Surf instructor who died aged 21 was "the best soul", friends say

Cameron Munro had an endless smile and was the sort of person you would do anything for, his friends and family told The Argus.

The surf instructor, from Patcham, died last month while surfing in Bali, one of many adventures pursuing the sport he had loved since he was 11.

His mother, Arlene Munro, from Patcham, said: “He was a normal, full-of-life boy. When he left here [to go abroad] he had a twinkle in his eye. That is how I will remember him.”

Former colleague Bex Cederwall, 23, added: “He was just the best soul: he never talked badly about anyone and he was just a beautiful person; everybody loved him.

“He would always look after you: if anything happened you could count on him.”

Last month, just after his funeral, Cameron’s friends and brother Kieran set off on a 2,500 kilometre sponsored bike ride from Brighton Pier to Cameron’s second home in Lagos, Portugal, where had been working as a surf instructor every season.

They are raising money to set up a water supply for a community in Kenya, via the charity Sadhana Forest Kenya, which they hope will be a fitting tribute to Cameron.

His university friend Robert Douglas, 22, said they hoped the effort would “give people he loved across the world a chance to do something positive to remember the truly incredible person Cam was".

The charity focuses on providing clean water and training the local community to plant trees that can survive droughts and produce their own food.

Bex, who worked with Cameron at the Algarve Surf School and Camp, added: “He was so selfless; he always wanted to help other people, so we thought we would do it for that reason as well. And he would have been up for it; he was always up for anything.”

Robert plans to go to Kenya to see the project progress, and friends are also looking into painting a mural in his memory at the site.

Cameron grew up in Patcham and lived there with his parents during the winter, working and saving money before going to teach in Portugal for the spring and summer surfing season.

He had been with friends in Sri Lanka when he decided to go to Bali for an impromptu surfing holiday before starting work.

But on March 19 he died after losing consciousness in the water.

He leaves behind his parents, Alistair and Arlene, and two brothers, Kieran, 20 and Joshua, 18.

The coroner has been informed of the death and has yet to decide whether an inquest is necessary.

HE WAS ALWAYS THE FIRST AND LAST ONE IN THE WATER

Cameron Munro, who died while surfing in Bali Cameron Munro, who died while surfing in Bali

THERE was the time he went surfing in a Halloween costume.

And all the mornings when he got up at 5am to squeeze in some waves before work.

And the time when he even went surfing with a broken arm, covering his cast in seaweed and soggy water. 

Ask for friends’ and family’s memories of Cameron Munro and it is crystal clear: the 21-year-old loved to surf and had become exceptionally good at it. 

“It started when he was about 11, when we went on holiday to Portugal,” his mother, Arlene Munro, from Patcham, said.

“But he developed it himself because I am not into surfing or anything, it was just a passion that he had.”

“He was always the first and the last in the water,” said his work colleague Bex Cederwall, 22.

“He was so dedicated. We would be asleep or getting up for breakfast and he would be out. It was almost like he was addicted to surfing. If the water was warm there was no reason to get out of it.”

His love for the sport may have started much earlier, when he was growing up near the Brighton seaside. 

Mrs Munro said: “He had always had a fascination with waves. He would be telling me ‘look at that wave!’.” 

A family photo of Cameron gazing out to sea aged 18 months sticks in his father’s mind.

Last month Cameron’s passion took him to the world-renowned waves on the Sri Lankan island of Bali, where he died in a surfing accident that has devastated his family and friends around the world. 

“It has been torture,” said his father, Alistair, recalling his happy son whose sense of adventure he had fostered.

“I taught Cameron at a very early age there is no such word as cannot.”

Cameron attended Patcham infant, middle and high schools before going to Bournemouth University, expending his vast energy on an early love of extreme sports.

Mrs Munro said: “He was a long-wanted baby and you love them from the moment they are born.

“He was full of life, he loved trampolining and he wanted to be a professional BMX-er and then a professional surfer.”

As he grew up, the family took regular holidays to Portugal where Cameron could surf to his heart’s content. 

“I used to sit on the beach for six hours just sort of feeding him while he was being taught,” said Mr Munro. 

While at Bournemouth studying surfing, Cameron met Robert Douglas, who became one of his best friends and is now part of a group doing a charity bike ride to Portugal.

The group is raising money to provide water to a community in Kenya in Cameron’s memory.  “He was a really cool guy,” said Robert.

“We had a lot of things in common and just clicked from then. His surfing ability was amazing – you would think he was brought up in Australia.”

After university Cameron trained as a surf instructor and got his lifeguard qualifications, regularly helping to save lives. 

His mother recalled an incident in Cornwall and said: “He saw a man on the rock who had been cut off by the tide. 

“Cameron swam out to the rocks and managed to get him on to his surfboard and tell him to hold on. 

“Cameron had to push him and swam probably about half a mile back.

“All I could see was a dot.”

Soon Cameron started working at the Algarve Surf School and Camp in Portugal, where colleagues said he was one of the best. 

“He loved teaching people as well. You could see he got a lot of enjoyment it,” said Bex.

“Some of them get worked up but Cameron was so calm, he really knew what he was doing and he was really good with students.”

“You could tell every day that he was genuinely happy in his life.”

Among the possessions handed back to Cameron’s parents after his death was a picture of him surfing a huge wave in Bali.

He had gone there on the spur of the moment to catch some waves before starting work for the season in Portugal.  The trip was typical of his spontaneous, open attitude to life, according to his friends.

His mother said: “It was just as though he knew maybe he was not going to have a long life.”

CHARITY CAMPAIGN IN HIS MEMORY

Cameron’s friends and brother Kieran set off for Portugal for a sponsored bike ride in his memory

CAMERON’s friends are raising money for Sadhana Forest, a charity that works to develop water supplies and sustainable forests.

They want to set up a community water system in Cameron’s memory as part of the charity’s work in the semi-arid Samburu County, Kenya.

The area is often afflicted by droughts and malnutrition and the charity is working with local people to plant and nurture sustainable trees.

Cameron’s friend Robert Douglas said: “We have been in touch with the founder of Sadhana Forest Kenya who is completely backing this project.

“This water system will dramatically improve lives in a region where the majority of people have no access to clean water, getting most of their water from local rivers infected with typhoid.”

The charity says it is working with the Samburu in their goal towards greater self-sufficiency.

It adds: “This includes decreased dependence on foreign food aid, restoration of the ecosystem and a sustainable and diversified source of nutrition through indigenous food forestry.”

The charity was founded by Yorit and Aviram Rozin, working originally in Auroville, India, and now also in Haiti.

It has been commended for its work by the international non-governmental organisation sector.

Visit thecommuteforcam.weebly.com for more information, or donate via crowdfunding.justgiving.com/thecommuteforcam