KEPPLE BAY MARINA

We'd all thoroughly enjoyed our time at Yellow Patch but on the other hand we were at the stage where we needed a change of scenery. With the light SE-NE winds that we'd been experiencing, the humidity & the mozzies had gotten us so the thought of swimming at Great Kepple Island before heading into the marina was very tempting.



Fortunately high tide was at 6.00am the morning we left Yellow Patch, giving us an early start & leaving us with the whole afternoon at Great Kepple Island. The winds were light but the seas were a little lumpy, so after nearly 6 hours of sailing, then motor-sailing, we were all glad to drop anchor in the calm waters of the bay, just off the old resort.



We'd towed a lure once into open waters, hoping to catch a mackeral, but within half an hour we'd caught more than we'd bargained for! Instead of a mackeral we had a 1 metre, bronze whaler shark trailing behind us with a shiny red & white lure hanging from his mouth. He wasn't huge but Rees wasn't putting his hand anywhere near his razor sharp teeth, so we had to drag him all the way to Great Kepple Island where he was well & truly dead on arrival. He certainly wasn't wasted though because he was promptly filleted, ready for dinner that evening.



Being a Sunday & a beautiful day to be on the water, there were plenty of other yachts & boats already at anchor with people swimming around the cool, calm waters of the bay. It was hot at 30 degrees C so with a little encouragement, Mum joined Rees & I for a swim around our boat but unfortunately, Dad couldn't be talked into it. It was so cool & refreshing that Mum raved about just how good it was for hours later.

Today was spent at the Kepple Bay Marina where we were kept very busy getting everything up to date in preparation for the next leg of our trip to Island Head. With another bout of strong southerly winds forecast for the next few days, an early get away tomorrow morning should see us safely at Island Head before they hit. Besides, we'll have quite a long day ahead of us so an early start is essential. Then once there, we'll settle into our days with the usual fishing, crabbing , oystering & hopefully, socialising.