The Beachport community is mourning the death of popular identity A.C. “Mick” Jordan at the age of 95.


He passed away at Boneham Aged Care Services in Millicent on November 27 and a memorial gathering will be held at the Beachport Bowling Club on December 13.


Tributes have described his dedication to his family and happy nature.


Well-known for his Tantanoola garage and shop, membership of the Tantanoola football premiership team in 1947 and a successful trucking/cartage business, Mick and his wife Merna retired to Beachport several years ago and built a home overlooking Rivoli Bay.


It is thought that all of his Tiger team mates from this post-war era have died including his coach Syd Hunter and fellow teen Des Corcoran who went on to become an MP and Premier of South Australia.


There is no doubt that an active life on the footy field and in the water contributed to his remarkable fitness until late in life.


Subject to favourable weather and sea conditions, Mick would spend many mornings in his wet suit and snorkel diving for lobsters on the rock ledges near the shore.


Mick attracted wide media attention in 2012 after he found a message in a washed-up bottle.


He was even interviewed by announcer Derry Hinch on Melbourne radio station 3 AW.


On a morning on the back beaches of Beachport, he could see the bottle lying in the sand.


“I thought the bottle might get smashed and I picked it up,” he said.


“I often pick up litter from the beach.


“I held the bottle up to the light and could see it contained a message.”


It was quite a discovery for Mick as he knew well the South East waters from Carpenter Rocks in the south to Robe to the north.


The bottle had a message from nine Russian sailors and it had travelled 17,000km on the prevailing currents in the previous three years from the legendary Cape Horn on the tip of South America.


The message was written in the native tongue of the Russian crew of a yacht who had just emptied the bottle of the South Australian sparkling wine Jacob’s Creek to celebrate their feat of becoming “Cape Horners”.


With the assistance of ABC journalist and former Tantanoola and Mid SE interleague footballer Ian Altschwager, the message was translated into English.


The bottle was then presented by Mick to the Beachport National Trust Museum.