In 1964 a friends mom drove us to southern California for a 2 week surfing tour. In those days camping was easy. We started in San Diego and worked our way north. Surfed some fun waves in warmer water then we were used to. We made it to Malibu on a super warm day on the coast. The place was mad with board riders. I was lucky enough to catch one wave. There was this super dark dude tearing the place up. Watched him destroy 10 waves on an hour. Everyone would yield to this guy. Didn’t take long to realize it was Miki, especially when he got out of the water. His dark skin matched his black board shorts. He faded into the beach crowd. encircled by the full time locals. This whole scene was everything I ever imagined about surfers and surfing. Gut hooked for life. His quirky lifestyle was imitated by many. Very sad he died at an early age. RIP MikI Thanks for this remembrance of this person Break.
This is the apparent story of how he ended up in J-Bay during the mid-80’s:
After some shenanigans, his parents that were quite wealthy, told him that they’d give him a million dollars to leave California and preferably the States. So he left for J-Bay. I was 14 years old and on a surfing trip with my uncle down in the Eastern Cape. We had some really good waves and it was my first time in Jeffrey’s...I was stoked. The swell came up and the bay started drawing these long lines. I paddled into a nice 8 footer and had the ride of my life. The wave seemed to go on forever and I rode it all the way through. By the time I kicked out at the end my legs were shaking from the fatigue.
There was this bloke sitting on his board on the inside section waiting for a break to negotiate the treacherous rocks paddling in. I paddled past him and realised that it was none other than Miki Dora. My face lit up when I saw him. He smiled back and said, “ Great wave kiddo!”.
I was so happy and mumbled my thanks as he turned around on a small wave and scrambled over the rocks. For a young grommet, that made my decade. Da Cat...