Long Reef Mourns Beloved Local
Mercury Psillakis, the 57-year-old father who died after being mauled by a “large shark” at Long Reef Beach on Saturday, was far more than another statistic. A former Long Reef Boardriders club champion, plant-shop owner, and Father’s Day weekend warrior, he was the kind of salt-stained character every lineup recognizes—the one who calls you into the set wave and remembers your kid’s name.
Witnesses say Mercury had been in the water only 30 minutes, surfing 100 m off the beach with mates, when both he and his snapped board vanished in a swirl of whitewater. Four surfers risked their own safety to drag him in, but the injuries were catastrophic and resuscitation impossible. His broken board is now with DPI scientists hoping to ID the species.
Long Reef, Dee Why and surrounding beaches will stay shut for up to 72 h while drones and skis scan for the animal. The timing—hours before Father’s Day—has hit the tight-knit Northern Beaches community hard; junior comps were cancelled and paddle-outs are being organized in Mercury’s memory.
Police praised the surfers who brought him ashore, and NSW Premier Chris Minns called the loss “an awful tragedy.” Fellow traders remember Mercury for his rare-plant knowledge and the way he’d slip a free cutting to any grom who asked.
This is Sydney’s first fatal shark encounter since British instructor Simon Nellist in 2022 and only the second since 1963, reminding us how rare—but how raw—these events remain. Our thoughts are with Mercury’s wife Maria, their young daughter, and every photographer who ever captured his smooth backhand form on a winter morning.
Read the full report via 7NEWS and give your mates an extra paddle-out cheer this week.