WhimSea's Log

Posted by Karen A. Brown

Saturday morning and our destination for the day is Cornucopia. Siskiwit Bay Marina to be exact. We left early, though not intolerably so. Beating much of the fishing traffic on to the river, we had a relatively easy run into the lake.

On our way out, we noticed a number of boats at the dock at Lakehead. They were obviously preparing for a race, though to where we had no idea.

We slipped easily out of the Duluth Harbor and into the greater lake before raising sail and laying in a course for Bark Bay. The wind was with us and we quickly picked up speed and soon could hear the water rushing along our sides. This would not last long, however, as the winds proved to be a bit fractious, puffing away at us one minute, ignoring us the next.

We had a pretty good lead going when the group of racers all hauled up their chutes to take greater advantage of the light airs. The bay was filled with their bright full colors. I like to think that if we had one at our disposal they never would have passed us. Granted, we weren’t headed in the same vicinity, it still was disconcerting to be left behind.

Despite that small setback, the wind took us right to Bark Bay where we marked at more of the lake’s handiwork with the cliffs and sea caves that exist along the shore.

After some problems and a little bit of concern over the diesel, we eventually got our sails stowed and headed into the marina. It was much smaller then I thought it would be and considerably more cramped. We ended up tying up alongside the main dock right next to the fuel and pump out stations they were so full.

We spent some time walking around the marina and enjoying a beer or two as well as chatting with the other boaters there. After a bit of exploration we finally decided we were hungry enough to venture into town and try out “Fish Lipps” the famous bar/restaurant in town. Bill Williams who keeps his boat, the Ebeneste in Spirit Lake highly recommended it.

Fish Lipps turned out to be a very quick walk from the marina and an excellent bar/restaurant. They had a fair offering of Leinie’s and a good selection of food and nice, attentive wait staff. Troy had their fish (walleye of course) because he always does and I tried their Crabby Sandwich, which was absolutely excellent. After dinner we walked about the marina more and admired others’ boats.

We ended the evening with a visit to the beech to watch a breathtaking sunset. I think it’s easy to forget that Corny is on the side that allows you to see the sunset across the wide expanse of water.

Sunday morning we awoke fairly early and walked into town for a Fish Lipps breakfast before deciding to head home. We had hoped to be able to sail all the way, but once again, Mother Nature had other ideas. When the wind was blowing it was coming from Duluth. We had more squalls and periods of rain again on the way home. Once again, we thought of changing to Knife River…..