Wayzata Yacht Club for the less ambitious: The EMYC

At first, we were repelled by the Centennial Lakes development in Edina-- it felt like a cheap Disneyworld for empty nesters with its quaint fake lakes and its quaint Potemkin village shopping centers and its fake community.

The one thing that melted our hearts? The old dudes in plaid and denim and rubber boots who brought their model sailboats down to the "lake" and sailed the little sea under a light press of autumn air.

It turns out the Edina Model Yacht Club is the only group of its kind in the Twin Cities. Each Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday evening they have the run of the central pond with their radio-controlled sailers and electric tugboats. (Gasoline engines strictly prohibited in the bylaws, "to maintain a quiet atmosphere." God bless you, gentlemen.)

Edina Modle Yacht Club,http://www.emyc.org/

The proper tack is no gybe

Last weekend, the sailboats began to arrive on Lakes Harriet, Calhoun, and Nokomis. They got a rude christening, given the 30 mph winds that greeted them. So while pathwalkers on Saturday might have envied the buoy holders, they were relieved on Sunday and Monday when they saw the swamped and overturned results of high winds plus badly tied knots.

Pathwalker, you too can learn how to tie a proper bowline, and what to do once you've untied it from the buoy... without taking the dive into boat ownership. This year, the Minneapolis Park and Rec Board offers adult and youth sailing classes through August. All courses will be taught at Lake Harriet, and you can check class availability and signup right now, online.

Tuition is $90 for city residents, $110 for non-residents.

MPRB Sailing Lessons, http://www.minneapolisparks.org/default.asp?PageID=612

The last urban sailshop — gone fishing?

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

How to stake your claim on a Minneapolis lake

Walking round the lakes yesterday, you might have wondered when the friendly sailboats will make their spring debut, bobbing and jingling on their buoys. In fact, vague sailboat gestures have long been the official logo of the City of Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board—a situation that the politicians are threatening to tamper with, apparently to avoid more challenging work.

You might be surprised at how easy it is to get a buoy to your own name on Lakes Harriet, Calhoun, or Nokomis. It goes like this: Tomorrow night, the MPRB holds its annual lottery at Lynnhurst Community Recreation Center. If you get your application filed by end of day today, you will in all likelihood be able to park your boat on the lake of your choice, effectively making one of the city's great amenities your own personal cruising ground.

City residents pay just $300 for the whole season, and in recent years there have been unoccupied berths well into August. (Suburbanites, you gotta cough up an extra Benjamin.) Once you're in the system, you have priority the following season—or you can jump to another lake, depending on whether you've hit your mid-life crisis and you're feeling more Calhoun than Harriet.

Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board sailboat buoy lottery, http://www.minneapolisparks.org/default.asp?PageID=26

Photo by Dan H, http://flickr.com/photos/dan_h/