Durban - Dave “Ticky” Ross couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate his 80th birthday than surfing with mates at North Beach - which is exactly what he did at the weekend, before being treated to a surprise party at the Durban Surf Livesaving Club.
“I was planning to keep my birthday very low-key and thought I was just coming down to the beach to surf,” said Ross. “I nearly didn’t come, because the waves weren’t looking too great and it’s also a bit cold.”
But the lure of catching even a few good waves proved too much for Ross and it was only when he spotted his friends and family gathered at the beach that the penny dropped. “I really had no idea any of this was planned. So much for thinking I could get away with ignoring my birthday,” he laughed, as he paddled out for a quick surf.
Then it was time for coffee and cake at Durban Surf, where Ross was joined by his mostly seventysomething mates and his family.
His nephew, well-known surfer Graeme Bird, talked about “growing up with Uncle David” on the beachfront.
“His whole family history is in this zone of Durban and it was Uncle David who inspired me - and so many others - to surf. He really is such an inspiration to us all and a great ambassador for surfing as a way of keeping fit.”
Ross’s sister, Liz Bird, an accomplished body boarder, said it was remarkable that even with a pacemaker and three stents, her brother was still “out there catching waves”.
Ross began surfing when he was 18 and was one of only a few surfers in South Africa.
“Before that everyone just body surfed,” he said. “My first board was called a South African board and was made from masonite and was about 16-foot long. I went through many variations of surfboards before the foam board evolved.”
Surfing led to lifesaving and he joined Durban Surf in 1954, before working in the Channel Islands as a lifesaver in the early 1960s.
Back home he worked in the printing industry until he retired 20 years ago. “So I’ve got plenty of time now to surf,” he says. “When the waves are good I’ll be out there every day.”
Until recently the father of two girls and two grandchildren was also an avid cyclist and he spent Sunday - his actual birthday - enjoying another surprise party with his “Old Goats cycling team” members.
Chairman of Lifesaving KwaZulu-Natal Mike Raubenheimer said according to his research Ross was the oldest active surfer in South Africa, followed by his pal Jimmy Bell, 77, from Cape Town. (Bell was also in the water on Friday.)
Ross said he hoped he’d still be surfing for a good few years and joked that if he was lucky enough to get a few more waves, he could be forgiven for “dropping in” on his friends’ waves.
The Mercury