In our enthusiasm for the new season of sailing on city lakes, we stopped by our favorite urban sailshop this weekend, Seven Seas at Dupont and Lake—only to learn that the shop had pulled up stakes and moved to the banks of Lake Minnetonka, out in Excelsior.
Busted and disgusted, we did the old-fashioned thing: Looked in the Yellow Pages, and discovered West Marine, a reputable chain of boating hardware shops with at least four local outlets.
A sally out to the Hopkins store near Ridgedale (we might have made it all the way to Excelsior, but the Seven Seas gang seems serious about retirement--they're closed on Sundays and Mondays) revealed a charming and knowledgable staff that quickly helped us locate a life jacket and some 1-part epoxy for bottomsides.
One skipper even sported a British accent, perhaps she'd done a tour of duty in the Big Blue Briney with the Royal Navy!
West Marine, http://www.westmarine.com, 13889 Ridgedale Dr., Hopkins, 952.545.5540
