West Marine Boat Show Coming to Woburn

For all you anglers and boat nuts, the weekend of April 28-May 1 is going to be one slice of heaven. Why? Over on 299 Mishawum Road, from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., West Marine, Woburn's premier boating and fishing store will hold its grand opening, with lots of festivities, including:

• Experts providing tips and tricks on how to maximize your boat’s performance and expand your fishing expertise.
• Testing your strength and endurance on an authentic “America’s Cup” style winch grinder.  Turn the handles on the pedestal as fast as you can—the fastest times win prizes in the Harken Winch Grinder competition.
• Door-Buster discounts throughout the weekend.
• Raffle prizes and giveaways.
• A boat show on-site featuring numerous Boston-area dealers including Bosun’s Marine, Winter Island Yacht Yard, Eastern Boats, Andros Boat Works and Advantage Yacht Sales. The Wounded Warrior fishing vessel will be on display, courtesy of Scalisi Marine.
• High-tech electronics  demonstrations with Raymarine, Sony, Navco, Lowrance and Icom.
• Free refreshments (while they last).

In addition to this open house, West Marine is held a charity night last night from 6 to 9 p.m. “Cruising for a Cause” featured food, drinks, live music, a silent auction and raffle to support several local area charities including: Courageous Sailing, Piers Park Sailing Center, The Fishing Academy, New England Disabled Sports, Sandy Point Sailing, Community Rowing, Newton Yacht Club, Greater Lawrence Community Boating Program, ALLY Foundation’s Flip Flop Regatta, Barehill Rowing and Boston University Sailing.

According to West Marine, the company will be Woburn's biggest boating and angler store featuring over 23,000 square feet of space. The store has a broad product selection of fishing and sailing gear, plus an extensive selection of marine electronics, boating supplies and casual and technical apparel designed by boaters for boaters.

West Marine will also be a regional hub for Port Supply, a wholesale business which supports marine businesses.

This weekend's grand opening will give residents a chance to meet the West Marine staff, which is led by store manager Barbara Miele, who has been with the company for thirteen years and is a power boater who grew up on wooden boats and lives in nearby Burlington with her husband. According to West Marine, the crew of 25 associates has more than 220 years of combined boating, sailing and fishing experience and has cruised over 30,000 nautical miles.

For more information on West Marine and their upcoming boat show, visit their Web site at www.westmarine.com.