The Early Days
The service was started by Mr Philip-Gordon Pierce Smith who still (at the time of writing - July 2008) runs the service he started nearly 47 years ago.
Venturers started on limited funds and equipment, patrolling Poole Harbour with a small prototype Deep V soft bottom hulled inflatable developed by David Doderell of SWMF in Poole. It proved to be a fantastic hull until the bottom stretched or the wooden keel snapped. The crews had RAF Lifejackets and anoraks, navigation was done with a AA road map and hand held compass, a far cry from the current standards. Since then the service has developed, seeing many different rescue boats and hundreds of crew.
Read more about this topic: Venturers Search And Rescue
Famous quotes containing the words early and/or days:
“Some would find fault with the morning red, if they ever got up early enough.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“I had a long day’s work, starting at eight in the morning and ending after nine at night, but in those days [we] ... did not think of our day in terms of hours. We liked our work, we were proud to do it well, and I am afraid that we were very, very happy.”
—Louie Mayer (b. c. 1914)