You must not be on their preferred customer list. Mine came last week, my
old one has already gone out with the recyle :-)

wrote in message
oups.com...
Hello,

West Marine, Inc. today announced the arrival of its 2005 catalog,
which
features thousands of new boating products. With the catalog, the
company
introduces its new "gear feedback" program allowing customers to write
reviews of products online at westmarine.com and to read other boater's

comments on more than 50,000 boating, fishing, sailing, and other water

related products. The catalogs will be available at West Marine stores
nationwide on March 1.

Please see below for the release, embedded in its entirety. Should you
have
questions or require an interview with a West Marine spokesperson,
please
contact me directly at 415.399.1002.

Thanks,
Samantha Curley


CONTACTS:
Samantha Curley
Sawyer Miller San Francisco
415-399-1002


Laurie Fried
West Marine
831-761-6944


WEST MARINE ANNOUNCES ARRIVAL OF 2005 CATALOG AND LAUNCHES NEW
GEAR FEEDBACK PROGRAM

Watsonville, Calif. (March 1, 2005) - West Marine, Inc., the nation's
largest
specialty retailer of boating supplies, today announced the arrival of
its 2005
catalog, which features thousands of new boating products. With the
catalog, the company introduces its new "gear feedback" program
allowing
customers to write reviews of products online at westmarine.com and to
read
other boater's comments on more than 50,000 boating, fishing, sailing,
and
other water related products. The catalogs will be available at West
Marine
stores nationwide on March 1.

The new products featured in this year's catalog include the new
portable
GPS systems The Mariner 276C+ & 76C, West Marine's exclusive Print-on-
Demand Charts which provide up to the minute data and the inventive
Liquid
Force Wakeskate. The West Advisors, written candidly by several of West

Marine's product consultants, not only provide tips on how to select
best
product for your needs, but also address challenging issues such as
discharge
and teak surfing.

"We're excited to offer the West Marine 2005 catalog -often referred to
as
the "boating bible" - featuring the biggest and broadest selection of
boating
supplies and accessories," said Peter Harris, chief executive officer,
West
Marine. "Our customer's satisfaction is our top priority and because of
this we
are introducing the gear feedback program."

The gear feedback program was developed after West Marine Founder and
Chairman, Randy Repass, took his Wylie 65 cat ketch, Convergence on a
4,000-mile cruise to the South Seas. On the voyage Randy tested
hundreds
of products and sent back comments on what worked well, and what
didn't.
Now, West Marine is looking for additional feedback on its products
from its
customers.

West Marine will use feedback to help manufacturers produce more
reliable,
user-friendly products and manuals. The company strives to raise the
level of
attention paid to product reliability so that boaters have less hassle
and more
fun. To utilize "gear feedback," customers can go to westmarine.com and

write a product review on any product page to publicly advise other
consumers on the positive/negative qualities of a product. Just
click "Read/Write" next to the Shopper Rating. Or boaters can send
e-mail
directly to .

ABOUT WEST MARINE
West Marine, Inc. is the nation's largest specialty retailer of boating
supplies,
with 376 stores in 38 states, Canada and Puerto Rico, and more than
$680
million in annual sales. The Company's successful catalog and Internet
channels offer customers approximately 50,000 products - far more than
any
competitor - and the convenience of being able to exchange catalog and
Internet purchases at its retail stores. The Company's Port Supply
division is
the country's largest wholesale distributor of marine equipment serving
boat
manufacturers, marine services, commercial vessel operators and
government
agencies. For more information on West Marine's products and store
locations, or to start shopping, visit westmarine.com or call
1-800-BOATING
(1-800-262-8464).