The Great St. Barths Heist: A True Tale of Adventure, Smuggling, and Escapes
Discover the thrilling true story of a jewelry thief's daring escape in St. Barths during the 1970s, an era of cheap rum, smuggling, and island adventures that captivated everyone on the island.
Back in the early seventies, the tiny island of St. Bartholomew, affectionately known as St. Barths, was the go-to place for buying liquor, especially Mt. Gay rum, which was a mere $0.50 a bottle at the time. There was a smuggling racket going on that kept the prices low, but we’ll leave that story for another time.
Le Select: The Hub of St. Barths
Le Select was the bar to be seen at, just as it is today, and you could often spot Jimmy Buffet hanging out there. Good deals on boat gear were to be had from Lou Lou, and the island boasted some of the finest French restaurants where you could easily empty your pockets.
The French were fairly organized even back then, but clearing customs was easy, and you could stay at the dock in Gustavia for a small fee. The grocery stores catered to yachties, and the boulangeries, with their delicate, melt-in-your-mouth pastries, were the first stop each morning.
A Morning in Gustavia
We were docked on our sloop, Avenir II, preparing to load up on wine, liquor, and pastries while our charter guests enjoyed a day at the beach. Suddenly, the quiet morning was shattered by the sound of European sirens—a rarity on the island. The gendarmes were chasing a jewelry thief who was sprinting down the streets, dozens of watches clinging to his arms from shoulder to wrist.
But wait—how do you escape the police on a small island like St. Barths?
The Chase and the Capture
Apparently, the thief thought he could fly out of St. Barths. He was captured at the airport, if you could even call it that. The airport’s single runway began at the base of a steep hill, requiring a harrowing plunge over a wall, down the hill, and into the valley where one hoped to stop before ending up in the sea.
Driving to the airport was an adventure in itself. It was always a good idea to look behind you before descending the hill because single-engine planes shared the same airspace as your car or scooter—a thrilling part of driving on St. Barths!
After the thief was caught, he was confined to a tiny home because there was no jail on the island. The islanders could hardly contain their excitement. People flooded the streets, talking animatedly with wild gestures. It was practically a holiday, with everyone milling around, retelling the tale over and over.
The Escape
Then the thief broke out of his makeshift jail, setting off another round of excitement! For hours, the gendarmes raced around the island with sirens blaring, while the villagers laughed and cheered. They bought drinks for each other and toasted the thief, delighting in the spectacle. Some even walked into the “jailhouse” just to look around, shake their heads, and leave, reveling in the gendarmes’ embarrassment.
All the boats tied to the dock were visited by the police, who politely but sternly asked us to check our vessels before leaving, in case the thief had stowed away. They were serious about their duty, but we all knew there was no way someone could hide on a small sailboat without being discovered immediately.
The Conclusion
As it turned out, the thief did manage to escape the island somehow, but he was arrested in St. Martin—sans watches.
Jeannie Kuich has written for ALL AT SEA since 2005.
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