Moving to Minneapolis

[Reefing]

Good evening friends, there is a slight possibility that my wife will be relocated to Minneapolis. We are vey exited as this move could mean a significant career jump for her. With that said I wanted to learn from any on the group about sailing in MN, how does marinas and yatch clubs work, what are the best lakes for regattas, for family cruising, camping... What is customary, mooring the boat or trailering every time. What are the expected marina fees? Do residential areas allow to par a sailboat on e yard. So on and on and on. In other words i am looking for any and all information regarding sailing in Minneapolis, St Paul, Minnetonka area. Thank you in advanced for your feedback.

Happy and restful Labor day weekend.

Ps. I posted this message in the Hunter->smaller boats by mistake so i ported it on the broader forum.

 

[Jackdaw]

There are lots of opportunities for sailing your 23 in the Minneapolis area, from a mooring buoy on a Minneapolis city lake to a slip in lake Minnetonka. Costs will range from$300 to $4300 a year. Lots of great sailing. WYC is one of the best sailing/racing clubs in the USA.

 

[Reefing]

Thank you Jackdaw; that information definitely helps. In fact, there is a slight chance that we will go up this week and if so we already made plans to go see the big WYC regatta taking place on the weekend. I truly do not want to leave Clearwater, FL but I am making the most out of the opportunity.

 

[Johnb]

I worked for a while in Shakopee and loved it. The folks there don't let winter get in the way of fun and outdoor life, you just want to get into the cold season activities.

We had a 23 foot Clipper Marine with a swing keel and although we had a trailer for it we kept it in the water most of the time, because launching, rigging and retrieving all in one day just seemed too onerous. It gave us 15 years of pleasure before we got the bigger boat.

 

[Reefing]

Thank you all for the information. That is exactly what i needed to plan bringing my boat up north. At those rates i will likely leave it here in FL for the first season while i secure a mooring spot or a mast up yard. Now we just have to wait for the admiral to get her job offer and we can start to pack.

 

[plenny7]

Look into getting a slip on Lake Pepin (which is on the Mississippi River). The Lake City marina has a waiting list but I believe the Pepin Marina may have some available. There is also Hansen's Harbor in Lake City. A 30' slip is about $1900 for the season.

Lake City is about 90 minutes from Minneapolis and Pepin, which is in Wisconsin, is 20 minutes further. Lake Pepin is a great lake for sailing.

We don't have a sailboat currently but we go sailing with a friend of ours on Lake Pepin. If all goes well, we'll be buying his boat this winter as he is upgrading.

 

[plenny7]

Here is some more information on Lake Pepin

The Lake City Marina has a webpage here.
There you can see the 2015 rates, a description of their facilities, and a few photos.

Here is the website for the Lake City Yacht Club. This is a separate entity from the marina and membership is not required for getting a slip.

On the other side of the lake, here's the Pepin Marina website.
Slip rates are similar to the Lake City Marina. They also list haul out, shrink-wrap, winterizing and storage fees.

And finally, Hansen's Harbor, which I don't know much about.

 

[Reefing]

Thank you Plenny7. I will look into this alternatives as well. I am sure that after the winter is over i will not mind driving to get back on the water.