Pilot boats and lighthouses – the archipelago's guides

Roslagen's archipelago is beautiful but treacherous. Tens of thousands of islands, skerries and rocks, shallows just beneath the surface, narrow straits and constantly changing weather – for anyone who would navigate a vessel towards Stockholm or up through the Åland Sea, it was a waterway where local knowledge could mean the difference between life and shipwreck. This is why two professions emerged here to become the archipelago's guides: the pilots, who with their knowledge steered vessels safely, and the lighthouse keepers, who kept the lights burning through dark nights.

The pilot service develops

Piloting is ancient in Roslagen. Already in the 1500s, pilots existed on islands such as Husarö, where archipelago residents supplemented farming and fishing by piloting passing vessels. An early and concrete example is the helmsman Hans Andersson on Husarö, who in 1602 received a helmsman's certificate from Duke Karl with tax exemption in exchange for piloting the king's ships. Gustav Vasa had pilot homesteads established, where permanent residents received tax exemption and subsistence in the form of grain and salt in return for assisting seafarers. In 1579, the pilots became part of the fleet's personnel, and Husarö became an official pilot station in 1740. The pilot profession was hereditary; altogether around 60 pilots have worked on Husarö since the 1500s.

The pilots' daily work

A pilot's work required patience and readiness around the clock. From tall, pyramid-shaped wooden pilot lookouts, the pilots would watch for sails, often several times an hour. When a vessel requested a pilot, a signal flag was hoisted, and the pilot rowed out in his small pilot boat, boarded the vessel and took command through the dangerous shipping lanes. Becoming a pilot was no easy task: one had to be able to count, write and master navigation, and later also have sailed a certain number of sea months and passed an exam. Since the pilot stations were located on remote islands, there were special pilot schools; the first on Husarö started in 1874. Today Husarö has a pilot museum in a preserved pilot's house. Piloting's time on Husarö came to an end in 1912, when steam engines and a new outer shipping lane made the pilots redundant.

The lighthouses – fixed lights in the darkness

Where the pilot was the mobile guide, the lighthouse was the fixed one. Söderarm on the island of Torskär is one of the most famous; the lighthouse station was established in 1838–1839 and lit for the first time on October 17, 1839. Here the lighthouse keeper, lighthouse assistants and pilots lived together in a small isolated community where fresh water had to be brought to the island. The lighthouse was modernized progressively and unmanned in 1998 after around 160 years with permanent staff. (Uncertain information regarding accessibility: the island is owned by the Fortification Agency and information indicates a landing prohibition – access regulations should be checked before a visit.) Understen, near Singö, guides vessels through Södra Kvarken; the first lighthouse was built in 1848 and the present one in 1918, and was unmanned in 1996. Here Marianne Brus worked, who is usually called Sweden's last lighthouse keeper.

Military significance

The lighthouses and pilot stations were not only for merchant shipping. The outermost islands had great strategic value, and several lighthouse stations – including Söderarm and Understen – had military presence. During the 20th century's Cold War, parts of the outer archipelago were fortified, and several lighthouse islands remained military areas long after lighthouse services were automated, which even today affects public access.

Visiting lighthouses and pilot stations today

For those who wish to experience the archipelago's guides in person, there are several options. Arholma with its beacon is easily accessible by boat and has a vibrant archipelago environment. Husarö pilot museum tells the pilots' story in an authentic setting, and the entire world of the lighthouses and pilots is depicted together at Roslagen's Maritime Museum in Älmsta. One should always check access and landing regulations in advance, since several lighthouse islands are protected or still in state ownership. The lights that once saved lives are today in most cases automated and unmanned – but they stand as monuments to a time when the archipelago residents' knowledge and endurance were shipping's only guarantee.

Sources

• Lotsväsendet – Hans Högman
• Söderarm, Understen – fyrwiki
• Husarö – lotsarnas ö – roslagen.se
• Praktiskt Båtägande – lotsarnas hemvist på Husarö