"And we had to bring our own boards to use - today we've got about 100 of them."
They also have every up-to-the-moment safety assets from a defibrillator, extensive first aid equipment, quad bikes for beach patrols and just recently, thanks to the Infinity Foundation, a new purpose-built rescue board as well as a tablet (computer) to data input patrol statistics and other aspects of the club's running.
All five Hawke's Bay clubs were gifted one of the boards.
Big changes, but one thing that has not changed, and which underlines the huge importance of a highly capable surf life saving approach, is that the sea continues to take lives, and as Mr Quirk said there too many times when the deaths were preventable.
He described drowning as "the silent death" and believed the Government had "missed the mark".
The statistics ran around one third of the road toll, and this year as of December there had been 93 reported drownings around the country.
"But the Government has never put money into surf life saving the way it has into road safety."
He said there had been assistance through the Water Safety Safety Council but described it as "minimal".
Drownings, he said, tended to slip under the radar.
As well as being the "silent death" he also dubbed it "the male disease" as statistics showed about 80 percent of drownings were male.
In terms of boating more males were involved on that front and Mr Quirk said is some cases there was a clear element of carelessness - which he had also seen on beach patrols.
In the 2015 year there had been 113 drownings, which Water Safety New Zealand chief executive Matt Claridge described as hugely disappointing.
"And with 86 (76%) of the deaths classified as preventable this toll comes at a huge social cost," he said.
"The impact of these deaths on families and communities is significant."
Mr Quirk said helping forge a strong prevention package, at beaches, was what had long driven his passion for surf life saving.
He learned the often wild and unpredictable ways of the sea from his very young years.
He would go and swim with mates on the Marine Parade beach - riding a few big swells and learning to battle and beat the undertows which often got brewed up.
He embraced the training he received after joining up with the Westshore club and has, through the five decades since, passed that on.
"In close to 40 years I've probably instructed 600 to 700 lifeguards...a bloody lot of hours when you add it all up," he said with a smile.
"It's important to put a lot of effort into coaching and make sure the kids get the best qualifications - start them young and they lock it in."
The club has around 120 to 150 active junior surf members and about 80 patrol guards on the books.
Surf clubs effectively did all they could, with the best resources and training they could muster, to keep people safe in the water, but at the end of the day it always came down to the people who decided to take a paddle, a dip or a boat ride.
"We have a patrol area but we still see a lot of people outside it...that can be a bit aggravating sometimes."
One positive had come through school beach safety programmes with children taught about the safety of the "between the flags" areas, and Mr Quirk said he head heard of some youngsters telling their parents that that was where they had to go when they went to the beach.
He said it was unfortunate though that too many schools had been forced to close their pools.
"That is one of the worst things we see because it means they are not getting to learn to swim.
"Nowhere in this country is that far from the sea and people like to have a swim - the kids need to learn."
Mr Quirk has seen the best and worst of being on the surf life saving front line.
"There have been some hairy moments for sure."
There was one occasion when Westshore surf club crews were asked to assist in a search close to shore about 9.30 at night for someone who had gone missing.
They found the person who had drowned.
"Having to haul someone aboard from the sea knocks you around a bit - it's not nice."
There was another occasion when two of his lifeguards had to pull a body from the water just around the foreshore.
"I asked them both if they needed any help to cope with it but they were okay."
Younger lifeguards had access to support if they needed it as a result of having to deal with something traumatic.
The successful rescues and assistance calls were gratifying.
Mr Quirk had been involved in a couple of medical alerts on shore where someone had suffered a heart attack or other serious medical condition.
The first-aid trained guards helped "see them off the beach alive and that is a good feeling".
He and his colleagues are expecting another busy summer, and the Westshore Beach, at this stage, was in pretty good sandy shape as northwesterly flows had prevailed recently and had drawn silt down the coast, rather than it go the other way.
They just hoped people would think about what they were about to do, either going in for a swim or out in a boat.
"We have had a lot more call-outs over the past few years from the police to take part in inshore searches and rescues - we do the inshore and the coastguard do the deeper waters."
He had one simple line of advice for swimmers and boaties.
"The sea is a great recreational resource but you have to respect it."