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The Owner/Skipper, Phil van Dusschoten, aged somewhere around 50 ish is a retired Police Officer.
He has always had a passion for the sea and an interest in designing and building his own boats. Transferring to Whakatane in the mid 80's for 7 years was the Officer in Charge of the Youth Offender Branch. Shift work allowed plenty of time to pursue Maritime passions and after 4 years as a part time crewman on a number of local Charter and Commercial fishing boats and countless hours at sea in his own boats, qualified as a Commercial Launchmaster in 1992.
During that time Phil has been a member of the Whakatane Volunteer Coastguard where for 7 years he was Chairman of the Cutter Rescue Boat Group.
Since its launch in 1995 "Diveworks", was the primary callout Rescue vessel for the Coastguard and many lives and vessels have been saved.
A search of Phils Dutch family tree reveals that with the exception of Phils parents he is a 4 th generation sea captain on his mothers side.
Phil has been diagnosed with plankton in his blood and boasts a number of top fish catches.
A passion for sustainability has lead to diversification into eco tourism with an interest in Dolphins and Whales, in 2007 Phil attended a course at the NZ Marine Studies centre in Portobello, Dunedin.
Phils is now the holder of a 'Marine Mammals watching and swimming permit' and is also undertaking a study of the New Zealand fur seals at Moutohora (Whale) Island | 
