club, it lead him and his family on an adventure that had no end. When he often arrived home late from a diving trip, Dulcie would round up the cows and start milking them until Mick finally turned up. Then she would head home to clean the boat, cook the crayfish and fillet the fish while Mick finished the milking. Dulcie always had a sneaky suspicion Mick would get his timing just right to get to the farm gate. After buying the Whai in 1974, Mick spent six months going back and forth to the farm until he could get free of his contract and start providing overnight charters for diving clubs around New Zealand. This is where the real story of Mick and the Ellwood family began. Mick, being the kind and considerate person he was, thought that despite running the home, booking charters and raising three children, Dulcie needed to be kept busy, so he opened Whitianga Sports. He even thought shifting around filling countless scuba tanks would help keep her fit! Mick built up a huge reputation within the diving and fishing fraternity with the Whai being fully booked for most of the year. This did not stop the Ellwood family from venturing further afield. Between 1978 to 1998 Mick and the Whai made around a dozen offshore trips to the Pacific Islands with friends and family on board. The remote speck of the Minerva Reef became one of his greatest loves. On one such excursion, as Mick would call it, they were at the reef when an intense tropical storm hit the Whai and a number of other boats in the lagoon. Mick risked his life several times during the storm to assist a number of the boats that were in trouble, just as he had done many times before and since around the New Zealand coast. Mick and Dulcie sold Whitianga Sports to their daughter and son-in-law and the Whai to son John in an attempt to "semi- retire", but family and grandchildren kept them fully occupied when Mick wasn't out fishing with his mates. Mick's knowledge of the sea was legendary, hence the vast number of local club records the Ellwood family can lay claim to, and he would freely pass this knowledge on to his family and others when sought. Gamefishing was one of Mick's passions, with many a marlin succumbing to his skill on a rod. He left his greatest catch of all, a 393.8 kilo blue marlin caught in February 2011 from The Immigrant, until last. The catch earned him the coveted Old Man and the Sea Award from the 8 Professional Skipper March/April 2012 Mick thought that despite running the home, booking charters and raising three children, Dulcie needed to be kept busy New Zealand Sportfishing Council. His passion for the sea will live on through his sons Bruce, who crayfishes out of Whitianga, and John, who still runs the Whai, with all that local family knowledge being fed back to the shop. It's the best place in town to get the real oil on where the crays and fish are on any given day. Dulcie says one her fondest memories of Mick was the Minerva Reef weather bomb, when he gave so much of himself to save the lives and boats of fellow boaties. Mick's response to the same question was the time he went to sea in a storm to rescue a boat in trouble and was given a case of whisky as a thank you, but he had to give it to the local cops. This is the man who gave to others by his example and set standards so they could get more out of life. Dulcie and the Ellwood family would like to thank the Coastguard (he was recently made a life member of Coastguard Whitianga) the Mercury Bay Game Fishing Club, the fire brigade, police and extended friends and clients of the Whai for their help and support.