‘LET us all enjoy our beaches,’ is the slogan printed on his T-shirt.
That is the message retired skipper and renowned local surfer ‘Stingray’ shares at every opportunity.
As he speaks to the ZO, he weighs a bag of rusted knives in his hand.
‘I picked this up from the beach doing my usual clean-ups. Why are people bringing knives to the beach?’
Born and bred in the Transkei, seawater flows through Stingray’s veins.
He has walked beaches, scanned the surf, watched the winds, predicted the weather and read the tides his entire life.
The sea is his livelihood, passion, hobby and leisure.
His surfing took him to California, Mauritius and Mozambique, but he has now settled in the Bay.
During the recent SA Surfing Championships at Alkantstrand, he competed in the over 60s category, winning his first heat.
But, disappointment over beach conditions, aggravated by biting criticism from other surfers, marred the special occasion.
‘While I was living at Mdumbi in the Transkei, the municipality hired a hundred local grannies to clean up the beaches.
‘I transported the waste to Coffee Bay for disposal.
‘We cleaned up from the Umtata River mouth to the Mdumbi River and that year a well-known travel magazine voted us the most pristine beach on the eastern seaboard.
‘If a poorer rural municipality can create employment while conserving their beaches, we should follow suit.
‘People come to Richards Bay to swim, fish and surf. If our beaches are neglected and poorly kept, it will adversely affect tourism, the hospitality industry and the entire local economy, which we can’t afford.
‘It was the first time in history that the SA Surfing Championships were held here.
‘Poles were sticking out and an old pipe was left open, which could easily have been removed. It was tetanus waiting to happen.’
Stingray says years ago he even recovered a loaded gun from the shallow water where children were playing.
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