Excitement was in the air as Keppel Bay Sailing Club had a windy start to the annual Keppel Krippler, a two day event sailing to and from North Keppel Island with an overnight stay. This year featured 44 participants from KBSC spread across three Corsair’s, two Hobies, a Taser and a Sharpie, plus with six yachts from Capricornia Cruising Yacht Club it made for an impressive start.
With a reasonable swell and strong winds the sailors had to have their wits about them. CCYC used this event as part of their race calendar. They had an excellent start with the dinghies following them shortly afterwards. The safety boats were kept busy on the way to the island with KBSC sailing instructor Ella Sagnol jumping in to rescue a capsized Hobie!
Having covered the 8nm journey to the island in just over 90 minutes the sailors were welcomed by friendly staff from the North Keppel Island Environmental Education Centre, beautiful beaches and crystal clear water.
The team enjoyed activities on and around the island including glass bottom kayaking over the corals followed by a camp fire, watching the night sky with a guitar playing and the kids cooking damper above the flames.
A small group of sailors decided to get up before sunrise to hike to North Keppel Lookout. The views were stunning and a sighting of the North Keppel Dugong topped off the climb.
With a dazzling blue sky and gentle breeze the journey back to KBSC was far tamer than the outbound one.
Watch the water for next year’s Keppel Krippler!