It is with great sadness that i have to inform you the passing of a great freind and mentor. Bill passed away peacefully at his son's home on the 19th of April. Bill will be sorely missed. The pictures below are of our final sail with him. My wife received a boat from Bill named after her. Bob, Charlie, John, Steve, Mike and myself, met with Bill and his family at the end of March at Bowne Park pond. It was a beautiful day to spend time with Bill and knowing that it might be our last time shared with him was bittersweet. Bill is now sitting at the big pond with John (our commodore who passed away last week from covid), sailing their models and enjoying calm seas and a warm sun beating down upon them.
Rest in peace my brothers. They will live on in our memories and hearts. Until we meet again at the pond and pray for their families and friends .
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On Saturday April 10th, we lost John (PT Man) Basta, the Commodore of ESMM. He was another victim of the coronavirus. He was a great guy, a friend and an avid scale model boater beyond compare. On the days the club sailed at Bowne Park, he was first to arrive and last to leave.
John loved to talk about PT boats, LCM's and PBR's. He owned a wide ranging collection of rc boats, but lately he had fallen in love with the LNVT, he built 3 of the 4 he owned and gave his latest build its maiden run, just 3 Saturdays ago. On the lighter side, he was known to bring out the hammer, if a build wasn't going right. A few kits were spared the hammer and passed on to other members. John was one of the driving forces behind the recent annual regattas. He reached out to vendors for raffle prizes, printed flyers and tee-shirts, and much more. On regatta day, he was one of the first at the park, did registration, sold and drew raffle tickets, and cleaned up after the event. He was also pushing the club’s expansion and membership growth forward. He was a member of the club for the past 20 plus years and will be sadly missed. The members of ESMM extend their sympathy and prayers to his family. We wish you a smooth voyage to the other side of the pond, Farewell John |