Fishing knows no boundaries, and Hennie van der Merwe, a paraplegic who has gone to the extremes to continue practising his most beloved sport, is testament to this.

Van der Merwe, better known to churchgoers at CRC Nelspruit as Pastor Hennie, lost the use of his legs following a shooting incident in 1997.

It transpired on December 3. He was doing holiday work in Mthatha in the Transkei, when between two houses sitting and waiting for his next appointment, two men came down the street and shot him for no reason – no fighting, no conversation – only taking his cell phone. The bullet broke two of his ribs, went through both his lungs and hit his spine, instantly paralysing him for life.

Van der Merwe’s heart stopped three times in hospital that night and his lungs collapsed more than once. “The awesome doctors fought and pulled me through. God will always send the right people at the right time,” he said.

“I had to start all over again. Getting dressed or getting in and out of the bed, bathing and going to the toilet were just some of my greatest battles. Relearning how to drive, how to deal with people staring at me, questions, judgements, pity and most importantly, helping me, got me going for a while. Emotionally I have always been strong, so after I was shot I just focused on what I had and how to improve it and make the most of it – every moment and a day at a time. Not to overthink anything, and most importantly was the forgiveness for those who had shot me, so the past had no hold on me, leaving me only with the future God has for me. But that future has come with hard work and focus and staying in His presence, and that was only possible through the church where I got prayer, direction, sanity, purpose, strength and most importantly, love,” he said.

“I was born with two hands and I have learned how to use them together with some common sense and applying my mind. I study a lot of things and then just start doing it – designing, building, everything with the mind of ‘it must just work’. The worst words in the world for me are, “it cannot be done” – those words activate me. I will spend hours learning new skills in anything. I’m also not afraid to ask and people are always willing to help, whatever I have built or designed was with the help of many others. God gave us many talents – maybe I’m still exploring mine,” he said.

Sport, especially fishing, is something that helps Van der Merwe to let his mind go and to push his body to the limit, which is not always possible in day-to-day activities. “Sport is crucial to me. It keeps me clear and fit,” he said. “It has always been part of my life. I’m not the best, but not the worst either. Rugby and wrestling were top of my list when I could walk. After being shot, I did some powerlifting, quad bike endurance racing, pencil duck boat racing, bass fishing and drone sea fishing,” he said.

But to make fishing, his favourite hobby possible, in mostly inaccessible areas in a wheelchair, he got this tiny, red three metre by 1,2 metre aluminum boat that is light enough for him to handle. But, the first time he took to the water, it was unstable and he felt unsafe. He decided to widen and length the boat to twice its size with advanced materials and paints to convert it into a 3,6 metre by 1,8 metre vessel.

“It is now as stable as most big boats,” Van der Merwe said, after he installed a deck, comfort adjustable swivel seats and all the extras you need on a bass boat, most of it self-made, designed and or built to fit his needs.

“The boat is fully controlled by means of a drone remote control and my smartphone – starting, steering, trim and tilt, stop, choke and gears. Remember, I don’t run around on the boat, I pretty much sit still in one place,” he said, tongue in cheek. He is yet to improve on his personal best bass of 1,5 kilograms, but is quick to back it up with a photograph of a 105-kilogram black tip shark caught while drone fishing.

“My thinking behind the project is to be able to fish for an entire day with his wife, Elizna, with as much comfort as possible. This includes the launching of the boat, especially at dams that do not have boat ramps. The trailer also had to be changed so that it can drop down to the ground and the boat is effortlessly pushed on rollers into the water, with a deck on the trailer to get into the boat without all the mud and water. Comfort at a whole other level. I reckoned that if I can build the boat to do everything alone, it will please and make it easier for Elizna to go fishing with me, and it actually works,” Van der Merwe said. While the boat looks in mint condition and is competition-ready, he said it is still a work in progress, and will probably, always be. “My brother, LB, and I have put in many hours to strive for perfection – it is just my nature.”

His advice to others is to never give up on anything you believe in.

“Do everything you can to make it work. Stay very close to God, be connected to a local church and be fully involved in it. God’s abundant life only flows through the church, even doing simple things like designing a boat and building it yourself, to the more serious things like our careers and family life – the highest being to reconcile the world back to God through our lives. Loving all people with forgiveness as our highest priority to everyone around us. The past must never keep you back, and most of all, enjoy life every day, even if it hurts,” he concluded.