Love is in the air
Did they have to let it land?
That was our reaction when we learned that one of the New England Patriots team planes landed at Buffalo Niagara International Airport on Thursday.
The aircraft – or AirKraft, as in Pats owner Robert Kraft – is a widebody Boeing 767-300 retrofitted to meet the needs of large-bodied football players.
The plane is embellished in team colors and logos, including the images of the six Lombardi trophies the Patriots have won.
So why the stop in Buffalo, given that the Patriots don’t play the Bills here until December?
The Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority confirmed the arrival of the plane, which is available for charters in the offseason.
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“A private party is using it – not the team. No Pats in Bills country today!” the NFTA’s Kelly Khatib told us.
Joe’s Deli posted an image on Instagram showing its sister company’s catering trucks parked in front of the aircraft.
Lest any locals be accused of being disloyal, the post included the hashtags #gobills, #billsmafia and #letsgobuffalo and cheekily featured the music of the “Shout” song.
A tipster told Off Main Street the plane carried guests from Buffalo to a wedding in Montana.
Someone in Bozeman, Mont., posted a photo of the plane’s arrival at that city’s airport on Patriots Reddit.
Speculation on who was using the flight – Tom Brady? Bailey Zappe? – ran wild.
Another Redditor was also confused:
“Patriots 767 visited us in Bozeman from Buffalo. But a whole plane load of Bills fans came out! Any idea what’s going on there?”
One wondered who would charter a 767 for their wedding guests.
One response loosely quoted the late comic George Carlin:
“It’s a small club and you ain’t in it.”
Her boat came in
Anyone who stopped by Erie Basin Marina last weekend got a chance to view something we don’t see every day in Buffalo.
The Dancing Hare, a breathtaking, 189-foot superyacht with an interesting ownership history, docked here for a few days beginning on the Fourth of July.
No one had a better look than John Witt, who captured stunning images of the boat in Buffalo.
![Dancing Hare Superyacht Docked](https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/buffalonews.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/7/8c/78cea614-3fc3-11ef-97b2-c792c4c020de/66904003e60b9.image.jpg?resize=150%2C100 150w, https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/buffalonews.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/7/8c/78cea614-3fc3-11ef-97b2-c792c4c020de/66904003e60b9.image.jpg?resize=200%2C133 200w, https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/buffalonews.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/7/8c/78cea614-3fc3-11ef-97b2-c792c4c020de/66904003e60b9.image.jpg?resize=225%2C150 225w, https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/buffalonews.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/7/8c/78cea614-3fc3-11ef-97b2-c792c4c020de/66904003e60b9.image.jpg?resize=300%2C200 300w, https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/buffalonews.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/7/8c/78cea614-3fc3-11ef-97b2-c792c4c020de/66904003e60b9.image.jpg?resize=400%2C267 400w, https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/buffalonews.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/7/8c/78cea614-3fc3-11ef-97b2-c792c4c020de/66904003e60b9.image.jpg?resize=540%2C360 540w, https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/buffalonews.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/7/8c/78cea614-3fc3-11ef-97b2-c792c4c020de/66904003e60b9.image.jpg?resize=640%2C427 640w, https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/buffalonews.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/7/8c/78cea614-3fc3-11ef-97b2-c792c4c020de/66904003e60b9.image.jpg?resize=750%2C500 750w, https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/buffalonews.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/7/8c/78cea614-3fc3-11ef-97b2-c792c4c020de/66904003e60b9.image.jpg?resize=990%2C660 990w, https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/buffalonews.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/7/8c/78cea614-3fc3-11ef-97b2-c792c4c020de/66904003e60b9.image.jpg?resize=1035%2C690 1035w, https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/buffalonews.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/7/8c/78cea614-3fc3-11ef-97b2-c792c4c020de/66904003e60b9.image.jpg?resize=1200%2C800 1200w, https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/buffalonews.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/7/8c/78cea614-3fc3-11ef-97b2-c792c4c020de/66904003e60b9.image.jpg?resize=1333%2C888 1333w, https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/buffalonews.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/7/8c/78cea614-3fc3-11ef-97b2-c792c4c020de/66904003e60b9.image.jpg?resize=1476%2C984 1476w, https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/buffalonews.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/7/8c/78cea614-3fc3-11ef-97b2-c792c4c020de/66904003e60b9.image.jpg?resize=1763%2C1175 2008w)
The Dancing Hare superyacht shown while it was docked last weekend at Erie Basin Marina. That's the flag of the Marshall Islands on her stern.
Witt, a boater and pre-press technician at Grover Cleveland Press, said he received notice last week through the MarineTraffic app that the Dancing Hare, then in the St. Lawrence Seaway, was coming our way. Witt caught up with it in the Welland Canal on July 3 and found it again the next day docked at the marina.
“It is very unusual to see one this size,” said Witt, who chatted with some crew members.
![Dancing Hare Superyacht at Erie Basin Marina](https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/buffalonews.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/e/72/e725d7a4-3fc3-11ef-bad0-dbf66cb6eb05/6690409ee17c5.image.jpg?resize=150%2C84 150w, https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/buffalonews.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/e/72/e725d7a4-3fc3-11ef-bad0-dbf66cb6eb05/6690409ee17c5.image.jpg?resize=200%2C112 200w, https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/buffalonews.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/e/72/e725d7a4-3fc3-11ef-bad0-dbf66cb6eb05/6690409ee17c5.image.jpg?resize=225%2C126 225w, https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/buffalonews.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/e/72/e725d7a4-3fc3-11ef-bad0-dbf66cb6eb05/6690409ee17c5.image.jpg?resize=300%2C169 300w, https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/buffalonews.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/e/72/e725d7a4-3fc3-11ef-bad0-dbf66cb6eb05/6690409ee17c5.image.jpg?resize=400%2C225 400w, https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/buffalonews.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/e/72/e725d7a4-3fc3-11ef-bad0-dbf66cb6eb05/6690409ee17c5.image.jpg?resize=540%2C303 540w, https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/buffalonews.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/e/72/e725d7a4-3fc3-11ef-bad0-dbf66cb6eb05/6690409ee17c5.image.jpg?resize=640%2C360 640w, https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/buffalonews.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/e/72/e725d7a4-3fc3-11ef-bad0-dbf66cb6eb05/6690409ee17c5.image.jpg?resize=750%2C421 750w, https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/buffalonews.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/e/72/e725d7a4-3fc3-11ef-bad0-dbf66cb6eb05/6690409ee17c5.image.jpg?resize=990%2C556 990w, https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/buffalonews.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/e/72/e725d7a4-3fc3-11ef-bad0-dbf66cb6eb05/6690409ee17c5.image.jpg?resize=1035%2C582 1035w, https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/buffalonews.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/e/72/e725d7a4-3fc3-11ef-bad0-dbf66cb6eb05/6690409ee17c5.image.jpg?resize=1200%2C674 1200w, https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/buffalonews.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/e/72/e725d7a4-3fc3-11ef-bad0-dbf66cb6eb05/6690409ee17c5.image.jpg?resize=1333%2C749 1333w, https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/buffalonews.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/e/72/e725d7a4-3fc3-11ef-bad0-dbf66cb6eb05/6690409ee17c5.image.jpg?resize=1476%2C829 1476w, https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/buffalonews.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/e/72/e725d7a4-3fc3-11ef-bad0-dbf66cb6eb05/6690409ee17c5.image.jpg?resize=1920%2C1079 2008w)
The 189-foot Dancing Hare, shown here docked in Buffalo, is owned by Anna dePeyster, an ex-wife of media mogul Rupert Murdoch.
The superyacht, completed in 1986, was once owned by Robert Maxwell, the British newspaper tycoon, who named it the Lady Ghislaine after his daughter, according to the Daily Mail. Ghislaine Maxwell is now imprisoned for aiding Jeffrey Epstein’s abuse of minors.
Robert Maxwell fell off the boat and drowned in the Atlantic in 1991. The yacht is now owned by Anna dePeyster, an ex-wife of Rupert Murdoch. It can reportedly accommodate 12 guests served by a staff of 15 in opulent style.
![Dancing Hare Superyacht in Welland Canal](https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/buffalonews.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/4/67/4670e92e-3fc4-11ef-8ee3-37bbf9482b30/6690418def972.image.jpg?resize=150%2C100 150w, https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/buffalonews.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/4/67/4670e92e-3fc4-11ef-8ee3-37bbf9482b30/6690418def972.image.jpg?resize=200%2C133 200w, https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/buffalonews.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/4/67/4670e92e-3fc4-11ef-8ee3-37bbf9482b30/6690418def972.image.jpg?resize=225%2C150 225w, https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/buffalonews.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/4/67/4670e92e-3fc4-11ef-8ee3-37bbf9482b30/6690418def972.image.jpg?resize=300%2C200 300w, https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/buffalonews.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/4/67/4670e92e-3fc4-11ef-8ee3-37bbf9482b30/6690418def972.image.jpg?resize=400%2C267 400w, https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/buffalonews.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/4/67/4670e92e-3fc4-11ef-8ee3-37bbf9482b30/6690418def972.image.jpg?resize=540%2C360 540w, https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/buffalonews.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/4/67/4670e92e-3fc4-11ef-8ee3-37bbf9482b30/6690418def972.image.jpg?resize=640%2C427 640w, https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/buffalonews.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/4/67/4670e92e-3fc4-11ef-8ee3-37bbf9482b30/6690418def972.image.jpg?resize=750%2C500 750w, https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/buffalonews.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/4/67/4670e92e-3fc4-11ef-8ee3-37bbf9482b30/6690418def972.image.jpg?resize=990%2C660 990w, https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/buffalonews.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/4/67/4670e92e-3fc4-11ef-8ee3-37bbf9482b30/6690418def972.image.jpg?resize=1035%2C690 1035w, https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/buffalonews.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/4/67/4670e92e-3fc4-11ef-8ee3-37bbf9482b30/6690418def972.image.jpg?resize=1200%2C800 1200w, https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/buffalonews.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/4/67/4670e92e-3fc4-11ef-8ee3-37bbf9482b30/6690418def972.image.jpg?resize=1333%2C888 1333w, https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/buffalonews.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/4/67/4670e92e-3fc4-11ef-8ee3-37bbf9482b30/6690418def972.image.jpg?resize=1476%2C984 1476w, https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/buffalonews.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/4/67/4670e92e-3fc4-11ef-8ee3-37bbf9482b30/6690418def972.image.jpg?resize=1763%2C1175 2008w)
The Dancing Hare is shown here heading out of Lock 7 in the Welland Canal on Wednesday evening. The superyacht headed to Buffalo from West Palm Beach, Fla., via the St. Lawrence Seaway and the Welland Canal.
Witt said the yacht came up from West Palm Beach, Fla., perhaps to escape hurricane season, and left the marina Sunday morning headed for Cleveland.
He also took drone photos and video of the Dancing Hare as it headed out into the blue waters of Lake Erie.
“It was gorgeous,” Witt said.
A final request
No matter where she lived, Nancy Makowski retained her through-thick-and-thin passion for her hometown Bills and Sabres.
Family members of Makowski, a 55-year-old Elma native who died unexpectedly June 29, found a fitting way to put her fandom into words.
It came in the last line of her death notice, published in The Buffalo News and on Legacy.com:
“Nancy requests that members of the Buffalo Bills/Sabres serve as her pallbearers so that they may let her down one last time.”
This phrasing has appeared in death notices in other NFL markets. Makowski’s sister Marie Tipton said the idea came from Makowski’s sons – Jacob, Wyatt and Lukas Giron – and she included it in the write-up despite some reservations from the funeral home.
“They’re like, ‘Are you kidding? You put that in the death notice?’ “ Tipton told us. “Well, if you knew her, that is like her.”
Makowski’s nursing career took her to hospitals across the East Coast and Midwest, her sister said, and at each stop she doggedly represented Buffalo and its pro sports teams.
Her longest stay was in Columbus. Tipton recalled a time when some season-ticket holders invited her sister out after a Sabres-Blue Jackets game to a restaurant frequented by Columbus fans and players alike.
“She shows up proudly, after the Blue Jackets defeat, in her Sabres jersey and silences the place. A grand entrance,” Tipton said. “Long story short, the players laugh and buy her a drink.”