Olga in the 1950s. No sign of deckhouse yet, the bridge different from radio days

The mv Olga was built in 1921 as an iron ship. In 1936 a new centre section, 13 feet, was installed.This new section was made out of steel instead of iron. So, in 1980 she sank due to two reasons: no maintenance for many years and the steel section always at war with iron.

In 1960 she was converted into a purpose built radio broadcasting vessel. The original plan was two instead of one aerial tower, there was however an old German wartime law which prohibited the construction of two high masts on a ship. So, when Olga left Hamburg as Bonjour she was only fitted out with one aerial tower that would broadcast Radio Nord to Sweden for one year.

First of all, we hope you can read the ships plan. Where it reads accomodation its the cabin and record library section of the ship. Room for special service: transmitterroom.

The poopdeck section of the ship was in 1974 used for two generators, the bridge was built in a higher position than the original Olga wheelhouse, the boatdeck gave room to the famous ,,Deckhouse" that made BonJour/Mi Amigo into a very recognizable vessel during two decades as a radio ship.

The part of the ship behind the bridge was the original section for captain and officers. There was the captain bedroom aswell as his dayroom, 2 man cabin, one officers cabin and another 1 man cabin. Which one housed the famous Mi Amigo ghost? Also one toilet and a shouwer. The officers mess in the deckhouse became famous as the Mi Amigo Messroom. From the messroom there was a door leading to a corridor and a door on the right leading into studio one. The smaller one of the two with only one porthole on starboard  side.

Via another door you went into the lobby and into studio two, this studio had two portholes, one on starboard, the other one on the port-side.  This studio two was larger than one and became studio one in April 1967.

This new studio one was also the mainstudio in 78 and 79 for Radio Mi Amigo and Dutch Caroline.

In the 1960s Caroline had a proper Dutch maritime crew onboard, those not having the rank of a so called officer found room in the ships forecastle. Castle sounds good, in reality this was a very dark and unpleasant place to stay. On the main deck level there was the crewmessroom, toilet and washroom.

This section is the lowerdeck of the ship. In the centre section there were 5 two man cabins and what is called bedroom for the owner, which became the music library. Next to the library it reads saloon, this became the famous downstairs studio for Caroline in 1976. The room for special service was the transmitterroom. In the lowerdeck section of the forecastle there was room for 4 seaman. If you carefully look at this shipplan you'll agree the BonJour/Mi Amigo was realy rebuilt into a radioship, every inch was used. An amazing ship indeed.

Good view onto the poopdeck with two generators, the high position of the bridge, the deckhouse and aerial tower number 4 built in december 1973.

In 1997 I made a three day trip on this superb ,,Mi Amigo look a like" off the Stockholm Swedish coast

Remember, this is where it all started in 1958.

The beautiful Schooner Alva. The same size and lay out as BonJour/Mi Amigo.

Below the wooden bridge the crews quarterdeck and infront a deckhouse 100% similar to the one on BonJour/Mi Amigo. I couldn't believe this was true!

You don't need the centre and back mast to broadcast a good signal on medium wave.

Sailing into Stockholm.

Look at this bridge.

And this is the Mi Amigo bridge in 1972.

What a resemblance with BonJour/Mi Amigo.

Cabin for two.

And for four persons. Also these cabins were situated on the lower deck.

The inside of the deckhouse of the Alva. Enough room for two studios. In the middle is the centre mast going all the way down into the ship. This trip on the Alva was like a time warp back to 1961 off the Stockholm coast when Radio Nord was on air on 495 mtrs mw.