In the early 1960s, Southern Television hired the former Proud Grenadier motor torpedo boat MTB 506 (which was named Winola at that time) as a platform to provide coverage of Cowes Week, a famous maritime event held off the coast of the Isle of Wight.
Two 4.5 inch image orthicon cameras were installed at the sides of the front deck while a third was mounted on top of the cabin for an all-round view.
The maritime tradition of the south coast of England (Southern Television's reception area) provided many opportunities to use the craft, which was used to cover Cowes Week and the Fastnet race as well as one-off boating and water skiing events.
The event was due to be covered by the London ITV contractor Rediffusion but it pulled out when one of its engineers was fatally injured during preparation.
[2] The vessel, or at least a substantial part of the hull, was known to be operating as the pleasure boat Ambra in Malta up until the summer of 2005, after which it fell into disuse.