Wyle Geoff Knipe, ‘n voormalige welbekende persoon in Gansbaai, is op 23 Augustus 2015 in die ouderdom van 78 jaar in die St Helena hospitaal oorlede.
Geoff is op 8 Mei 1937 in Kaapstad gebore en deurloop sy hoërskooljare aan Rondebosch Boys High. Op 8-jarige ouderdom beleef hy ‘n terugslag met rugmurgontsteking (poliomiëlitis) en na 10 dae kon hy nie meer loop nie. ‘n Besonderse man, Bill (Pop) Lundon, het die jong Geoff só beïnvloed dat hy met durf teen sy siekte geveg het - soveel so dat hy later vir die hoërskool se senior rugby- en krieketspanne gespeel het. Geoff was ook ‘n kranige hengelaar met vele pryse wat hy reeds op ‘n jong ouderdom ingepalm het. By die tyd wat hy by die Suid-Afrikaanse Vloot aangesluit het, was hy al ‘n bekwame seeman en het hy ook vir hulle rugby en krieket gespeel. Hy bedank uit die vloot en gaan werk vir ‘n familie-besigheid vir ‘n tyd, maar keer later terug na visvang.
“He received his skippers ticket for 100 Gross ton vessels. He did a variety of work fir Irvin and Johnson and later became a Fishing Gear Technologist. He also owned the vessel, Bloemfontein, which also at times worked from Gansbaai. Fishing later became unpro-fitable and he became a sales manager for Thompson Newspapers. During that time he studied Financial Management and later became a lecturer on business subjects, but later made a change to become a National Marketing Manager and later a director of two companies in the Afcol Group (SA Breweries). Geoff then started his own business selling South African products to African Countries. After 26 years he went into retirement and returned to Gansbaai.”
(Gansbaai Courant, 8 June 2001) Ná etlike jare in Gansbaai gaan Geoff in November 2011 vir besigheid na die eiland St Helena. Hy is terug SA toe en het einde 2014, met sy eggenote, ook ‘n voormalige bekende in Gansbaai, asook sy seun William na die eiland vertrek. Geoff is oorspronklik van St Helena Eiland afkomstig en hy het altyd van sy “Island in the sun” gepraat en gesê hy sal graag daarheen wil terugkeer.
Hardus Botha
