Getting ready for summer boating on Lake Pepin

LAKE CITY, Minn. (KTTC) – Minnesotans have been waiting anxiously for some spring weather, and Friday it finally arrived. A group of people especially grateful for the weather are boaters.

“It’s a good day one of the first real big days that we’re putting boats in here. It’s the first real nice days,” Lake City marina administrator Jeff Brand said.

Getting the boats from the lot into the water is a streamlined process that takes about 20 to 30 minutes for each boat.

“They have to fun summer-ized which isn’t really a big deal the water systems and that sort of thing. As far as putting them in, it’s a matter of just getting them from whatever position they’re at in the water,” Brand said.

Boaters and sailors are also excited to hit the water.

“This is wonderful. We’ve got a gorgeous day. We look forward to this every year. The last couple weeks have been difficult but now it’s beautiful,” Mankato resident Wayne Hector said.

Some are using the pleasant weather to get prepared and make sure their boats are ready to set sail.

“We had some damage done to our cradle and we were worried we that we might have a leak in the bottom of the boat, but we’re sitting out here in the water, and we’re extremely happy about that,” Lake City native Jim Maland said.

The water levels at Lake Pepin are slightly higher than average right now, but nothing that’s going to stop these sailors.

“There’s a lot of logs that get pulled off the shoreline when the water comes up and they’re floating down the river, so you really got to be careful to watch out for things like that,” Maland said.

“It’s shallow near the rocks, and you just have to stay to the middle,” Hector said.

Boaters and marina staff members are in the same boat, feeling ready for some time on the lake.

“Sun’s out. People are excited to be boating, so it’s been a long winter,” Brand said.

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