Business was booming at the beach bars and restaurants in Northeast Florida this week thanks to hundreds of British sailors who arrived Wednesday when the new aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth docked for a logistics stop at Naval Station Mayport.
When the ship pulled into port there wasn’t much publicity despite the rush of men and women who would soon spread out to the three Beaches communities.
The sailors only had a few days in port to stretch their legs, so many of them took to the town Wednesday night without much warning.
“I think we need a modern day Paul Revere to let us know that the British are coming,” said Keith Doherty, a general manager at Lynch’s Irish Pub in the heart of Jacksonville Beach. “I know a lot of places were understaffed and that caused a lot of issues.”
He said his bar didn’t have some of the problems other establishments experienced because they have security staffed every night of the week. Other places are prepared for heavy crowds on the weekends, Doherty said, but a mid-week rush can be a lot to handle.
Doherty said he’s heard rumors that hundreds of sailors were arrested in one night, but the reality isn’t quite as extreme.
Sgt. Larry Smith of the Jacksonville Beach Police Department said six British sailors were taken into custody on mostly drunk and disorderly charges, and three of them were also charged with resisting arrest. Of the three who were resisting, Smith said one was pushing and pulling away from an officer, another wouldn’t put his hands behind his back and the other was just being a little disrespectful.
The sailor who wouldn’t put his hands behind his back had to be stunned with a Taser before he was arrested, Smith said.
Smith said all the arrests happened late Wednesday or early Thursday, and officers haven’t had any issues after talking to ship leaders.
Authorities said no British sailors were arrested in Atlantic Beach and a spokesman wasn’t available Friday to comment on any arrests in Neptune Beach.
Smith said the problem wasn’t sailors getting into drunken fights with locals. The problem was more that they were getting in fights with each other.
“These guys come in town periodically,” Smith said. “They beat the mess out of each other and fight each other more than anything, but once they pick up their teeth off the ground they are best friends.”
He said one of the six arrests happened at Lynch’s where a sailor was asked to leave and came back. Smith said he was arrested on a trespassing charge.
Some bar managers said their were problems at first with the sailors not tipping well but they generally understood the custom is different in the United States.
“They tipped a little under 10 percent and I don’t think they knew they were doing anything wrong,” said Haleigh Snow, a manager at Poe’s Tavern in Atlantic Beach. “Other than that we haven’t had any trouble.”
Most establishments the Times-Union talked to said they welcomed the extra business and rely heavily on the military during slower months.
But Doherty brought up the point that a little more notice would have been helpful to make sure all the bars had enough staff working for the crowds.
“I think their sailors are the same as our guys, when they get shore leave they like to relax and have a good time,” Doherty said. “The majority of the sailors from the carrier have been great customers.”
Click here to read the Florida Times-Union article.
