Excellent Opening Day For The 2025 South African Masters Championship at Long Beach in Cape Town

Long Beach, Kommetjie, Cape Town - it was a sublime opening day of Long Beach perfection for all competitors in the South African Masters Surfing Championships.

 

Long Beach, despite her flaws, is a nifty venue for a surf event. Lefts and rights with great scoring potential reeling through, the occasional barrel, and the lefts teasing you into a kamikaze shorebreak that can either end in a big, high-scoring close-out bash, or a possible broken board and a damaged ego.

Long Beach © Keahlo Van Gysen

The day started bright and early with the O40 Men in the water, and stand-outs were Tyrell Johnson and Orrin Johnson (Buffalo City) and defending champion Simon Fish, surfing for Ethekwini.

Next in was the 045 Men. The seasoned competitive duo of former CT surfers Greg Emslie (Buffalo City) and Paul Canning (Ethekwini), along with Tristan Johnson (Buffalo City), dominated the round with high-performance surfing in the glassy lefts and rights that Long Beach was delivering on tap.

Wayne Monk continued the Buffalo City domination in the O50 Men with a decisive win over Ugu's Frankie Oberholzer, with Warwick Heny (Buffalo City) and Cass Collier (Cape Town Surfriders) also putting in some stellar performances to win through to the next round.

Cass Collier © Keahlo Van Gysen

The 1991 ASP World Pro Am Champion, David Malherbe (Buffalo City), put in one of the performances of the day with a massive 17,50 heat total (out of a possible 20 points) in the O60 Men's Division, leaving his opponents in the dust. Other surfers in this division who stood out were Mickey Duffus and David Stubbs, both representing Cape Town Surfriders and using local knowledge to their advantage.

David Stubbs © Keahlo Van Gysen

"There were some fun waves out there, but it was a little bit slow for my heat. I think I only caught four waves," said Malherbe. "There were Long Beach peaks out there, but I stuck to the lefts," continued the goofy-footer.

"At a place like Long Beach, it can either go your way or not, and I was fortunate to get those two good waves and get decent scores for both rides. Either way, Long Beach, with only two other guys in the water, is an absolute pleasure to surf."

Then it was all eyes on the ladies as the O35 Women hit the water. Penny Stemmet (Buffalo City) took charge of her heat for the win, along with other division heat winners Heather Clark (UGU) and Roxy Davis (Ilembe).

Heather Clark © Keahlo Van Gysen

The forecast for tomorrow looks good again, and it will no doubt be another early start for the competitors as they prepare for their battles for both team and individual titles in the icy Cape waters.

Competitors and team management are reminded that there will be a closing function and awards ceremony at Camel Rock Restaurant in Scarborough on Sunday Evening, starting at 6 p.m. Jack Black Beers on tap.

Directions HERE

Recap of the day's action can be found here - YouTube.

Webcast Links

Day One - Friday.

Day Two - Saturday.

Day Three - Sunday.

Gareth Sepp © Keahlo Van Gysen

Spectators are encouraged to attend and support the competitors throughout the weekend. Friends, fans and interested surfers can monitor the event and follow heat results live via LiveHeats.

Warwick Heny © Keahlo Van Gysen

The event is presented by the City of Cape Town, supported by SMTH Shapes, Reef Wetsuits, Advanced Health Private Day Hospitals, Jack Black Beer and the Department of Cultural Affairs and Sports.