Surfers Attacked with Pangas at Sandy Bay

After finishing up a filming session at Cape Town’s Sandy Bay yesterday afternoon, pro surfer Michael February and videographer Steven Michelsen were attacked by two unidentified panga-wielding men.



The long walk to Sandy Bay can occasionally offer sweet reward. Not yesterday!



According to Mikey and Steve, the two men had seen them setting up for the shoot earlier in the day. Then, while they walked back to the parking lot after the session at approximately 4:30pm, M-Feb behind Steve, they were ambushed. The culprits just started swinging without warning.

“We were walking back to the parking lot when it happened, which is about a 25 minute walk,” explained Mikey. “I was behind Steve and just heard this loud sound which was a panga hitting the back of my board.”

The next blow was aimed directly at Steve’s head and fortunately he was able to block it with his forearm before swinging back with a heavy tripod. After showing some resistance they were able to fend the attackers off, but couldn’t get a good enough look at them to describe their appearance.



Steve was able to hang on to his Sony FS but lost his phone and some accessories. His forearm, however, was dealt a nasty blow.



Following the attack, Steve was rushed to the nearest hospital where he was treated for the laceration to his forearm. The panga blow had cut directly into Steve’s muscle resulting in 27 stitches: 17 internal and 10 external. Mikey managed to come out relatively unscathed, although the same can’t be said about his board which took the first blow.

The incident serves as a warning to others that may be planning on taking cameras and other valuables down to a secluded beach. Keep an eye out for any suspicious activity.



Shortly after the incident, the two of them were still focussed on the positive.