Happy 4th! American Independence Day

The main job today was to find a grocery store / supermarket to get some supplies for the boat and to take with us to the July 4th party we were attending in the afternoon. We set off out of the marina and by the corner of the street we were already drenched with sweat from the humidity and I remembered that the buses weren’t running. The supermarket was two miles away and we weren’t even sure it would be open. We decided to head back to the marina to find someone to ask. I approached the water sports hut and said “We are not from round here I wonder if I could ask a quick question”, only to get a response in an English accent to say, “no I’m not either!” It turned out that he had actually been here for 2-3 years and assured us we would find the supermarket open, we decided for the first time to get a taxi there and he called one for us. Being driven to the supermarket in a leather seated Lincoln Continental with full aircon was a luxury I’m not sure we can afford every trip, but it was very nice.

We did go a bit mad at the supermarket particularly on fresh fruit which we’ve not been able to find reliably since the Canary Islands. We filled our shopping trolley /cart to the brim and I was even asked for ID to buy the beer we bought for the party by the friendly shop assistant. Once back at the boat we unpacked and gorged on several pounds of an enormous watermelon which became our lunch and was a welcome refreshment in the heat.

  We got a call from Cal to say that a guy called Bill also in the West Palm Yacht Club would pick us for the party as he was coming to the Tiki Bar for a drink first. Bill duly called at about 3pm and we went round to meet him and friend Stephanie at the bar. They were both fairly new arrivals to Florida and the club and hadn’t joined the 4th raft party before. We had a good chat and they came back to look at Invincible whilst we picked up our party food and then headed off to the Yacht Club just up the road. Bill took us across in his dingy to Cal & Marty’s boat which was already rafted to two others, where Stephanie and I got off and Kevin and Bill went off to bring Bill’s boat over. Unfortunately this also entailed getting ice and fuel for the dingy and by the time Kevin came back he was quite sunburnt and hot from running around in the heat still he was quickly refreshed by Cal and Marty our excellent hosts.  Debating the mast climbMarty relaxing on deck

  Kevin joins the winching working partyCal decides sensibly that the spreaders is far enough!    

Cal back safe and sound

Cal & Marty

I think there were 5 boats in the raft in the end and probably 30 people by the evening, quite a mixed bunch of sailors and non-sailors. It was a really fun afternoon and evening. Cal being a professional photographer volunteered to go up the mast in the afternoon to get a shot of everyone. There was alot of wake /  swell in the bay and it was quite a rolly and sobering experience I think for his first mast climb. Luckily he returned to the deck safe and sound. We had a few jibes about being English at an American Independence party, it was all taken in good humour and Kevin just replied that without the English there wouldn’t be the party! Everyone congregated on the foredeck / trampolines for the fireworks at 9.30pm which were spectacular though we were a little far away to hear all the bangs. We really enjoyed meeting everyone, especially Cal & Marty who we got on well with and will be meeting again before we leave the area. We’ve also been invited to the Tiki Bar at 3pm on Sunday to meet another cruising couple… there is a bit of an alcohol theme forming already in our US stay I think!

Watching the fireworks