Any duty member who requires a membership card in order to gain access to the municipal pool is kindly requested to come in and have a photograph taken for our database. Once your photograph has been captured and your details are on the database, we will arrange for your membership card to be printed. Please make sure to come in by the latest 28^th August so that we can get the cards processed.

Name and nickname (and how you got it).

Sweep – Being a Surfboat Sweep for 36 years

How long have you been part of Marine Surf Lifesaving Club?

Been a member for 48 years.

What first brought you down to the club?

I started University in 1978 and needed vacation work to earn money. I joined Marine SLC towards the end of 1978 purely to get a Surf Proficiency Award (LSA today) to allow me to get a vacation job as a Pro Lifeguard and pay my University fees. I enjoyed the Marine SLC culture, club life and competition so much that I stayed on for another 48 years.

What’s your day job when you’re not in red and yellow?

Retired from working for a living and now working for free as Chairman of Marine SLC with the express aim of Making Marine Great Again (MMGA)!

Life at Marine
5. What’s your favourite thing about Marine Surf Lifesaving Club?

Always been in love with the ocean so what better place to have a base from which to enter the water than MSLC. It has always been a club that offers skills development, competition opportunities and a good social environment.

6. Early morning paddle or late afternoon swim? 

Early morning paddle.

7. Flat water or messy conditions?

Each has its merits. Flat water is therapeutic, Messy is fun. We are spoilt for choice at Addington and have all options that the sea throws at us. 

8. If Marine had a theme song, what should it be?

My ding a ling!

On the Water
9. Your favourite ocean conditions to train or paddle in.

Depends on the event training for, calm conditions for foundation strength, technique and fitness, rougher conditions for technical and surf skill training

10. Your least favourite conditions (be honest).

Heading into a beasterly easterly

11. Biggest wipe-out or “that didn’t go to plan” moment.

In 48 years there have been many of these..

1. Had a great ride on the mound in my single ski, paddling back out again had a monster lip break onto my ski and snap it in half. Long paddle back with only the air in the nose and tail sticking out the water. On getting back to ski wash area, saw that the jagged edges of the broken ski had cut my leg which was bleeding, so essentially had paddled  my way back with the seat part of the ski way under water and my cut leg offering a nice blood trail to anything that may have been interested.
2. Then had to buy another ski, so took a secondhand ski on sale out for a test drive and broke that in half on the test drive in the thumping Addington shorebreak. Had to pay for a ski that I would never get to use.
3. Took another secondhand ski on sale out for a test drive and broke that on the Addington shorebreak as well. Paid for yet another ski that I would never get to use.
4. Cyclone Irene 2011 – Boaties went out onto the Mound, got blown across into the line up and were ambushed by a big set that broke behind us. Had to row and pray for the best as the huge white water hit us, we got smoked, broke an oar and 3 of us took a lonnnnng  swim back to the floundering boat. Limped home with 3 oars.

12. Best paddle, swim, or patrol day you’ve had at Marine.

Christmas Day Duty about 1985. Ronnie von Breda (middle) made us neoprene bow-ties to bring some formality to our Xmas lunch. Each squad member brought something for lunch and we had our Xmas lunch in front of the duty tower as per photo. However it was a rainy day with no bathers on the beach so after lunch and getting bored we decided to make use of the water slide next to the club. The slide was closed due to the poor weather. We hopped over the wall and taking some Sunlight dishwashing liquid from the kitchen and a few buckets of water, we lubricated the idle water slide and spent the afternoon sliding down. The next day, the sun was out and the water slide opened for operation. When they switched the pumps on the cascading water from the slide churned the plunge pool water with the dishwashing liquid in it and created a foam bubbles mountain in the pool. This prevented the operator from selling tickets for most of the day as the foam bubbles meant you could not see the water and people sliding into it. Later in the day when bubbles subsided they were back in business and no one ever knew how the foam bubbles strangely appeared in the pool on that day. 

13. One skill you’re proudest of improving since joining.

The ability to know what to do to rescue someone and administer the necessary treatment be it resuscitation, cardiac massage, etc. Used these skills many times to good effect.

The Fun Stuff
14. Coffee before or after training?  After

15. If you could swap crafts for a day, what would you choose?

A 10 person Supsquatch in storm surf or out on the Mound.

16. Who at the club would you want next to you in a rescue?

Russell Sadler

17. Who tells the best stories at the club?

For cut a short story long – Mark Lewin

For a never ending story – Craig Clelland

For an entertaining afternoon – Danny Morris’ stories when he was a bouncer in Durban 1960’s

For a laugh a minute – Late Johnny Liebenberg

18. Who takes training just a little too seriously?

Still looking for him/her..

Personal Insights
19. What does being part of a lifesaving club mean to you personally?

Gives me a permanent connection to the ocean in many ways, from service to the community and members to having pure bliss on the water in the so many options available.

20. 20. What keeps you coming back, even on tough days?

The oceans bounty and the social camaraderie of a club environment.

21. Biggest lesson the ocean has taught you.

Choose your paddle/row/swim out with sound surf sense and judgement, don’t think you can just smash your way out in big surf and win. The ocean is lot bigger than you and does’nt care about you.

22. One thing people might not know about you.

“One thing people may not know about me is that I genuinely enjoy helping organisations and people reach their potential—it gives me far more satisfaction than any personal achievement.”

Quick-Fire Round
23. Sunrise or sunset?  Sunrise

24. Summer or winter paddling?  Anytime

25. Energy bar or banana?  Banana

26. Ocean swim or pool swim?  Ocean

27. Training hard or training smart?  Both – Minimum Time Maximum Effort

Looking Ahead
28. A goal you’re working towards this season. MMGA (Making Marine Great Again)

29. 29. Something you’d still like to learn or improve at the club. Get the current generations to learn how to have fun, we seem to have lost the ability and desire to do so.

30. Advice for someone thinking about joining Marine Surf Lifesaving Club.

If you enjoy the ocean, want to challenge yourself, meet great people, and be part of something bigger than yourself, then Marine Surf Lifesaving Club could be one of the best decisions you ever make.

Join Marine. Learn Skills. Make Friends. Save Lives.

31. In one sentence, describe Marine Surf Lifesaving Club.

Marine Surf Lifesaving Club is a volunteer-based coastal community organisation at Addington Beach, Durban, where members develop lifesaving skills, enjoy ocean sports, build lasting friendships, and serve the public through beach safety and rescue services.

32. If you could say one thing to your fellow members, what would it be?

NO WAVE TOO BIG NO CAN TOO COLD