Offshore radio acquired the yacht Ceto and installed radio equipment. Unfortunately, the apparatus could not operate properly overboard, the signal being heavily affected by the climate conditions. The transmitter was then replaced by Siemens loudspeakers and the Ceto toured England "broadcasting" gramophone records interspersed by advertising. Unauthorized offshore broadcasting stations operating from ships or fixed platforms in the coastal waters of the Northern Sea first appeared in 1958. There were as many as eleven such stations in the mid-1960s. One of the most popular offshore radio broadcasts in Europe came from Radio Caroline, which developed out both of the strict broadcasting regulations
Swinging Radio England engineering work never succeeded in making the offshore stations operational and RBI failed to sell enough advertising to make the venture profitable, while the public relations firm spent large sums promoting the stations. William Vick submitted an application to the GPO radio licensing authority for licenses to bring his offshore twin stations on land. By late September 1966, Pierson was no longer involved in day-to-day operations and CEO William Vick had named Britain Radio's program chief, Jack Curtiss of San Francisco, general manager of both stations. Curtiss' first assignment was to close Radio England and create a Dutch-language station to