Westbrook surfing ace strikes gold at SA Masters

Westbrook’s Tamarys de Maroussem claimed her first SA Masters surfing title at the weekend, adding it to her four SA open victories.

Competing in the Over-35 women’s division, she claimed gold ahead of the country’s top surfers at Mossel Bay on Sunday.

Her medal was one of two for the iLembe Surf Riders team, alongside Ballito teammate Ryan Bisset’s excellent bronze in a quality Over-45 men’s field.

“I was absolutely speechless,” said Tamarys.

“The conditions were cold and icy and I had never surfed Mossel Bay before, I definitely didn’t think I was going to emerge a winner!”

Surfers had not expected to compete at Mossel Bay at all, given the contest was planned for Victoria Bay, about 45 minutes up the coast.

But after one day at Victoria Bay, some monster swells rolled in and made conditions too dangerous to continue.

“It definitely made things interesting to change halfway. Luckily I had some iLembe teammates who were able to give me some tips as to where to place myself for the best chance.”

When coupled with her experience and ability as a four-time national champion, the inside track would prove vital in a strong final.

Tamarys earned a few small wave scores to start in the final, before delivering a hammer-blow 7.10 on her fourth wave.

She would add a 4.30 on her final wave to post an overall score of 11.40, enough to beat another former SA champion, Tasha Mentasti, in second (10.60).

“I first tried masters surfing in 2015 but got caught up in corporate life and being a mom, leaving little time to surf,” said Tamarys, who is originally from Richard’s Bay.

“But I decided to try iLembe three years ago and it’s just such a friendly, good group of people that it inspired me to surf my best again.”

Ryan Bisset is another iLembe charger in a rich vein of form, as evidenced by his finish in what was a gauntlet of surfing action in the Over-45 division.

Such was the demand in the age group that Ryan had to surf four knockout rounds before making the final.

He managed to time his run perfectly, saving some great surfing for a thrilling final which included former world masters champion and pro, Greg Emslie, and former big wave surfing pro, Sean Holmes.

They would be the eventual gold and silver medallists with scores of 15.83 and 12.84 respectively, while Ryan claimed a fantastic bronze with an 11.26.

Ballito’s Grant Baker was iLembe’s only other finalist, finishing fourth in the Over-50 men’s division. Find a full list of results at liveheats.com.

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