Is this prize winner a rec.boats or rec.boats.cruising denizen?

*

Hello,

Recently named grand prize winner of West Marine's Great Fall Give-A-Way, retired government official of 30 years and Captain, Joe Karpinski, of Alexandria, Virginia used his first months of fall to brush up on the basics of open ocean cruising. Last month he and his team set sail amid a fleet of 75 boats competing in his third Caribbean 1500 Cup, a seven-12 day passage

from Hampton, Virginia to Tortola, in the British Virgin Islands.

Please see below for the release in its entirety. Should you have any questions or require additional materials, please contact me directly at 415.399.1002.

Thanks, Sam Curley for West Marine

MEDIA CONTACTS: Samantha Curley Purple Door Communications 415.399.1002

Laurie Fried West Marine 831.761.6944

CAPTAIN JOE KARPINSKI OF ALEXANDRIA WINS WEST MARINE'S GREAT FALL GIVE-A-WAY Contest Winner Launches on Two Month Voyage from US to Caribbean

WATSONVILLE, Calif. (December 6, 2006) - Recently named grand prize winner of West Marine's Great Fall Give-A-Way, retired government official of 30 years and Captain, Joe Karpinski, of Alexandria, Virginia used his first months of fall to brush up on the basics of open ocean cruising. Last month he and his team set sail amid a fleet of 75 boats competing in his third Caribbean 1500 Cup, a seven-12 day passage from Hampton, Virginia to Tortola, in the British Virgin Islands.

"Sail and open ocean cruising are my hobbies and my passions since college so I'm thrilled to be the winner of West Marine's Great $2,500 Give-A-Way," said Captain Karpinski. "My only regret is finding out just as I set sail for the Caribbean. Like any West Marine customer that loves boating, I want to shop now!"

As his grand prize Captain Karpinski will receive a $2,500 gift card to spend at any of West Marine's retail stores, on the web at westmarine.com, via catalog or by calling 1-800-BOATING. During initial shopping sprees, Karpinski says he plans to accumulate electronics and other merchandise needed on his next offshore sail.

"In the spirit of making boating more fun, we're pleased to recognize this valued customer as the winner of West Marine's Great $2,500 Give-A-Way," added Peter Harris, chief executive officer, West Marine. "We hope that

Captain Karpinski continues to sail year after year and that West Marine can service all of his future boating needs."

About West Marine West Marine, the ....(snip) ###

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***** Have a super day! *****

John

***** Have a super day! *****

John

Not exactly, and Karpinski is not a he:

.... Now, Brig-Gen Janis Karpinski, the former head of detention operations at Abu Ghraib, alleges that "Rumsfeld personally approved the introduction of harsher .... Jul 6 2004, 3:12 pm by basskisser - 1 message - 1 author

***** Have a super day! *****

John

I deleted the entire last paragraph puffing up West Marine as God's Own Gift to Boating.

The rest of the post was the WM press release. The fact that this Karpinski person won a West Marine award is a little tough to illuminate without any mention of WM, don't you think?

Furthermore, there is *no* commercial value to rec.boats. A couple of dozen regulars here. Half of them don't own boats and half of the other half only hook up the truck and peel away the canvas cover 2-3 times a year. Hate to break it to you, but posting here is for conversational purposes only. Nobody will be commercially influenced, just like nobody's mind is ever changed when the politics etc get started.

That's probably it.

It is a name I remember seeing in the NG, only it was in conjunction with some political trolling and not the author of a thread.

Thanks.