Brisbane to Keppel Race - Keppel Bay Marina buzzing with excitement

by Suellen Hurling on 8 Aug 2010 The finish line for the fourth Club Marine Brisbane to Keppel Tropical Yacht Race is just outside the harbour at Keppel Bay Marina and so far locals have been bedazzled by the boats that have arrived.

Lahana (Peter Millard) and Wild Oats X (Mark Richards) were the first two boats to finish and there was just 22 seconds between them. Lahana took the win and claimed the race record which was originally held by Black Jack (Peter Harburg) and set in the 2009 race. Lahana beat the record by 2 hours, 12 minutes and 49 seconds. Black Jack was a shock withdrawal from the race just 20 minutes in, due to hydraulic issues.

Rod Jones and his new GP42 Alegria IV were the third boat to cross the line and did so at 08:20:12 this morning. They were followed by Ocean Affinity (Stewart Lewis), Wedgetail (Bill Wild) and Colortile (Warren Buchan).

The first Farr 40 to finish was Bribie Star skippered by Ken Down. The crew reported that they had a fantastic race and achieved their goal of being the first Farr 40s to cross the line.

'We had to work hard to regain the lead and it was a great feeling when we did,' said Ken's son Lucas.

'This morning we had no idea where Lambourdini was and really thought they were in front, then we checked the yacht tracker and learnt they were nine miles behind us,' continued Lucas.

Bribie Star was followed by three of the other Farr 40s being Cracklin Rosie (Bob Robertson), e11even (David Elliott) and Lambourdini (David Lambourne). John Leman and his crew on Bobby's Girl have given an ETA of 13:20 this afternoon making them the last of the Farr 40s to finish.

As the boats dock at Keppel Bay Marina they are welcome with a pineapple and a carton of Stones Ginger Beer.

Wild Oats X is set to take out the overall IRC Division with Lanaha currently sitting in second and Wedgetail in third.

The fourth Club Marine Brisbane to Keppel Tropical Yacht Race started east of Green Island in Moreton Bay at 1500 hours on Friday 6 August with a fleet of 33 making their way north. The party is continuing at Keppel Bay Marina with live music, food and gift stalls as well as a caravan of camels taking kids for a journey around the marina.

More to come.

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Race Website: http://www.brisbanetokeppel.com
Tracker: http://www.brisbanetokeppel.com/yacht-tracker/
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/brisbane2keppel/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/brisbanetokeppel.com/
SMS Registration: http://www.brisbanetokeppel.com/sms

The Club Marine Brisbane to Keppel Tropical Yacht Race is part of Queensland Tourism's Season of Sailing calendar and is proudly sponsored by O'Reilly's Real Estate, Angove Wines, Morgan's Seafood, Capricorn Tourism, Rockhampton Regional Council and of course Club Marine.

The race is hosted by Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron with the support of Keppel Bay Marina, Keppel Bay Sailing Club, Yeppon Coast Guard and Bundaberg VMR.