West Marine's New Spinning And Casting Rods Offer Anglers Strength, Sensitivity And Durability.

Business Editors

WATSONVILLE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 11, 2001

West Marine's (Nasdaq:WMAR) new Elite Series Spinning and Casting rods are designed for the serious angler who demands the right balance of strength and sensitivity for the best possible performance. Cutting-edge components and lightweight construction combine to make these rods ideal for spinning and casting applications.

High technology carbon fiber (HTC) construction helps to make West Marine's Elite rods lightweight, yet also strong and durable. This unique low-resin design contributes to greater castability, as these one-piece rods exhibit parabolic flex without breakage. The strong graphite backbone provides plenty of lifting power and contributes to greater hook-setting capability.

"We specially designed our Elite series rods for spinning and casting applications where lightness and strength are essential for optimum performance," says Chuck Hawley, vice president of product development at West Marine. "We've developed an affordable product with the smooth performance and quality components of the best top-brand fishing gear. High-tech graphite construction means these rods are powerful and built to last in the marine environment."

West Marine's Elite rods are light enough to be used all day without causing fatigue. They are engineered for perfect weight distribution and balance, and feature comfortable, high-quality cork handles. Lightweight carbide rings provide smooth, frictionless performance, and top-of-the-line Fuji concept guides reduce line twist.

With three lengths and three actions to choose from (Medium, Medium Heavy and Heavy), West Marine's Elite rods offer the right configuration for almost every angler. Models range from 6-foot long, medium-action rods for lighter, freshwater fishing to heavy-action 7-foot rods for more challenging freshwater fish and inshore saltwater game. Elite rods are available in five different spinning and seven different casting variations.

Samples of West Marine's new Elite Spinning and Casting rods are available upon request for editorial testing. Please contact West Marine for more information. To view this product online visit www.westmarine.com/104686.

West Marine, Inc. is the nation's largest specialty retailer of boating supplies and apparel, with 240 stores in 38 states and Puerto Rico, and more than $500 million in annual sales. The Company's highly successful Catalog and Internet channels offer customers approximately 50,000 products - far more than any competitor - and the convenience of being able to exchange Internet purchases at West Marine 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. Because the overwhelming majority of West Marine's revenues come from aftermarket sales, the Company has traditionally been less affected by economic downturns than manufacturers and sellers of new boats.

In 1999, West Marine launched its West Advantage program designed to build on the Company's strong brand identity and reward loyal customers. The Company expects to have signed up more than one million West Advantage members by year-end 2001. West Marine's other new initiatives include insurance, a private label credit card, boat financing, boat towing, extended service contracts, and new destination super-stores.

"Safe Harbor" Statement Under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: The statements contained in this press release that relate to future plans, events, expectations, objectives, or performance (or assumptions underlying such matters), including statements regarding future comparable store net sales and gross margin, are forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those set forth in or implied by such forward-looking statements. Risks and uncertainties include the Company's ability to increase sales at its existing stores and expand through the opening of new stores, competitive pricing pressures, inventory management and shrink issues, the market share erosion faced by the Company's catalog division as the Company and its competitors have opened new stores, the impact of the Internet on the supply chain, weather-related issues, the level of consumer spending on recreational water sports and boating supplies, and other risk factors disclosed from time to time in the Company's SEC filings.