CRAB President & CEO receives US Sailing's Gay S. Lynn Memorial Trophy
by CRAB Sailing 22 Mar 15:35 GMT
March 18, 2026
Bill Lynn, son of Gay S. Lynn, presenting the permanent trophy to Paul Bollinger at the US Sailing N.E. Regional Conference © CRAB Sailing
On March 18th at the US Sailing New England Regional Symposium, CRAB President & CEO Paul Bollinger received the Gay S. Lynn Memorial Trophy in recognition of his unwavering commitment and contributions to adaptive sailing.
Since taking the helm of CRAB in 2016, Bollinger has championed the rapid scaling of Chesapeake Region Accessible Boating. One of his first accomplishments was the procurement of a new fleet of Beneteau First 22A's sailboats that were customized to accommodate a wide range of disabled guests. In addition, he was instrumental in acquiring a power catamaran that was modified to host wheelchair guests for fishing. The latest addition to the fleet is radio-controlled sailboats for guests who do not wish to leave the dock.
Bollinger's greatest achievement was the search for a new homeport for CRAB in Annapolis. He was responsible for the leading the public funding, planning, design, and construction of the new state of the art, fully accessible and sustainable facility called the Annapolis Adaptive Boating Center. Under his leadership, CRAB has undergone tremendous growth and transformation. CRAB hosts over 1,800 guests every year and it instructs 140 skippers and crew to perform "The CRAB Way" while sailing with our guests.
In his role as Board Member, Executive Director, and now President & CEO of CRAB, Paul "Bo" Bollinger continues to leave a lasting imprint on adaptive sailing that has positively impacted the lives of tens of thousands of disabled guests. Bollinger has welcomed US and international delegations at the ABC to learn more about CRAB's facilities and operations.
CRAB Board of Directors Chairman Will Crump, Vice Chair/Secretary Beth Rossman, and Treasurer Jib Edwards were in attendance for the award presentation. CRAB Chairman, Will Crump remarked: "Bo is very deserving of the award and his acceptance speech was very much in line with his selfless service. He spent most of the short speech sharing the stories of our impact on the lives of our guests rather than focus any attention on what he himself had done to deserve the award. It's both an education and an honor to work with the man and see him in action."
Gay S. Lynn was an active member of the adaptive sailing community as a racing judge and Jury Chief at international adaptive sailing events, and she also served on the Para Sailing Committee. Recipients of the Gay S. Lynn Memorial Trophy are nominees who have made an outstanding contribution to adaptive sailing over an extended period of time, much like Lynn did. Bollinger was selected by the Para Sailing Committee for his meritorious service to the adaptive sailing community and the construction of the premier adaptive boating center in the country in Annapolis.