VESHNYAK (TREKHOSTROVSKY) LIGHTHOUSE

(autotranslated, could have mistakes)

On the eastern coast of the Kola Peninsula, six miles south of Cape Orlov-Tersky Tolstoy, there are three islands - Veshnyak, Kuvshin and Bakalda. Previously, they were united by one name, Three Islands, implying not only the space occupied by the islands, but also the entire neighboring region, washing both the shores of these islands and the neighboring mainland coast.

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North-eastern coast of the Tersky coast of the Kola Peninsula

Veshnyak is the largest island of the group, its meridian length is 1200 m, and its maximum width (in the middle) is 500 m. Tapering to the north, the island ends in a pointed cape with steep reddish granite shores.

Since the 13th century, this area of ​​three islands at the entrance to the White Sea bore the ominous name “ship graveyard” among the Pomors. The weather here changes frequently and dramatically. Either the wind will blow, driving up the clouds, then again there will be blue overhead. Before the sun had time to please the eye, darkness began - thick, light rain or snow would suddenly fall. The fog can be such that you could even chop it with an axe, as the Pomors say. But strong tidal currents here pose a particular danger to navigation.

Because the islands lie on a busy shipping route, sailors began fencing them in the early days of navigation in the area. The first identification marks here were crosses and houris (see essay “Abramovsky”). They were placed in the most prominent place on the coast. At the end of the 18th - beginning of the 19th centuries, a non-luminous tower was built on Veshnyak at the expense of the Arkhangelsk port. It was a wooden structure made of pillars with a triangular figure on top, covered with boards.

At first, the tower was monitored by servants of the customs outpost, which was located on the island to inspect ships going to the White Sea from the north, but due to difficulties in providing it with food and firewood, it was abolished in 1826. There was no one to look after the tower (the nearest village of Ponoy was located on the mainland coast at a distance of more than 10 miles), and it collapsed in the late 1850s.

After the death of the large transport “Gapsal” near Veshnyak in 1860, the commander of the Arkhangelsk port ordered the construction of a new wooden tower on the island, the same in shape as the previous one, but higher. Construction was completed in 1864. At the same time, to the northeast and southeast of the tower, at a distance of about a cable's length from it, two navigation signs were built (pillars lined with stones in wooden frames at the base), forming alignments with the tower.

The tower, installed almost in the middle of the island, was a truncated white pyramid 12 m high with a red roof. It helped sailors determine their place when traveling between the shore and the shoals lying east of the mainland coast.

The tower with a north-eastern sign showed the direction to the north-eastern end of the Orlovskaya shoal, and with a south-eastern sign - to the southern end of the Goryainovskaya shoal. The gates served not only to ensure the safe passage of ships between the shoals, but also to check magnetic compasses.

Unfortunately, these navigation structures were of little use, since they were poorly visible even with a telescope. The navigators argued that not only the signs, but also the tower could be seen only once every three weeks, and asked to at least paint them in a bright color. But they didn’t do this either, since the paints used at that time would have quickly faded anyway in the harsh climate of the North.

At the beginning of the First World War, the ports of the Baltic and Black Seas were cut off for Russia from the ocean (the exit from the Black Sea was controlled by the Turks, and from the Baltic Sea by the Germans), and the northern theater acquired great importance as the only route of communication between Russia and the allies (except for the route through the Pacific Ocean and Siberia).

The situation required the rapid re-equipment of existing ports in the North and the creation of new ones, as well as the improvement of navigational protection of hazards and fairways. The safety of navigation in the Throat of the White Sea has become important.

In 1914, a lantern with an acetylene lighting apparatus was installed at the Veshnyak lighthouse, which shone with a white flashing light, illuminating the sea space for a distance of up to 7.5 miles from a height of 32 m from sea level. The introduction of a light beacon significantly increased the safety of entering the White Sea Throat at night.

This lighthouse, located at the crossroads of the northern sea routes, saw off and greeted many famous ships and vessels from long voyages. In August 1912, G. Ya. Sedov’s expedition ship “St. Foka” passed by it, heading with an expedition to the North Pole. Many times the famous expedition steamer “Pakhtusov” was identified by the lighthouse, exploring the path to the mouths of the Ob and Yenisei. In September 1915, he was greeted by the icebreaking steamers “Taimyr” and “Vaigach”, which carried out the first through navigation along the Northern Sea Route with one wintering. In June 1917, the legendary icebreaker “Krasin” proceeded past the lighthouse to Arkhangelsk, its northern base...

In 1926, the tower was rebuilt, largely maintaining its appearance. This tower stood until the 1950s.

During the Great Patriotic War, the lighthouse participated in navigation support for the combat operations of the Northern Fleet and, in particular, the approach of allied convoys to the Throat of the White Sea. The fire was turned off, and a manipulation point was placed on the island. On one of the stormy days, a gust of wind cut off the communication line between the point and the shore. Petty Officer 2nd Article Skakunov quickly put together a raft and, with a wire in his hand, began to cross the 800 m wide strait. 60 m from the shore, the sailor was washed away by a wave, but he, having gathered all his strength, swam to the shore and restored communication. Throughout the war, manipulator fire on Veshnyak operated flawlessly.

In the 1950s, an octagonal openwork tower, 25 m high from the base, was erected on the island from steel lattice structures with solid wooden cladding and a lantern structure. The tower is painted with white and red horizontal stripes. The light-optical device, installed at an altitude of 44 m from sea level, is powered by electricity from an isotope power plant and operates in automatic mode, providing a visibility range of the white flashing light at a distance of up to 11 miles.