Rosslyn Bay Is In Party Mode

Haydee and the Team Vodafone Sailing trimaran

Keppel Bay Marina at Rosslyn, a little south of Yeppoon, is a great marina. We borrowed their courtesy car to do the groceries today and right now there is a bit of a party feeling here at Rosslyn. The first two boats in the Brisbane to Keppel yacht race crossed the line this afternoon, plus a ring-in trimaran, Team Vodafone Sailing, who covered the same course in less time but wasn't officially part of the monohull race. Wild Oats XI, a 100 foot super-maxi, travelled the distance in a little over 24 hours, blitzing the old race record by about 3 hours and last year's winner, Lahana, a 98 foot boat came second. At 5.5m, Wild Oats is too draughty to get into the marina and is anchored outside but Lahana and the Vodafone boat are here - they're amazing machines. The boat Shane did his sail training on, Oceans, is in the race and doing well (although we're sure they'd be doing better if Shane was crewing. Hi Mike.) The flaw in Rosslyn Bay's plan is that 90% of the race fleet is still sailing. The party may be a little premature but perhaps it is just an excuse to have another party tomorrow.

Before signing off, I would like to publicly announce that Shane provided us with fish to eat (a rather tasty lesser queenfish, which Cameron supplemented with a bream), and that I have had absolutely no idea what day it is for more than a week now. It is a nice feeling (if a little confusing occasionally). I perhaps shouldn't admit that to the kids in case they take advantage of me.

We're off tomorrow to see the delights of Shoalwater Bay starting with Freshwater, a beach Shane has amphibiously assault a few times in the past. I wonder if he will start twitching or perhaps even marshall the kids and re-live it once again.