by Miles Masterson | Feb 10, 2026 | Uncategorised
In hindsight, it is easy to see how the whole thing was cursed from the start for the South Africans. The 1972 International Surfing Federation (ISF) World Surfing Championships had originally been scheduled for the North Shore of Oahu. It would have been the first...
by Miles Masterson | Feb 4, 2026 | Uncategorised
John Whitmore always wanted a South African to win an international surfing event. From the early 1960s, his ambition as the manager of the Springbok surfing team and president of the South African Surfrider’s Association (SASA) had been for the Springbok surfing team...
by Miles Masterson | Jan 21, 2026 | Uncategorised
In the early 1960s, though the concept of surfing competitions had not yet made it to South Africa and to date no local surfer had competed in an international surfing contest. This all changed when Durban’s Max Wetteland travelled to Australia for the inaugural...
by Miles Masterson | Dec 19, 2025 | Uncategorised
“Uncle John, are we out of South Africa yet?’” Johnny Paarman The story is as old as surfing itself. Young grommets in the shorebreak stealing lost boards, picking up scraps of waves, before the older guys come wading toward them, retrieve their ride with...
