On the main port quay there are lines of enormous motorboats (and a very few sailing yachts), their professional crew washing, or stowing, or simply making sure nobody lays a finger on the gleaming woodwork.
The Rough Guide comments that a lot of these monuments to spending huge amounts of cash have 'union jacks', or rather red ensigns. It seems so at first, but as you look closer you see that many are from the Cayman Islands. Their ensign is defaced with a shield, and many flaunt Georgetown as their port of registry. We don't know the exact political status of the Islands (known at one time as the Tortugas for the many turtles that nested there) but their economic situation is vastly different from the UK. But we wonder how many bemused tourists think that UK plc must be coining it, to judge by the boats.
There are a few small ordinary sailing boats, tucked away amongst the grandeur at the eastern end of the quay, looking defiant and ready to go. (There's also a bigger area of marina for the hoi polloi, just around the corner, but it's still going to be mega-expensive. We didn't ask.)
We spent a hot day in the town, mostly running errands. We needed supplies, and found a monoprix that wasn't too outrageously inflated. The chandlery isn't too bad either; we acquired some good goggles (much needed for checking the anchor is set properly) and a chart of the coast towards Nice. We've got them electronically but for the sort of anchoring we're doing it can be very comforting to have the paper as well. Plus we treated ourselves to a nice lunch out (our first since Les Baux).
In theory you can call a taxi to the supermarket. In practice we made a hot and sweaty walk there. Even the cabbies in St Tropez are dressed up, with big neo-Romantic open shirt cuffs edged with lace, designer dark glasses and a lot of gold.
The Baie de Canoubiers is a useful shelter, though the holding is a bit variable. You can walk to St Tropez, though we declined the heatstroke and took the bus. In the Baie itself there is very little, save a good recycling dump and an extremely expensive shop. Most importantly, it is free, the water's clean for swimming and you are well protected from the mistral.