MUDYUG VARIABLE TOWERS

(autotranslated, could have mistakes)

In addition to the lighthouse, on Mudyugsky Island there is a set of luminous towers leading along the first leg of the Dvina fairway. Their story is like this.

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The Dvina fairway is narrow, winding and replete with sandbanks. Therefore, from the very opening of the Arkhangelsk port for foreign trade in 1584, when entering the mouth of the river, ships “groped, so to speak, towards the city, often running aground. Even with a pilot, the safety of the route was poorly guaranteed,” wrote S. Ogorodnikov in “The History of the Arkhangelsk Port” [21].

In 1704, Vice Admiral K.I. Kruys presented his opinion to the Admiralty Order regarding the fencing of the Dvina fairway and, in particular, about the installation of “tanks” on the shore - small houses in which fire would be maintained. This work was carried out by local pilots.

In 1729, the Admiralty Board, “showing first concerns about ensuring the safety of navigation in the White Sea,” decided to build two towers at the entrance to the Arkhangelsk port and ordered “... to send a decree to the Arkhangelsk provincial chancellery, ordering the construction of stone towers in decent places at the Arkhangelsk port on Mudyugsky Island, for the sake of knowledge of those coming to that port.” [22].

This decree, however, was implemented only in 1818. Historians of the lighthouse business in Russia believe that such a long delay was due to the fact that in those days

in Arkhangelsk it was difficult to find contractors for the construction of such structures.

In 1818, instead of towers, two folding wooden signs were installed on the western shore of the island. They indicated the boundary of shallow water, which ships were not supposed to approach, and were pillars reinforced with supports with balls on top. The front sign had two balls, and the rear sign, farthest from the shore, had one.

After the construction of the Mudyug lighthouse in 1838, the shoal was protected by its light, and the alignment was moved to the south and installed so that it showed the direction of the fairway leading to the mouth of the Northern Dvina. Old dilapidated signs were replaced with small wooden towers.

During the Crimean War, in June 1854, these turrets “due to important circumstances” were destroyed (apparently to deprive the English ships rushing to Arkhangelsk of the opportunity to use them).

In the summer of 1858, new directional signs were erected on the site of the destroyed towers. The one closest to the sea (northern) looked like a three-sided tower in the form of a truncated pyramid, 12.6 m high from the base. The rear (southern) sign was a mast on wooden supports with a topmast, to which three black balls were attached. The signs stood in the distance

547 m apart.

It must be said that the Hydrographic Department insisted on the construction of luminous signs, but neither the commander of the Arkhangelsk port nor the Maritime Ministry agreed with him because of the high cost of construction.

The Hydrographic Department was proven right very soon. Vessels that did not have time to pass Birch Bar before dark in winter came to anchor. At night, the temperature dropped sharply, ice formed, which squeezed the hulls, and they often could not stand it. In 1869 alone, 4 ships were lost. If there were directional lights this would not have happened.

Already in 1871, the commander of the Arkhangelsk port, captain 2nd rank Ukhtomsky, citing frequent shipwrecks near Mudyugsky Island and the demands of Russian and foreign shipowners to illuminate the fairway, obtained permission from the manager of the Maritime Ministry to illuminate the towers, that is, to put lanterns with lighting devices on them.

On August 1, 1874, the alignment of the luminous towers began to operate. On this occasion, the Hydrographic Department published the following notice in the Pilot's Notes for 1874: “...In the White Sea, at the entrance to the Northern Dvina River, instead of the leading signs that existed on Mudyugsky Island,

New illuminated direction signs have been installed in the same place. The light of the south mark is constant white, illuminating an angle of 154° from NW 35° through W and S to SO 9°, and is at an elevation of 56 feet from the base and 66 feet above the level of the sea; mathematical horizon 9.3 miles. Refractive lighting apparatus of the 4th category with three petroleum lamps. The tower is wooden, a four-sided truncated pyramid of black color and 51 feet in height, with a lantern installed on its top. It stands on a sandy hillock near the southern tip of the island, 6 fathoms from the shore and 200 fathoms from the border guard post...

The north mark light is permanent red, illuminating the fairway of Birch Bar from NW 35° to NW 47°, and is at an elevation of 13 feet from the base and 21 feet above sea level; mathematical horizon 5.2 miles. Refracting lighting apparatus. The tower is a wooden truncated pyramid with a white triangular roof; on the side facing the bar there is a window in which a lighting apparatus is installed. This tower is located from the southern tower at NW 40°45', 200 fathoms.”

So that the target was better visible during the day and would not be obscured by the masts of ships anchored, the commander of the Arkhangelsk port ordered the target line

and to the south of the rear tower place a high mast with three black balls.

In 1896, due to a change in the direction of the fairway at Berezovy Bar, the northern tower was moved to the east by 3.8 m.

When the towers were not yet illuminated, they were looked after by guards from a border post located nearby. With the construction of the luminous towers, a special team of 5 people had to be hired to service them. It was impossible to entrust these duties to the lighthouse workers of the main lighthouse: the Mudyug lighthouse was located 7 km from the towers, and on cold autumn nights it was difficult and dangerous to walk such a distance on watch. Two residential outbuildings and storage rooms were built for the personnel.

On the seashore in the area of ​​the towers, a footpole was installed, the zero mark of which was coordinated with the footpole at the lighthouse.

In 1901, during severe storms, the southeastern tower was washed away by rising water and collapsed. For four years, a temporary plank pyramid with a top lantern with a kerosene lamp operated in its place.

A new capital tower was built in 1905. The old lantern with lighting apparatus was installed on it. The bank in the area of ​​the tower was reinforced with riprap made of large cobblestones

I.

With the outbreak of the First World War, in order to mislead the enemy, the Defense Council of Arkhangelsk decided to move the towers, creating a false target. However, the desired goal could not be achieved, and the towers were burned so that the enemy could not use them, and in 1915, temporary leading signs were built to ensure the passage of our ships. In 1916-1917, when the threat of an enemy attack on Arkhangelsk had passed, new towers were erected in place of the destroyed towers.

In September 1919, 63 prisoners escaped from a prison located on the island. They rushed south, intending to leave the island, moving on carbas to the mainland. A shootout ensued at the lighthouse towers, in which, along with the prison guards, lighthouse workers defending their storerooms took part. In the shootout, 11 attackers were killed, the rest fled.

During these years, the lighthouse workers had to fight not only with all kinds of robbers, of whom there were many on the island, but also with hunger. Provisions were not delivered to the island and they had to eat only corned beef, which had long since become unusable and was ready for destruction. As the caretaker in Solombala reported, “it can be eaten if you peel it well and cook it for a long, long time (the smell decreases).”

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Despite the difficulties, lighthouse keepers continued to help sailors in trouble. In the same 1919, the hydrographic vessel “Tar” sank near the island in the area of ​​the towers and the steamships “Keret” and “Hollandia” were covered in ice. All the people from them were rescued with the participation of lighthouses.

In 1922, through the efforts of Ubekosever, a new house, a bathhouse, a storage room and a cattle shed were built for the lighthouse employees. Life on the island has improved and returned to a normal rhythm.

During Soviet times, the lighthouse towers were rebuilt once again. Currently, in place of the front tower of the target, there is a red shield in the form of a trapezoid with a white vertical stripe, mounted on an openwork tetrahedral metal sign 8 m high. A lighting apparatus is installed on it, shining with a constant red light. In place of the rear tower, a white rectangular shield with a red vertical stripe was erected on the same sign. The lighting apparatus of this sign shines with white and red constant lights. The visibility range of the white light is 16 miles, and the red one is 11. The red sector of the rear sign indicates the anchorage, the alignment leads along the first bend of the fairway. At leading signs there are passive radar reflectors and a radar responding beacon

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