About Us

Pearson Sailing Association of the Chesapeake Bay

The Pearson Sailing Association of the Chesapeake Bay (PSA) is an informal group of owners of sailboats built by Pearson Yachts. Founded in 1969 as the Pearson 35 Association, the membership was gradually expanded to include all classes of sailboats made by Pearson.

The PSA has +55 members from around the Chesapeake Bay and is formal enough to have association officers and a club burgee, but does not have formal bylaws or rules. Our purpose is to increase member enjoyment in sailing in one of the greatest cruising grounds in the world!

From about April through September, we have at least one activity per month. Some of these are land-based, and can be attended either by boat or by car. In addition, we have a Christmas party sometime in December. Please check our Calendar and Upcoming Events pages for the latest information.

Join Association / Benefits

If you've seen this burgee on sailboats on the Bay, you may already know some of our members!

Membership dues are $35 annually. (For new members who join after Sept. 1, dues are applied for following year)

To join, send us an email or download the application form HERE, complete it, and send it and a check for your dues to the person named at the bottom of the form. Make the check out to PSA. Once your dues are received, you will receive a letter of confirmation.

What You Get

Membership offers you:

• the opportunity to meet other owners and exchange stories and ideas. We hold several events throughout the year including monthly rendezvous during the sailing season, an annual holiday party in December, and an annual brunch in the Spring with a featured guest speaker;
• a membership roster;
• 50% discount on Boat/US membership.

History

HOW WE STARTED...

Pearson Yachts introduced the Pearson 35 during the 1968 Boat Shows. It became an immediate hit So much so that in 1969 Laurence Hartge, the Annapolis area Pearson dealer, with the encouragement of many of the growing number of owners in the area, founded the Pearson 35 Association of Chesapeake Bay. With the arrival of the Pearson 33 a few years later, the group's name was changed to the Pearson 33 - 35 Association. As new models of Pearsons were introduced, membership was expanded and the organization became the Pearson Sailing Association of the Chesapeake Bay.

A feature event of the early days was an annual race. The first race and rendezvous set the tone for a low key sailing association. There was an absolute calm. But intent on racing anyway, the event was changed to a race under power. The participants started at anchor with all sails up. At the starting gun, they dropped and furled their sails, started their engines, hoisted anchor, and headed down the course. The winner became the first official Commodore.

PSA Past Commodores

PAST COMMODORES 1969 - Present

1969 Jim Miller
1970 William Kelly
1971 William Krone
1972 Bob Conn
1973 Bob Adams
1974 Bob Adams (2nd Term)
1975 Chuck Dunlap
1976 Don Holland
1977 Tony Dyre
1978 George Gold
1979 Grey Emmons
1980 Grey Emmons (2nd Term)
1981 Bill Klarner
1982 Bill Klarner (2nd Term)
1983 Max Boverman
1984 Max Boverman (2nd Term)
1985 Stuart Bendelow
1986 Stuart Bendelow (2nd Term)
1987 Carole Dingley
1988 Alfred Nelson
1989 Sal Ceja
1990 Sal Ceja (2nd Term)
1991 Al Windham
1992 Al Windham (2nd Term)
1993 Jerry Dechter
1994 Neil Murphy
1995 Liz Peacock
1996 Al Glazier
1997 Al Glazier (2nd Term)
1998 Al Glazier (3rd Term)
1999 Al Glazier (4th Term)
2000 Michael Lehmkuhl
2001 Michael Lehmkuhl (2nd Term)
2002 Michael Lehmkuhl (3rd Term)
2003 Steve Mitchell
2004 Steve Mitchell (2nd Term)
2005 Steve Mitchell 3rd Term)
2006 Gary Budesheim
2007 Gary Budesheim (2nd Term)
2008 John Martin
2009 John Martin (2nd Term)
2010 Ed Criscuolo
2011 Ed Criscuolo (2nd Term)
2012 Ed Criscuolo (3rd Term)
2013 John Martin (3rd Term)
2014 John Martin (4th Term)
2015 John Martin (5th Term)
2016 Bob Morrow
2017 Jordan Snyder
2018 Jordan Snyder (2nd Term)
2019 Jordan Snyder (3rd Term)
2020 Team Joan Criscuolo and Jen Cook
2021 Jordan Snyder (4th Term)
2022 Jordan Snyder (5th Term)
2023 Jordan Snyder (6th Term)