The surfing community came together in an emotional tribute to Mercury Psillakis, who lost his life in a shark attack earlier this month, with his twin brother Mike leading a paddle out at Long Reef Beach on Saturday morning.
Mercury, 57, was killed by a 3.4 to 3.6 metre white shark while surfing with friends a day before Father’s Day. The beloved surfer and family man had been just 100 metres from the shore when he disappeared beneath the water. Fellow surfers pulled him back to the beach, but he had lost too much blood and could not be revived.
Three weeks later, hundreds gathered on the sand under the Long Reef Boardriders Association’s black tent before paddling out to form a circle in the surf. Holding hands on their boards, they listened as Mike Psillakis shared memories of his brother.
Running along the beach with his surfboard to recreate the brothers’ morning ritual, Mike recalled the simple codes they shared to signal good waves and the joy of their daily surfs together.
“Every time he caught a good wave he would paddle out with his head raised high looking at me saying, ‘Did you see that bro?’ and I’d go, ‘OK, I’ve got the next one’,” he said in tears.
“We egged each other on all the time, it was just banter, it was fun and we’d push each other so much. I still feel him with me, giving me little whispers.”
Palm fronds were held aloft on the beach in recognition of Mercury’s passion for the species and their survival, while his wife and daughter stood among the crowd to hear the tributes
Long Reef Boardriders Association president Natasha Gee said the ceremony was “our way of saying goodbye to a fellow surfer”.
“The circle represents and symbolises unity, togetherness, camaraderie, love of one another,” she added.
“The surfing community has been an amazing support for all Long Reef and Dee Why surfers and together we can overcome anything.”
Those who attended described the event as “beautiful, heartwarming, so very special”.
On social media, local Sanja Korda said: “The beaches wrap their arms around you in a warm hug, our collective prayers go out to you.”
In the days following the tragedy, friends recalled Mercury’s final moments as selfless. Former professional surfer Toby Martin told the ABC that his mate had warned others in the water to band together and head to shore, an act they described as “heroic”.
A funeral for Mercury Psillakis was held on 18 September at the Archangel Michael Greek Orthodox Church in Sydney, where family and the wider Greek-Australian community came to mourn his loss.
