Passing of Captain Andrew Patterson

[Derek and Jeannette Lovitch]

Hi all,

It is with a heavy heart that I share with you the news of the untimely passing of the beloved Captain Andy Patterson. If you have been to Machias Seal Island via Cutler Harbor, you know Andy and his wife Renee of Bold Coast Charters.

Andy died yesterday in a plane crash in South Carolina. A dedicated and life-long pilot, he loved his Piper perhaps even more than his boat, the Barbara Frost. His passion and dedication to sharing the seabirds of Machias Seal Island with visitors from around the world is how Jeannette and I - and likely everyone else reading this here - first met Andy. Jeannette and I have had the honor and privilege of becoming personal friends with Andy and his family over the last few years, bonding over puffins and a good craft beer.  While he wasn't known to chase rare birds away from MSI, we recently met up with them for a twitch of a particularly delectable bahn mi. His enthusiasm for all that made life worth living was infectious, and he was one of the kindest and generous true good souls that I have had the pleasure of knowing. 

As more info about memorials and services becomes available, I will share them here. For now, I ask to keep him and his family in your thoughts, and give them the space necessary for processing such unfathomable events. Please note that the Bold Coast Charters office will be closed for a bit; there will be a time for all that, but it's going to be a long process. 

I look forward to hearing about your memories of adventures to MSI with Andy. Personally, some of my fondest memories was the charter I arranged to unsuccessfully chase the first sighting of a Tufted Puffin in 2014, sitting around the fire pit with a good beer at the Riverside Inn in Machias in one of the few respites we each had during our respective busy season, seeing the smile on his face when he got to be "off-duty" on a boat trip with us and some close friends out of Eastport...actually, there are too many to share. I just can't believe he's gone...people like him are supposed to live forever. I already miss him and my heart aches for his family. 

For what limited information is available at this time about the tragedy, see this site. Note there are links to news stories at the bottom.

https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/309737?fbclid=IwAR3MhtXYLuslZkWy9K5SD8g9AmBSQJjoIZgzjNz31S6hlnM2O9NoJ-mT5GQ

With immense sadness,

Derek

*****************************************

 Derek and Jeannette Lovitch

 Freeport Wild Bird Supply

 541 Route One, Suite 10

 Freeport, ME 04032

 207-865-6000

 www.freeportwildbirdsupply.com  

 ****************************************

[Raven Watcher]

Nicely said.

Our condolences,

Dan and Beth

--
Maine birds mailing list
maine...@googlegroups.com
http://groups.google.com/group/maine-birds
https://sites.google.com/site/birding207
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Maine birds" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to maine-birds...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/maine-birds/12719543.788101.1679865102164%40mail.yahoo.com.

--

Dan's Natural History Blog:
Ravenwatcher
"An Eye on the Natural World"
http://ravenwatcher.blogspot.com