ShipStore.com Beacon: Battle of Valcour, Buffalo Snow & "Clear the Deck" SALE, Part III
Issue 96, October 14, 2006
http://www.ShipStore.com
Floating your boat since 1982 TM


----------------------------NOTE-----------------------------
READ ONLINE: If you experience any trouble opening the links in your newsletter or if you would prefer to read online, you may access the Beacon at: http://www.shipstore.com/ss/HTML/NEWS/NEWSbeacon096.html . If you wish to SUBSCRIBE, please send a BLANK e-mail to beacon-on@list.shipstore.com . If you wish to UNSUBSCRIBE, please send a BLANK e-mail to beacon-off@list.shipstore.com . WHITE LIST: Make sure you receive your ShipStore.com Beacon. Add beacon@list.shipstore.com to your address book.
-------------------------------------------------------------


=============================================================
IN THIS ISSUE:
=============================================================

~ WELCOME ABOARD: Battle of Valcour & Buffalo Snow
~ CAPTAIN'S TIP: The October Scramble
~ CAPTAIN'S SPECIALS: "Clear the Deck" SALE, Part III
~ CAPTAIN'S CONTEST: "Win a Shopping Spree" Drawing

=============================================================
~ CAPTAIN'S TIP: Battle of Valcour & Buffalo Snow
=============================================================

Buffalo Snow. Sounds like a bad rock band from the 1970's, doesn't it? I first wanted to title my note, "Snowstorm Clobbers Buffalo!" But, paired with remembering the Battle of Valcour, it seemed to emphasize defeat, so I opted for the easy listening motif instead.

One heck of a week for us up in the leaf-peeping zone. Vermont talk shows are exhausting the airwaves with debates - pre-election political sparring and peak foliage opinionating - so I'll spare you the backbeat and cut straight to the refrain. It's the fourth of July in October! Our peaceful little town of Westport is exploding in reds, oranges, violets and yellows like a fireworks extravaganza that refuses to wait until Independence Day. It seems a little silly to argue over which day the fall foliage was best when every day just seems to get better and better. If you've never been in the Adirondacks in October, I suggest that you schedule a visit next year. You'll feel life you've been living in black and white once you discover what Technicolor looks like.

Spectacular fall foliage is the upbeat refrain for this newsletter, but the melody wanders into chillier themes as well. This past week has marked by the most significant shift in the weather, from reasonably pleasant temperatures to rainy and chilly. Now the skies are blue once more, but the temperatures have dropped into the 20's and 30's the last couple of nights, so we're all focusing on wrapping up our warm season chores before whirling snowflakes replace falling leaves. Check out "The October Scramble" below for a glimpse at last year's uh-oh-winter's-around-the-corner reflection.

I pulled my Boston Whaler on Thursday during a rainstorm. I bumped into Larry Carroll, Captain Jim's brother at the boat launch site, also hustling to get boats dry and winterized. My wife and I still have the Ski Nautique tied to the dock, optimistic that we'll have a few more days of flat water before the end of August. It's always a gamble, but a warm wetsuit, glass flat water, and October sunshine occasionally offer sublime, no, truly transcendental slalom opportunities. So we're keeping our fingers crossed.

As for the losing end of the gamble, at any moment an early snowstorm could abbreviate our waterskiing ambitions. Take Buffalo, New York for instance. On Thursday a lake effect snowstorm (complete with lightning and thunder) dumped almost two feet of heavy white stuff on the area, burying harvests, toppling trees and knocking out electrical power for nearly a quarter million residents. It broke a previous record of seven inches of snow, setting a new all time record for early, big snowfalls in Buffalo.

And that wasn't the only snowy news this week. Wednesday marked the 230th anniversary of the Battle of Valcour.

"The naval Battle of Valcour Island, also known as the Battle of Valcour Bay, took place on 11 October 1776, on Lake Champlain in a narrow strait between the New York mainland and Valcour Island during the American Revolutionary War. It is generally regarded as the first naval battle fought by the United States Navy. Although the American ships under the command of Benedict Arnold were mostly destroyed, the campaign delayed by one year the British attempt to cut the colonies in half and eventually led to the British military disaster at Saratoga in 1777." (Wikipedia)

Discover more about the perilous battle and ensuing expedition hampered by early snow and wintry weather at the following websites:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Valcour_Island
http://www.historiclakes.org/Valcour/valcour_battle.htm
http://historiclakes.org/Valcour/Valcour.html
http://www.lcmm.org/mri/projects/vbrp.htm
http://www.americanrevolution.com/BattleofValcourBay.htm
http://www.vuhs.org/project/valcour.htm
http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1291.html
http://beatl.barnard.columbia.edu/students/his3487/cantrell/champlain.html

And that's where my song ends. Remember that this is the last week of our fall "Clear the Deck" Sale, and you can find thousands of closeouts by clicking on the link at the top of every page on the website or by going to this link:

http://www.shipstore.com/SS/HTML/CTD/CTDFALL06a.html

George Davis, Beacon Editor
editor@shipstore.com

=============================================================
~ CAPTAIN'S TIP: The October Scramble
=============================================================

The October Scramble... Sounds like the name of an old North Country square dance! But it's not, not by a long shot. The October Scramble is that eleventh hour panic to get all of your fall chores completed before an early snow surprises you, reminds you that winter can come earlier than expected. You just never can tell when the white stuff will start to fall.

So we've all been scrambling recently. Getting deck and lawn furniture stored. Coiling hoses. Stacking firewood. Covering boats. Cleaning and storing wetsuits and lifejackets and waterskis. Two days ago, while my new wife (Just married!) and I were retrieving our windsurfer, inflatable raft, canoe and kayaks from the waterfront, my mind wandered. I was lumbering up our dirt driveway, avoiding bumps that might upset the stack of boats I had lashed precariously onto the John Deer Gator, and I remembered a very different experience a couple of years prior.

Before I'd had a chance to collect the same small boats mentioned above, the season's first snow had arrived early. My brother and I spent the following day dragging each one individually across the snow with snowshoes like a couple of Eskimos! We swore we'd never let that happen again.

And I'm doing my best to keep that promise.

With my mind wandering to snowier autumns, I remembered something else too. This summer ShipStore.com hired a summer intern named Stephanie Stevens. She might well have been one of hardest working members of our crew, focusing on data entry, inventory research, and writing. I remember a piece Stephanie wrote about North Country winters, and after getting our small boats tucked away for the winter, I decided to dig up Stephanie's mid-summer reflection on the snowy months. I'd like to share it with you:

"Winter in Westport! That is something scary and amazing at the same time. How can that be? Well the first snowfall of the season is so amazing. You feel alive and ready for everything. But sometimes we have huge storms that can be pretty scary. We tend to lose electrical power in Westport when we have huge snowstorm, but that's nothing unusual in for us."

"But even when the power is out there's a lot to do. Sledding in Ballard Park is one of the most popular. Have you ever tried sledding down a hill at midnight? If you have a place you know well (think safety!) and you want an adventure, you should try it. It's amazing. Everything is so silent, and it's really cold but you don't realize this until you are in your house trying to warm up later. And, in addition to sledding, there's always skiing, snowboarding, and ice skating."

"And there's plenty of fresh powder on the ground and new snow falling from the sky, you can try to catch snowflakes on your tongue. I know it sounds sort of silly, I mean, why would you want to catch something coming out of the sky in your mouth? But if you live here it's something you try to do every time the snow falls."

"And if you don't want to go outside, you can always sit inside and admire the beautiful view outdoors. Westport is truly spectacular in the wintertime. It's also a very romantic season. Sipping hot chocolate by the fire with that special someone is something that always brings good times."

"Winter is the longest season around here. It starts in November and ends in March if we are lucky. Sometimes it starts in October and doesn't end until April. That's a long, cold season, but it sure can be fun."

"Then there is the not so fun part: taking care of your stuff before the first snow falls..."

This is one of the last few sentences in her short reflection. She laments the pre-snowfall tasks, but focuses on them only obliquely. It's clear that, despite the fact I had encouraged her to write about those end-of-fall-beginning-of-winter chores, Stephanie was far more intoxicated with the joys of snowy winter. And to think she was composing her reflection in early August!

Well, that's about enough dilly dallying. Gotta get back to that October Scramble...

George Davis, Beacon Editor
editor@shipstore.com

=============================================================
~ CAPTAIN'S SPECIALS: "Clear the Deck" SALE, Part III
=============================================================

It's time for our twice annual "Clear the Deck" Sale. We're slashing prices on our most popular seasonal items. Bigger and better, new and improved... take it from me, this three-stage CTD is our best yet!

Are you a new subscriber? Or maybe you'd just like a little refresher on how the "Clear the Deck" Sale works? Twice each year we empty our warehouse to make room for new merchandise. That means that twice each year ShipStore.com offers unbeatable prices on some of our most popular items. We usually spread the deals over two newsletters, but this time we've stretched it to THREE! This will help us keep up with the flood of orders, so watch your email inbox for part two next week, and part three the week after.

A few of important reminders before you start ogling the good deals:

1. All orders subject to stock on hand. These amazing deals are only valid until our stock is depleted!
2. All "Clear the Deck" items are final sales unless defective from the factory.
3. There will be no backorders. "Ship or cancel" policy in effect.
4. First come, first served. (Note: This could mean you order an item which shows in stock, but someone places an order just ahead of you and you are unfortunately out of luck. We'll email any shortage notices to customer promptly and void those items from your order.)
5. As items sell out, we'll remove them from the list. We'll try to keep the list as current as possible and will be changing it daily through the end of the sale.
6. The "Clear the Deck" Sale only lasts for three (3) weeks, so order now.

That's all you need to know. Good luck, and we'll update you next week. Here's the link for you to browse the CTD Closeouts now:

http://www.shipstore.com/SS/HTML/CTD/CTDFALL06.html

PS: There's also a link to the sale from the top of every page on our website!

=============================================================
~ CAPTAIN'S CONTEST: "Win a Shopping Spree!" Drawing
=============================================================

Win a $100.00 credit at ShipStore.com. To be eligible for future "Win a Shopping Spree!" drawings all you have to do is subscribe to the Beacon. All current subscribers are eligible for the random drawing. If you're not already subscribed, then visit http://www.shipstore.com and scroll down the light blue column along the left hand side of the page until you see the link "Win a Shopping Spree!". Click on the link. A new window will open with an email addressed to beacon-on@list.shipstore.com and "Subscribe" written in the Subject Field. All you have to do is hit send.

You'll be sent a confirmation email which you must respond to in order to activate your subscription and be added to our mailing list. This double opt-in procedure enables us to prevent accidental subscriptions and spam. As soon as your confirmation is confirmed, you will be entered into the "Win a Shopping Spree!" drawing for a $100.00 free merchandise from ShipStore.com. Good luck.

=============================================================
NEWSLETTER SENT BY PERMISSION ONLY
=============================================================

This email has been sent to you because you (or someone using your email address) subscribed to the ShipStore.com Beacon newsletter. We respect your privacy and do not sell your personal information or release your email address ever, for any reason. For details, please review our Privacy Policy.

If you prefer not to receive to the ShipStore.com Beacon newsletter, please send a BLANK e-mail to beacon-on@list.shipstore.com with "Subscribe" (remove the quotation marks) in the Subject Field. If you wish to UNSUBSCRIBE, please send a BLANK e-mail to beacon-off@list.shipstore.com. If you have any questions or suggestions contact the editor by e-mail editor@shipstore.com. Please include a helpful subject like "Question for the Captain", "Suggestion for Article" or "Remove Duplicate Mailing" to help us sort through the e-mails more easily.

=============================================================
COPYRIGHT INFORMATION
=============================================================

COPYRIGHT 2006 ShipStore.com (tm) ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Permission is granted to electronically copy, print or forward this newsletter for use as a shopping, boating or travel resource as long as it is not altered in any way and sent in its entirety. Any other use of materials on this Web site--including reproduction for purposes other than those noted above, modification, distribution, or republication--without the prior written permission of Westport Marina, Inc. is strictly prohibited.

=============================================================
CONTACT INFORMATION
=============================================================

ShipStore.com
6039 Route 9N
Westport, NY 12993
Telephone: 518-962-2700
Toll Free: 877-SHIPSTORE (US and Canada)
Fax: 518-962-4582

E-Mail sales@shipstore.com with any questions.