As mentioned in our introductory post, The Two Oceans Marlin Competition splashed into life back in February 2007 with just seven brave boats on the starting line. One name has been there from the very beginning — Gawie Bruwer — who has shown up every single year, rain, shine, or sea spray.

Gawie has always skippered a boat named Indigo, even though this name has gone through three incarnations. And in 2009, Indigo took first prize in the tournament.

While many people contributed to the early vision, it was Gawie who drove the practical organisation that transformed the idea into the first official tournament. When others were still talking about possibilities, Gawie stepped up and turned the tournament from an idea into a reality. He crafted the very first credo, laid the foundation for how the tournament would run, and set the standard that is still followed today.

The thing everyone should know about Gawie Bruwer is that this isn’t just someone who excels as an angler and skipper — this is someone who makes big things happen. We are genuinely grateful for everything he has done for TOMT.

Other legendary skippers are Andrew van Zyl (Gwaza) who has participated in 18 tournaments, (A Legendery Story about their win will appear in a later post this week) Rikus de Beer (Marco Polo) also has 18 under the belt, Mike Broderick (first with Makaira and later Bad Company) has done 15.  

Another amazing legend is Andrew Perrins, who wasn’t just part of the team that kicked off the competition, but ever since day one, he has been the voice over the radio waves, keeping everyone afloat both navigationally and emotionally. At sea, his steady stream of witty commentary has done more for morale than calm waters and good weather combined.   Andrew lives and works in the United Kingdom, where, even while there under his call sign, Skiboat Mobile, he can do radio control for competitions back in South African waters. When Andrew returns to South Africa for R&R, he does not hesitate to dedicate his time to safety at sea, and TOMT is closest to his heart.
Andrew, who speaks fluent Doganese, has always had a dog helping him keep things under control. For the 10th TOMT, Oak Valley wines created a Shanga Label and several bottles were auctioned at one of the evening functions.

At the evening functions, he transforms into a master of ceremonies dishing out strafdoppe for nautical “misdemeanours,” or running fund‑raiser auctions with the flair of a show host.   Andrew is the tournament’s unofficial entertainment department.

In 2022, Gawie Bruwer, convinced that certain TOMT stalwarts deserved formal recognition for their contributions to the competition and to angling, introduced a special annual citation. Since then, one has been presented at each tournament’s opening function.

Safety at sea is of the utmost importance to Koos Pretorious, and it is thanks to his generous sponsorship of the current radio control system developed by Andrew Perrins, Trevor Brinch and Earl Fenwick that has resulted in VHD communications beyond our expectations. This ranges up to more than a 100 nautical mile radius. This system is owned by Suidpunt Diepseehengelklub and has a maritime coast station licence. The resident operator is Trever Brinch – call sign – Spotter One!

The system is linked via Zello, enabling backup to be done anywhere in the world, allowing Andrew Perrins to stand by Spotter One when needed to control operations from abroad. This is the first time this has been done in the world.