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As far as partnerships go, this has to be one of the best. The annual Boat Show Bash, sponsored by Chesapeake Bay Magazine and hosted by Pusser’s Caribbean Grille, has been a hallmark of the Annapolis Sailboat Show since 2017.
This year, sadly, marks the final year that sailors will celebrate on the rooftop of Pusser’s, as the restaurant changes ownership and closes its doors on October 31.
“I’m absolutely going to miss it,” says John Stefancik, part owner and former publisher of Chesapeake Bay Magazine. He felt the magazine and the restaurant made a perfect match. “They’re down-home. They weren’t a corporate culture. They were much more laid back, like sailors are.”
Sailors are also rowdy, apparently. The Boat Show Bash hasn’t always been held at Pusser’s, mainly because we proved too rambunctious for their taste. So the good times moved across the water to the old Trumpy Boathouse, then the home of Backyard Boats in Eastport.
It turned out Chesapeake Bay Magazine was too rowdy for Eastport, too, and after one year, the party moved back to Pusser’s.
Stefancik, who is now the executive director of the Marine Trades Association of Maryland, credits the original Boat Show Bash to his business partner, John Martino, founder of the Annapolis School of Seamanship. “John said, ‘People come all over the world for the Boat Show. And if they don’t have a cruising association meeting or an owners’ group, they’re looking for something to do on a Friday night.’”
The Annapolis Boat Shows stand as a symbol of Annapolis’s maritime history over the last 400 years, and its commitment to furthering the legacy. The largest in-water sailboat show in the world, the Boat Show is the best opportunity for sailors to see new boats up close, catch new gear and tech, and connect with other likeminded individuals off the water.
“The Boat Show Bash is the best celebration of sailing and cruising,” Stefancik says. “Whether you’re coming as a guest or you’re a local business owner, everybody has that in common. Everybody is welcome at Pusser’s.”
This year’s party happens on Friday, October 11, from 6:30pm until 9:30. The high-energy ’80s rock band Weird Science will be kicking out the hits to get everyone on the dance floor.
It’s the best place to watch the sun set over the Annapolis Boat Shows—as the sun sets on this Pusser’s tradition.
