Rescue unit shows off new boat

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Posted with permission from the Hamilton Spectator.
I don't have a date on this one, I'm guessing from the late 80's
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THERE WERE times when Clare Dean returned from a daring lake rescue and kissed the sand.
That was more than 50 years ago when members of the Hamilton Beach Rescue Unit rowed three-metre (10-foot) dinghies that were sometimes swamped by waves and rescuers were lucky to escape with their lives.
Those memories came flooding back yesterday as Mr. Dean, 80, attended the dedication of the rescue unit's newest boat, an 8.5-metre (28-foot) Galaxy 228 Walkaround Cutty, equipped with a 174 horsepower, V-6 inboard engine
Following the brief ceremony at the rescue unit's headquarters on Beach Boulevard, Mr. Dean inspected the shiny white boat in the gathering darkness.
"Sometimes when we got back we would get right down and kiss the sand," Mr. Dean said of his younger rescue days.
While the equipment is better, the men of the rescue unit today are no less daring, responding to as many as 30 calls per year to help boaters in distress.
There are about 30 active members of the rescue unit, all volunteers and mostly Beach Strip residents.
"We are ready to go out anytime of the day or night," said Bill Tannahill, rescue unit chief. "We're on call 24 hours a day, 365 days of the year."

The rescue unit, which has its launch ramp at the foot of Lakeside Avenue, augments the service provided by the marine unit of the Hamilton-Wentworth police which now patrols the harbor.
The new $30,000 rescue boat, purchased with a grant from the region as well as some fundraising by the unit, features a hull that has a hollow lip on the underside, which cushions the boat in rough water.
Mr. Dean ran his fingers along the side of the smooth white hull, inspecting the workmanship, and thinking about a 10-foot dinghy that was simply built an extra plank higher to keep the waves out.

Photo- Ted Brellisford, The Spectator
Members of rescue unit with their new boat.