I attended the yearly Festival of Sails event which takes place on the Redcliffe Peninsula in Queensland, Australia. It so happens to coincide with the Brisbane to Gladstone Yacht Race. The 2019 race is the 71st Brisbane to Gladstone one to date, and it is now considered to be one of Australia’s flagship offshore yacht races.
Here are a few of the yachts sailing north to Gladstone. The weather was rather inclement so I was hoping I'd be able to capture a few reasonable photos of the yacht race to share with you.
There was a favourable wind blowing and I wouldn't be surprised if a few records were broken at the end of this race.
Redcliffe Peninsula is home to over 55,000 residents over its total area of 38.1 km2 (14.7 sq mi). The peninsula is relatively flat with few areas rising more than 20 m (66 ft) above sea level.Redcliffe was the site of the first European settlement in Queensland.
The Redcliffe Peninsula was occupied by the indigenous Ningy Ningy people. The native name is Kau-in-Kau-in, which means Blood-Blood (red-like blood).
The area's first European visitors arrived on 17 July 1799, aboard the Norfolk, a British colonial sloop commanded by Matthew Flinders. Flinders explored the Moreton Bay area and landed at 10:30 a.m. at a location he called "Red Cliff Point", after the red-coloured cliffs visible from the bay, today called Woody Point.
I don't think I have ever seen such a large crowd of people gathered along our beautiful waterfront.
Concrete walls along the foreshore made handy seats for visitors to the left of me and those to the right of me.
Families have attended this event on a regular basis for years and I believe it has grown more popular with each passing year.
There are many great vantage points so no one needs to miss out on seeing the colourful yachts heading north in their quest to win this race or at least, better their time from the previous year.
The city of Redcliffe, with the very capable help of the Moreton Bay Region Industry and Tourism CEO, Mr. Shane Newcombe, organize a fabulous Festival along the length of Suttons Beach. Some of the attractions include a Kid Zone area where children can enjoy craft workshops, and an animal farm. Channel Nine ( a local TV Channel) also give children an opportunity to try their hand at reporting the main attractions and stories of the day.
There were a ton of food vans with a wide variety to choose from which ensured no-one left the festival hungry. But......the line up to the food vans was lengthy, due to the sheer number of people visiting throughout the day.
We arrived too late to see easter bunny make his amazing skydive entrance straight onto the beach but I'm sure the sand was covered with kids scrambling on the beach for enough easter eggs to last them until next year.
Ice Cream lovers made a bee Line for the Ice Cream Fair situated at the heart of the Festival. I couldn't believe how many different flavours of Ice Cream are available these days.
There were three separate stage events which were jammed packed with live music, entertainment and a variety of acts held throughout the day.
Rock climbing was a successful additon to the festival.
The Gold Man was keeping everyone entertained as he stood as still as a statue for long moments at a time only to move towards a child as their curiosity got the better of them.
It was starting to rain and I didn't wait around to see if the gold washed off him. Perhaps I should have. I could have gathered it up, put it in my handbag and purchased my own yacht to enter next years Brisbane to Gladstone yacht race. (lol)
The rain didn't deter this girl from blowing giant bubbles towards the crowd as they passed by.
With most of the yachts now out of sight, it was time to take a good look around........in between showers.
Unfortunately, those showers morphed into heavy downpours and we had to take cover in between market stalls. I looked up at the sign on the gazebo in front of us and was amused at the advertising on the side.
It deserved a little extra plug because it did seem to be working.
The 'Love Handmade' section catered for over 150 market stalls which included products such as handmade gifts, clothing, accessories, toys and treasures.
The Suttons Beach rotunda (in the background, below) was packed with people sheltering from the rain whilst enjoying their lunch, whether packed before they left home or bought from the food vans at the festival.
Superwoman was kept busy making herself available for countless selfies with fascinated children.
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Colourful yachts lined the beach outside the Redcliffe Surf Life Saving Club. John and I had walked the length of the waterfront and decided it was time to return home. We'd taken advantage of the free parking for visitors at the Redcliffe Showgrounds when arriving because we knew that parking would be at a premium.
We boarded one of the courtesy shuttle buses from the showgrounds which operated from 8.30am to 5pm. For people arriving from out of town via a train, another set of buses were available to transport visitors from the Kippa-ring train station to the Festival of Sails.
No wonder many took advantage of a most enjoyable day out over the long weekend. However, we decided to walk back to the car as the rain had eased and we were energized from our time spent at the festival.
THANK YOU FOR VIEWING. HAVE A GREAT DAY.
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