By Clare Nullis
Cape Town - Dozens of South African surfers laid claim on Sunday to setting the world record for the most riders on a single wave during a fundraiser for a shark-spotting project.
A local surf school in the town of Muizenberg near Cape Town, famous for its waves but also for its great whites, organised the attempt to highlight awareness of sharks and safety measures to prevent attacks.
Seventy-three surfers managed to stay up for more than five seconds on a single wave, organiser Dene Botha said, although the unofficial count had yet to be confirmed.
"We have broken the world record," Botha said jubilantly. "We don't know exactly by how many, but we have a record."
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The previous world record, of 44, was set in Ireland. Fifty-three people recently rode a single wave in Bali, though this has yet to be verified by the Guinness Book of Records.
Proceeds from the entrance fee and accompanying sponsorship are destined for the shark spotters who patrol the hill above Muizenberg and its beaches - as well as other popular high-risk areas - in order to sound the alert about approaching great whites.
A lifeguard recently was attacked at Muizenberg and had his foot bitten off by a great white shark, and there have been a number of other close calls recently.
City authorities last week agreed to double to eight the number of beaches covered by shark spotters, who are chosen from the ranks of the unemployed and disadvantaged, paid a nominal fee and are trained to use binoculars and special glasses and to become computer-literate.
They said it was the most practical way of protecting surfers and bathers.
Patrick Davids, 33, was among the original team of spotters recruited three years ago after shark attacks that killed an elderly woman and maimed a teenager. He used to sleep outside and scavenge through garbage bins before graduating to looking after surfer's car keys while they were in the water.
He rushed around the beach on Sunday greeting surfers who have become his friends and have given him his own surf board and cellphones, while keeping radio contact with his colleague in a hill overlooking the sea.
"These are the guys who look after us, so let's look after them," Botha told a crowd of several hundred people on the gleaming white beach. "It's a great cause and they are doing an outstanding job."
Spotters sighted great whites 165 times on two beaches on the False Bay stretch of coastline last year. So far this year they have spotted the predators 69 times - but this will increase rapidly with the onset of the summer season.
Many have been tagged so experts can follow their movements, and three - nicknamed Charlize, Nosy and Speedy - regularly make their way across the bay, though have not been implicated in any attacks.
Nobody knows how many great whites swim in the waters around False Bay, which includes Muizenberg. However, figures presented at a recent conference said there were probably 1 200 great whites along the South African coastline and that there was no evidence of a big increase in population.
Experts say fewer than one person per year dies from a shark attack in Cape Town - and fewer than six nationwide - and that man poses a bigger risk to the shark than the shark does to man.
However, every incident flashes around the world on surfing websites, and the local surfing industry fears the adverse publicity will persuade surfing tourists to go elsewhere. - Sapa-AP
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