Radio Caroline 1970s Key Dates 5

Radio Caroline 1970’s - Key Dates (5)

mid January 1979	The Mi Amigo crew had to run the generators for just three hours a day while they cooked a meal
16th January 1979	Mi Amigo without power and no means available to pump out seawater which was leaking into the ship
17th January 1979	Harwich Lifeboat takes crew off Mi Amigo, which was taking on water
18th January 1979	Station engineer Peter Chicago returns to Mi Amigo and stays alone on the radio ship overnight to prevent any salvage attempts being made by third parties. Single-handedly he managed to get one of the pumps working to remove water from the engine room, studio, record library and living quarters
19th January 1979	Some of the DJs returned to the ship, together with engineers and a new petrol generator enabling the ship to have a regular power supply again
15th April 1979	Radio Caroline returns to the air with a new Dutch language daytime service
14th October 1979	After weeks of staff shortages all programmes for the Dutch Service were now being presented by the English DJs
17th October 1979	Belgian police raided a trawler in Zeebrugge Harbour carrying food and supplies for the Mi Amigo as well as new programme tapes for the Dutch Service of Radio Caroline
31st October 1979	Some new Dutch DJs reach the Mi Amigo and the normal Radio Caroline Dutch Service was able to resume
14th December 1979	Radio Caroline able to achieve 24 hours a day programming again as a regular tendering service is resumed

19th March 1980

Gales and heavy seas pound the Mi Amigo, which breaks from her anchor chain and drifts. Radio Caroline's Dutch Service, now containing mostly pre-recorded programmes, continue as normal until mid-afternoon when coded messages were broadcast every hour. The English Service of Radio Caroline started at 7.00pm but just played continuous music and the hourly coded messages until midnight when the crew abandoned ship.

20th March 1980

An RAF helicopter flew over the area and reported that the Mi Amigo had sunk, only her mast was visible above the waterline

15th January 1979 The Soviet Union vetoed a United Nations resolution and called for the withdrawal of all Vietnamese troops from Cambodia.

16th January 1979 Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlevi fled Iran for Egypt as millions united with Ayatollah Khomeini.who led a revolution from exile and established a Muslim Theocracy.

17th October 1979 Mother Teresa was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her years of work with the destitute in Calcutta.

22nd October 1979 The US government allowed the deposed Shah of Iran to travel to New York for medical treatment. This decision precipitated the Iran hostage crisis.

19th March 1980 The US appealed to the International Court of Justice for release of hostages in Iran.

21st March 1980 President Carter told the U.S. Olympic Team that they would not participate in the Summer Games in Moscow as a boycott against Soviet intervention in Afghanistan.