When Caleb Swanepoel surfed this week, he closed a tragic chapter and opened a new one filled with hope.
The 21-year-old drama student lost his right leg in a shark attack two years ago when he was bodysurfing with his brothers.
His surfing session in Muizenberg on Wednesday linked his story to that of Victoria Barry, who died of cancer when she was 22. And like a baton passed between runners, a prosthetic leg specifically designed for surfing is the golden thread that unites them.
George Bunting, a surfing coach and the owner of GB Surfboards, said: "I first met Tori [Victoria], who lost her leg to cancer, at an adaptive surf day at Muizenberg and was touched by her sadness at never having given surfing a bash, so I offered to teach her - and her instant enthusiasm was overwhelming.
"I had Tori on a surfboard within days, and though we had some challenges to overcome, she stood up and surfed a wave all the way to the beach."
Bunting realised that her "highly technical prosthetic leg" did not allow her to stand in a conventional surfing posture, so he and composite materials technologist Ian Wolmarans set out to design and build a lightweight, super-strong carbon-fibre leg.
Barry died before she could use it, but the "surf leg" was given to Swanepoel and received its baptism this week.
Swanepoel was on holiday with his family in June 2015 when he lost his leg in a shark attack at Buffalo Bay, on the Garden Route.
Through rehab, Swanepoel became a provincial swimmer. But he had not been a surfer before the attack.
"I only started trying to stand on a surfboard towards the end of 2016. After a little practice, I made the South African team and travelled to California to compete in the World Adaptive Surfing Championships," he said.
Swanepoel is now in his third year of studies and is also a motivational speaker.
But more than anything he wants to raise funds from businesses so that more surf legs can be manufactured for young people who can't afford them.
"I am very excited for the future of adaptive surfing in South Africa," he said.
