BayCoast helps bring model PT boat to New England

Three BayCoast Bank employees recently brought a Model PT Boat to southern New England from California, adding to the Battleship Cove collection of PT boat artifacts and memorabilia.
The Model PT Boat was donated to Battleship Cove by James and Sue Treleaven of Camino, Calif. It can be sailed by one person and uses a jet ski motor.
However, Brad King, executive director of Battleship Cove, said the donation created logistical issues.
“The difficulty and expense of getting the boat from California to join her big sisters of the PT Boat collections was always a worry for us,” he said.
BayCoast Bank President and CEO Nick Christ, sent a team of three employees – Doug Bank, Gregg Pontes and Tyler Rocha –to California to drive the boat cross country and to its new home in Fall River. “The drivers did a herculean job and I hope they enjoyed being part of our history,” Christ said in a statement. “We are overwhelmed by the generosity of James and Sue Treleaven and thrilled that they have chosen Battleship Cove as a home for their great PT Boat model.”
As home to the National PT Boat Museum, Battleship Cove displays the world’s largest collection of PT boat artifacts and memorabilia. The PT Boats are complemented by a vast assemblage of ephemera collected by World War II PT boaters in the Pacific and Atlantic theaters, artifacts that help people appreciate not only the heritage of PT boaters but also the diverse cultures (Japanese, German, Italian, French, and British) of the regions from which these items were drawn.
The donated boat is 19 feet long and 6 feet wide. Battleship Cove will use the model for education purposes and for local parades.