Cruise - Day 6 - St. Tropez

Anchored off St. Tropez, we took tenders into town and the small harbor. It reminded me of some four star hotel where all the Jags, Benz, and Porsches are parked pointing out adjacent to the hotel entry. Only in this case they were yachts, mostly power in the 80 to 150' range that maneuvered in the tight space with precision.

We walked along the boulevard which curved around the harbor which was filled with shops and people. The chic quotient was definitely elevated as thin, tan, French women dressed in form fitting shirt dresses walked in stiletto heels. We wondered if they'd come off the yachts or were looking for an invitation to cruise!

We tendered back to the ship in now choppy seas with the wind blowing quite strong. I wonder about the seamanship of some of the tender crew as we slam against the gangway.

It was a little after noon and the sports marina deck was only going to be open to two, so we went down to check out the sailing possibilities. They wanted to know how well I sailed (I lied), and we were given a 12' dagger board boat. It was a little tippy getting in and we almost capsized but then we got our fannies on the right side and took off. We sailed off the stem of the Wind Surf through chop and spray and getting wet. Our first tack was a jibe which was a little hairy but from then on we did well sailing fast on the bay of St. Tropez. After a half an hour, we brought it in soaked but pleased we hadn't turned over. My tricep hurt from hanging onto the main sheet (they didn't want us to cleat it down because of the likelihood of capsizing).


Meanwhile, Ashley and Bryce had gotten on shore and quickly found a 50cc scooter to rent and had toured the area around St. Tropez for several hours.

At around 3, the Wind Surf unfurled its sails and we sailed east towards Monte Carlo along the French coast. At around 7 as the sun was inching closer to setting behind the mountains that rim Monaco, we dropped anchor offshore until our berth was vacated around midnight.

After dinner, we were again tendered to shore, a good number dressed in ties and coats and slinky dresses ready to go to the casino. The cruise line provided shuttles for us which was quite helpful. The scene outside was chaotic with tourist milling about the Ferraris, Lamborghinis, Rolls, Benz, etc.

Walking inside we had to check our camera and purchase an entrance ticket at 10 euros per person before we were able to enter the casino. The casino was actually fairly small with only a few blackjack and roulette tables. The blackjack minimums were 25 and 200 euros. Bryce and I watched the 200 table for quite awhile where the dealer gets his second card after everyone has gotten their third or fourth card and players could bet on another person's hand when they split or doubled down.

After losing about 20 euros at the slots and Ash and Carolyn spending 22 euros for two martinis, we had spent our wad and got back to the ship around 12:30.