Eight Bells: Michael Ellison

Michael Ellison, 89, a prominent member of the World Sailing Speed Record Council, passed away on April 14, 2025. He dedicated many years to the WSSRC, providing input and knowledge for the record monitoring agency.

Michael made numerous trips around the World to supervise events, meet with people, and enjoyed watching ideas as they developed. He enjoyed going on trips to Brazil, Lüderitz, the Canary Islands, and other parts of the world to watch speed sailing events and record attempts, and found these compensated for sitting in front of the Lizard Light house on wet and windy nights waiting for a transatlantic record attempt to finish.

Ocean racing started in 1960 in Plymouth when Sir Francis Chichester made a bet with Blondie Hasler for Half a Crown. This led to the creation of the OSTAR which established the first East to West Transatlantic time reference. Michael had entered the first race but failed to start, making the hard decision that his boat was not ready for the crossing.

However, he was back for the 1964 race in a 35-footer, junk-rigged ketch, Ilala. He finished 8th out of 15 competitors in a time of 46 days, 6 hours, and 26 minutes despite having lost his mast and sailing the last part under jury rig. As a result, he was made an honorary citizen of the finishing port Newport, RI.

His contributions to the WSSRC will continue for the benefit of speed sailing, helping innovators to achieve their records. Michael’s Funeral is planned to take place in his Home Port of Plymouth during May.