I have said it before, that being an old geezer surfer I feel blessed to see young surfers get their game on.
There is a vicarious element of stoke. I know what it was like when I was in my early days, discovering every new trick, turn and experience of surfing and how crazy exciting it was.
I know what they have got ahead of them and connecting with groms keeps me happy and young at heart, which is an uplifting and amusing experience.
The flip side of the game is old connections, the history of engagement and nostalgia — also a rich tapestry that colours my view.
So, not too long ago, I got a call from Mike “Fires” van Vuuren, who was a star cricketer in his day — an opening bowler for Eastern Province.
When I had the experience of being in the SADF down in Gqeberha, the green and gold wicketkeeper of the time was Dave Richardson, his office a few doors down from mine. It was around then that I met Van Vuuren.
Van Vuuren was also a good musclecracker fisherman, and from time to time when surfing Cape Recife or Flat Rocks, I bumped into him there. Needless to say, we got on well.
Unbeknown to me, Van Vuuren was also a keen surfer but chasing waves had to play second fiddle to his cricket dreams.
Nonetheless, Van Vuuren was good friends with JBay legend of the day, Larry Levin, and through him, he learnt to make a few surfboards for himself and a couple of his friends.
He is a raging creative at heart and happiest when his hands are busy shaping, sanding, glassing or painting.
Van Vuuren’s painting seen on this page kicks back to his other loves, cricket or surfing.
A lot of his brush work includes cricket figures in action or surfing, recreations of iconic magazine covers or a reinterpretation of favourite local Buffalo City photographer Pierre De Villiers’ famous shot of a gigantic wave rolling past the tip of our long harbour wall in a colossal storm.
Van Vuuren has acquired the Levin surfboard label and is loving being in the game of surfboard manufacture.
Together with Dennis Ellis they have created some “Bruce Gold” special historic boards and current equipment with the historic twist of pigmented glassing.
Rather than spray design on the blank, in days gone by surfboards were coloured by laminating, taping, cutting and inlay of pigmented resin — a special art form which aligns well with both the history of the craft building and Van Vuuren’s adventurous art, sculpture and creative talent.
He asked me if I could identify a youngster at Nahoon Reef to ride his boards on our local waves and represent the Levin label on our shores.
Enter Selborne College High School pupil Nathan Weise, water polo player and keen and strong at Nahoon Reef.
A strapping young man, Weise does not know how much history and connection he is standing on. And sports excellence too.
Van Vuuren’s son is a top rugby player. He played at Grey High in Gqeberha and was and is good mates with Siya Kolisi, champion of the rugby world.
Kolisi spent much time in the Van Vuuren household helping young Mike eat senior Mike out of house and home.
Teenage rugby players, surfers and water polo players can run up a big grocery bill but it is all in the name of good fun, good times, good memories and great friendships that will last a lifetime.
Weise is in for an awesome ride with a top-end sportsman — painting an unwritten future guaranteed to be nothing short of fantastic adventure.
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