Discovery Bay in Jamaica is a deep harbour, protected from the open ocean by a fringing reef. Since about the mid seventies, when a channel was dredged, deep draft ore ships have been exporting bauxite, the mineral source of aluminum, from this port.
It is also home to the site of a world-renowned marine laboratory, operated by the University of the West Indies. The Discovery Bay Marine Lab providies a base for numerous marine scientists and students from around the globe, in particular North Americans.
In the early 80’s there were a couple of bauxite ships visiting regularly with American crews. Visiting lab students and ship crewmembers hung out at the same local bars, and, inevitibly, friendships were struck. At that time, foreign exchange limitations, combined with customs restrictions meant that many typical North American consumer items were not available on the Island. There were a few minor “smuggling” events, such as an apple, pear or such, hidden under clothing, but with Thanksgiving approaching, how to get a turkey?!
Perhaps over a beer or two too many, the scheme was hatched that the crew would throw a frozen turkey over the stern of ship as it went through the channel around 2:00 in the morning. The students would be waiting in a small boat to retreive it!
I had nothing to do with this plan. I was working at the lab as a local tech at the time, and I knew about it because the students talked freely around me. Somehow, perhaps sobering up to the reality that they would be engaging in genuine smuggling, or simply sleeping it off, nobody went out when the ship left.
The next morning, the whole plan was dismissed as a joke. Nobody really took them seriously, right!
Well, shortly after mid-day, a couple of research scientists pulled up to the dock with an odd package. They had been working at Rio Bueno, a small port, a few miles down the coast, and had found a black garbage bag floating in the sea.
You guessed it! Those students had their turkey dinner after all.
