Obituaries

Thursday 26 November 2009

Tributes continue to pour in for Jeff Hancock, iconic Cape Town surfboard shaper and former pro, who passed away in the Cedarburg, ironically on the same day as Shorty Bronkhorst. By Andre Mory, Rob Abel, Spike and several close friends. Photographs from Sean Jerram and Tammy Gardner.

Tuesday 24 November 2009

Notice: Paddle out, Tubes, J-Bay, 10am this Sat 28 Nov, followed by a wake (bring & braai) at Supers carpark.

Ray Heard, same pic

This is Ray Heard, with a message in cyberspace from Toronto in my sunset years. I want to share my thoughts on Shorty's passing. At Treverton and Durban High, Shorty and I were best friends. We only had one argument, which was over in a day or two. Shorty was a better surfer than me (though I still ride a long board) and was much tougher, though I gained some muscle fiercely competing against him on the beach and in the pool as a teenager.

Saturday 21 November 2009

His real name was Leonard Johannes Bronkhorst. We all knew him as Shorty, a nickname he got in the 1940s as a pupil at Treverton Primary school in KwaZulu-Natal. South African surfers pay tribute to one of our pioneers, by Garth Robinson and Spike, with an interview that Janet Heard had with Shorty last year, and a tribute from old school mate Raymond Heard.

Tuesday 3 March 2009

Talented young Cape Town surfer Aran Moore, 19, was found dead at his home in Muizenberg on Sunday.

Steve Kruger

Monday 9 September 2008

Dedicated surfer Steve Kruger (44) passed away on Sunday 8 September 2008, only a few weeks after learning he had cancer. Steve was one of a fanatical Rhodes University Kowie crew in the 1980s who embarked on numerous surf trips to Kowie and J-Bay when the Kowie was out of control in winter.

According to Spike from Wavescape, the record held by the crew for consecutive surf trips down to Port Alfred was 21, set in 1986. That's a lot of bunked lectures.Many trips were made in Kruger's red kombi, reggae blaring, and avo and cheese sarmies devoured when the munchies set in.

Epic surf sessions, the kombi parked at Point, were had along the point from Supers down to Albatross. Long winding tubes were washed down by lukewarm quarts of Black Label.

About 500 people gathered at Glen Beach on Saturday 12 January 2002 to pay homage to the man revered by many as the grandfather of surfing in South Africa. John Whitmore, 73, died on his farm near Elands Bay, one of many surf spots he pioneered. By Tony Heard