Ever wondered where the expression “The Real McCoy” originated?

One theory—and there are several—is that it refers to Captain William Frederick McCoy, one of the most famous rum-runners of the Prohibition era.

Originally from Jacksonville, Florida, McCoy owned a boatyard before entering the lucrative liquor trade. He loaded his schooner with alcohol in The Bahamas, sailed north along the eastern coast of the United States and anchored beyond the three-mile limit in international waters, where he operated as a floating liquor store.

McCoy eventually became a leading figure in the rum-running trade between The Bahamas and the Atlantic coast. Unlike some of his imitators, he did not drink and refused to dilute or adulterate his liquor with dangerous substances such as wood alcohol or turpentine. His customers knew they were receiving the genuine article—or, as the story goes, “The Real McCoy.”

West End and the rum-running trade

Only a short distance from the Florida coast, West End was ideally placed to benefit from Prohibition. Liquor arrived from Nassau and overseas, filling warehouses and crowding the docks before being transferred to vessels bound for “Rum Row” off the American coast. For a time, the trade brought extraordinary activity—and prosperity—to this small settlement at the western end of Grand Bahama.

Cases and barrels of liquor piled on a Bahamian dock during the Prohibition era, ready to begin their journey to the United States.

“In the past twelve months an average of 10,000 cases have left these islands every week and 90% of them have been safely conveyed to the parched American throat.” A contemporary account of the Bahamian liquor trade.

Cases of Gordon’s gin being handled during the Bahamian rum-running trade.

To make the cargo easier to pack and move, six bottles were wrapped together in straw and burlap to form compact bundles known as “liquor hams.”

Liquor “hams,” each containing six bottles, packed into the hold of McCoy’s schooner Arethusa.

Cases of liquor being loaded aboard William McCoy’s schooner Arethusa in Nassau during Prohibition.

BEFORE PROHIBITION

Long before he became known as a rum-runner, William McCoy was a skilled boatbuilder. With his brother Ben, he operated a boatyard in Jacksonville, Florida, building fast, elegant motorboats and yachts for wealthy clients. His knowledge of boats and the sea would later prove invaluable in the liquor trade.

One of the sleek motorboats built by McCoy’s Jacksonville boatyard for a wealthy client.

A Bahamian commemorative stamp recalling the bootlegging years of 1919–1929, when cases and barrels of liquor crowded the islands’ docks.

Prohibition ended in the United States in 1933, bringing the great rum-running era to a close. Its colourful characters, daring voyages and crowded Bahamian docks, however, have never been forgotten.