Pomeranian Koch

The beginning of shipbuilding in the North dates back to the 11th century, when the Novgorod Slavs penetrated this region. For hunting and fishing, and pearling, they built wooden ships - lodya, ushkui and then kochi, karbasy, ranshyn, shnyak, kochmary. The first shipyards were called rafts in Rus' (from carpenter, carpenter). The construction of ships was carried out in winter and spring, in free time from fishing. The vessels served for 3-4 years.

The oldest centers of Pomeranian shipbuilding were the villages of Kandalaksha, Knyazhaya Guba, Kovda, Kem, Keret, Okladnikova Sloboda at the mouth of the Mezen, Podporozhye at the mouth of Onega, Pustozersk at the mouth of Pechora, the mouth of the Northern Dvina, Kholmogory. In connection with the further penetration of Russians into the north of the Kola Peninsula in the middle of the 16th century. The production of fishing boats began in Ust-Kola (modern Kola) on the shore of a shallow ice-free bay. Kola became the main shipbuilding center on Murman. In Siberia, ships were built in the Berezovsky fort and Obdorsk (modern Salekhard) at the mouth of the Ob, in Mangazeya, Yakutsk, and the Kolyma fort.

The most original, widespread and famous type of northern vessel was the Pomeranian koch. It was on the Kochis that voyages were made, during which the Pomors and Cossacks made many geographical discoveries. Kochi had a significant influence on the further development of the types of ships used for the development of the polar seas.

Koch is a Pomeranian wooden sea and river vessel of the 14th century. – beginning of the 20th century It was the result of the development of the Novgorod ushkuy - a military and merchant ship built in the 13th-15th centuries. The keel of the ushkui was hewn out of one trunk and was a beam, on top of which a wide board was laid, which served as the basis for the outer cladding belts.

Pomeranian Koch

The name “koch” probably comes from the word “kogg” (ships of the Hanseatic League, common in northern Europe in the 13th-15th centuries). According to another version, the Pomeranian word “kotsa” or “kocha” meant clothing. By equipping the hull with double plating, the Pomors dressed their ships, as it were.

The initial length of the deckless kocha is 18-19 m, width – 4-4.5 m, draft – 0.9 m, load capacity – 3.2-4 t (200-250 poods). They were built from pine or cedar boards more than 2 m long and 0.71 m wide. The boards were obtained by splitting wood into 3-4 blocks and trimming them. The construction of the kocha required over 3,000 fastening brackets, about 1 km of ropes and ropes. In calm weather, the koch moved with the help of four pairs of oars.

Koch was suitable for sailing or rowing in clear water and broken ice, as well as for dragging across not very wide and relatively flat ice fields. They withstood the impacts of ice floes and were very maneuverable, which is important when moving in bays, near the shore, in shallow water, and also in waterways. Their shallow draft allowed Pomors to enter river mouths and land on the shore almost anywhere.

The main feature of the koch was the egg-shaped hull, thanks to which the ship was pushed upward when the ice compressed. The experience of the Pomors was subsequently taken into account by the Norwegian shipbuilder K. Archer when designing the research vessel "Fram" and by Vice Admiral S.O. Makarov when creating the world's first Arctic icebreaker "Ermak".

Pomor shipbuilders used their own terminology. Each detail of the kocha had its own special name. The parts of the set were made mainly from pine and larch. The keel was a “matitsa” - a trunk, at the ends of which inclined “corgis” (stems) were installed, and along the entire length, at intervals of about half a meter, “urpugs” (frames) and “hens” (ridges-hoops) were placed. From above, both were connected by “seams” (beams), and the upper deck was laid on them. Below it, to the frames, with staples and, less often, nails, battenings and sheathings - outer cladding boards - were attached, filling the grooves with tarred tow. Additional skin, the so-called “ice coat” or “kotsu”, was laid slightly above and below the waterline.

The mast (shegla) was secured with shrouds (in Pomeranian - “legs”), and a boom was subsequently attached to it for lifting loads. A “raina” (yard) with wooden, or less often iron, rings freely sliding along it was hoisted onto the mast, to which a rectangular sail with an area of ​​up to 150 m2 was attached. Raina was raised using a rope “drogue”, and the sail was controlled by “vazhi” (sheets). The sail was sewn from canvas panels; it was 13-14 m high and 8-8.5 m wide. Kochi are considered the first Russian ships with a mounted rudder instead of a steering oar (later a steering wheel was installed on them). Like the boats, they had three anchors (one spare). Koch could walk up to 250 km per day. The rich maritime terminology of the Pomors convincingly indicates that their ships sailed under the wind on the same tacks as modern sailing ships. They were also familiar with the close-hauled course, when the ship goes steeply into the wind.

For a long time, it was generally accepted that the seaworthiness of the nomads was extremely low. Famous polar explorer and historian of Arctic development V.Yu. Wiese wrote about the campaigns of the Pomors to Mangazeya in the 17th century: “...Russian Kochi are ships with, undoubtedly, very low seaworthiness, which are therefore usually vilified in literature in every possible way (“fragile”, “somehow put together”, “clumsy” and etc.), - in this case, compared to foreign ships, rather represented some advantages, because they sailed to Mangazeya not by the open sea (where ice posed a great danger), but close to the coast, i.e. along a shallow fairway (“and in some places it’s deep in the lips, and in other places the vessels melt”). Small kochi could follow this fairway, but it was inaccessible to foreign expeditionary vessels with deep draft. It was thanks to sailing close to the shore, which could only be done on small vessels, that our Pomors took possession of the sea route to the Ob.”

However, archaeological excavations and modern reconstructions of the nomads disprove the idea of ​​their low seaworthiness. And it is unlikely that the Pomors could sail on very fragile “shells” on long voyages to Novaya Zemlya, Spitsbergen, at the mouth of the Ob. In 1648 S.I. Dezhnev set out on his famous journey, the result of which was the passage of the Bering Strait on large kochas built in the Kolyma prison.

By the middle of the 16th century. Kochis have spread widely in the northern region of the country. Especially many of them were built in the 16th-17th centuries. in Karelia and at the shipyards of the Solovetsky Monastery, in the 17th century. - in Mangazeya, on the Yamal Peninsula, in Berezovo and Kem. By the 17th century The koch became deck-mounted, its length sometimes reached 25-30 m, width - 6 m, carrying capacity - 400 tons (2.5 thousand poods). The kocha body was usually divided into three “lofts” (compartments). In the bow there was a “fence” (kubrick) for a team of 10-15 people, and a stove was also installed there. A cargo hold with a waterproof “creature” (hatch) was installed in the center; passengers – merchants and industrialists (up to 50 people) – were accommodated here. The aft attic was allocated for the “cabin” (cabin) of the helmsman - the captain. Two boats were attached in front of the cabin (on large ships - two small karbas) for fishing, communication with the shore and refloating the vessel. For navigation on small rivers and lakes, small kochi (pavozki, or pauzki) were used - flat-bottomed, with low sides, first straight, then with camber.

Work on the construction of nomads was usually supervised by an experienced “nomadic master”. Over time, entire dynasties of Pomor shipbuilders emerged in the North - the Deryabins, Vargasovs, Vaigachevs from Kholmogory, the Kulakov brothers from Arkhangelsk and many others.

The decree banning maritime trade with Mangazeya, issued in 1619, slowed down the development of Arctic navigation for a long time. At the same time, purely fishing voyages of the Pomors continued. At the beginning of the 18th century. Peter I, by a special decree, prohibited the construction of ships of traditional types, trying to reorient shipbuilders to the creation of sailing ships of exclusively European type. But despite everything, the construction of the nomads continued. They are even mentioned in the report on the activities of the Arkhangelsk port for 1912.

The memory of Pomeranian ships is also preserved on the map of the Arctic. So, at the mouth of the Yana there is Nomad Bay.

This text is an introductory fragment.

Pomors

The discovery of the Northern Sea Route has a long history. At the early stages of the development of the eastern water Arctic and land Siberian expanses, Kochi and boats of Pomors traveled. These brave pioneers had unique practical skills that allowed them to make long voyages in the icy conditions of the Arctic. In the 11th century, Pomeranian sailors entered the seas of the Arctic Ocean, in the 12th - 13th centuries. discovered the islands of Vaygach, Matka (Novaya Zemlya), and at the end of the 15th century. - Grumant Islands (Spitsbergen), Medvezhiy. In the XVI - XVII centuries. actively developed the section of the Northern Sea Route - from the Northern Dvina to the Tazovskaya Bay at the mouth of the Ob, and then the Yenisei River basin.

Kholmogory Koch

“The specifics of human life in the conditions of the North also shaped a special type of population, including an ethnic group - the Pomors, who settled on the shores of the White and Barents Seas. For a long time, strong, strong-willed, enterprising and freedom-loving people grew up here” (V. Bulatov)

Who are they - Pomors?

About 10 thousand years ago, there were still glaciers in the lower reaches of the Northern Dvina, but tribes of hunters and fishermen from more southern regions were already penetrating through the Kama region into the river basins of the Vychegda, Pechora and Northern Dvina. The primary settlement of the North occurred in later times, at the end of the 4th - 3rd millennia BC. e., during the Neolithic era. These were the inhabitants of the Scandinavian, but mostly Finno-Ugric tribes - the ancestors of the Vepsians, Vesi, Komi and Chud of Zavolotsk. In the 9th - 13th centuries, Scandinavian sailors called the north of the European part of Russia Biarmia. The Slovenian-Ilmen (Novgorodians) called these lands Zavolochye, or Dvina land. Zavolochye lay to the east of the system of portages connecting the basins of the Neva, Volga, Northern Dvina and Onega rivers in the area of ​​the White and Kubenskoye lakes. In the “Tale of Bygone Years,” when listing “all the languages ​​of the Japheth part,” there is a mention of the pre-Russian population of Zavolochye: “Merya, Muroma, Ves, Mordva, Zavolochskaya people, Perm, Pechera, Yam, Ugra.” It should be noted that the order of listing the four tribes named after the “Zavolochskaya Chud” corresponds to the order of their settlement from southwest to northeast.

The Zavolochskaya people, who lived in the Vaga River basin and in the middle reaches of the Northern Dvina, were a Finnish-speaking population related to the Belozersk Vesi and Emi (yami), who settled north of Lake Onega to the lower reaches of the Northern Dvina (in particular, along the Emtsa River).

Slavic colonization of Pomerania began in the 9th - 11th centuries AD. They were attracted to the northern regions primarily by rich natural resources, fur-bearing and sea animals, fish and poultry. The newcomers (Slovene-Ilmen) occupied lands convenient for themselves, built villages and owned them as private property. Written sources, archaeological finds, toponymy, and folklore legends testify to the cohabitation of the Chuds and the first Slovenian settlers.

Slovenian-Ilmenians, immigrants from Veliky Novgorod, who, having come to the lands inhabited by the Chud, Finno-Ugric and other tribes, mixed with them and assimilated the latter.

In the anthropological type of “Northern Russian” Pomors, some Finnish traits are observed that arose from mixed marriages. Much later, immigrants from the Vladimir-Rostov-Suzdal lands added a share of their blood, and even later the Normans - Vikings or simply Norwegians - Scandinavians.

Here is what scientist N.K. Zenger reports on this matter. Traveling around Pomorie, he collected an extensive collection of photographs of portraits of Arkhangelsk Pomors. “Even a cursory review of this collection,” he wrote in his report on the trip, “sufficiently demonstrates how diverse the type of physiognomies of Pomors is and how often it is difficult to recognize the forms of a Russian face in them; in most cases there is a strong admixture of the Finnish, Karelian type, and therefore there is no reason to recognize the direct descendants of the free Novgorodians in the White Sea Pomors.”

On the northern shore of the White Sea lived Sami (Lapp) tribes engaged in hunting, fishing, and reindeer herding, and the lands in the lower reaches of the Pechora and Mezen rivers were inhabited by unknown tribes - presumably the Pechora people, who lived before the Samoyed tribes came to these lands in the late 13th - early 4th centuries (Nenets).] In the taiga forests along the banks of the high-water rivers Pechora and Vychegda lived the ancestors of the Komi, Izhemtsy, Ustyak and Komi-Zyryan peoples. In the northern Urals and beyond the Kamen (Ural ridge) lived Ugra tribes.

The contact of aliens and natives also led to two consequences: in one case to gradual rapprochement and assimilation, in the other to the preservation of their area, but interspersed with Slavic-Russian villages in this area, with mutual influence on each other, especially in ethnographic terms ( Karelians, Komi). While the Slavs inhabited the Northern Dvina basin, the Komi began to move to the area of ​​the upper reaches of the Mezen and Vashka rivers, forming here the “Udorskaya volost, and Vashki too.”

Historians claim that the ethnonym “Pomor” arose no later than the 12th century on the southwestern (Pomeranian) coast of the White Sea and during the 14th - 16th centuries. spread far to the south and east from its place of origin. The ethnonym “Russian” began to circulate since the formation of a single centralized state of Rus' in the 15th - 16th centuries. Previously, the term “Russian” had a meaning similar to the term “Russian”, and denoted the entire population of Rus', subject to the Grand Duke of Moscow. The once “no man's” lands of Pomerania (Zavolochya) were taken under the guardianship of the Novgorod Veche Republic (Novgorod Rus), and after the victory over the Novgorodians of the Moscow Prince Ivan III in July 1471. On the Sheloni River, the Pomeranian lands were annexed to the emerging Russian state.

By the time of the settlement of the Slovenians - the Ilmen people and the Novgorod people - the indigenous population of these lands already knew many rich fishing spots and hunting grounds. The initial stage of spontaneous settlement of the Pomeranian territories corresponded to the spontaneous development of water lands (river, lake, sea), in which there was a more or less uniform development of fishing and hunting industries based on natural resources that constituted the main wealth of the coastal areas: salmon, cod, “white” fish, walrus, seal.

By the beginning of the 16th century. On the coast of the White Sea, a Pomeranian population was formed with a specific marine fishing and hunting industry. Fishing was the main occupation of the population and the main source of income in all coastal districts of the White and Barents Seas, along with marine animal fishing, reindeer husbandry, and the timber industry. Fishing, in addition to serving as an important source of livelihood for local residents, also provided a significant portion of products for export abroad, to the northern and central provinces of Russia. In some areas, fishing was the only source of economic well-being for the Pomors.

In the 17th century Pomorie was included in the system of the all-Russian internal market as a marine fishery and animal fishing area. With the growth of the Pomeranian population and, further, in connection with the economic activities of the monasteries, which had a significant influence on the development of trade and crafts, certain types of crafts began to develop, especially those that, firstly, more reliably provided food for most of the year and , secondly, the extraction of which had high marketability (value), i.e. was in demand in the regions of the Russian state that supplied grain to Pomerania. It is quite natural that already in the 16th century. In the Pomeranian economy of all the coasts populated by that time, the leading role of marine fisheries was determined. According to foreign chronicles, at the end of the 16th century there were over 7,500 thousand Pomeranian boats on the Murmansk coast, on which about 30 thousand industrialists were engaged in marine fishing.

One of the main fishing objects in Pomorie was herring, which was caught from November until the rivers opened up. Herring was caught mainly with seines and fishing nets, which acted as draft nets in the summer and as fixed nets in the winter. Herring fishing was carried out in the bays and bays of the White Sea. The caught herring was sold fresh, frozen, smoked or salted. It was exported in frozen form not only to Arkhangelsk, but also to the Vologda and Olonets provinces.

In first place in terms of profitability was the cod, or, in other words, “Murmansk” fishery. In ancient times, Murman was the name given to the area from Cape Svyatoy Nos in the northeast of the Kola Peninsula to the Norwegian border in the northwest. The sea waters washing the coast, warmed by one of the branches of the warm Gulf Stream, are rich in small fish, which feed on cod, halibut, and haddock. In the spring, huge schools of fish moved from the Atlantic to Murman.

Fishing arose in Murman in the middle of the 16th century. At the beginning of the season, cod was caught off the coast of the Motka Peninsula, which later received a new name - Rybachy. In July-August, the fishery moved east, to Teriberka. Industrialists from all over Pomerania came to the Murmansk fishery. We set off in early March, when it was still winter in the North, and we were already in a hurry to arrive in Murman in time for the spring season. Upon arrival at the fishery, the buildings, vessels and gear were put in order. Regardless of bad weather, rain, snow, or wind, the Pomors went to sea, threw longlines (fishing gear) into the sea, and processed the fish. Having briefly come “to the house,” they dried their wet clothes, ate cod broth coated with flour, and after a short rest they hurried to go to sea again. In June, as soon as the ice melted in the throat of the White Sea, ships of shipowners arrived at the Murmansk camps - boats and boats, delivering everything necessary for fishing for the next year; fish buyers and summer industrialists also appeared.

In addition to cod, herring, salmon and other types of fish, Pomors also hunted navaga.

Navaga was caught all along the coast, but especially on the Winter Coast. It was caught in large quantities in the Dry Sea (between Mudyug Island and the mainland). This fishery began when the rivers and the Dry Sea were covered with ice, around the end of October, and continued until mid-December. Pomors went to fishing grounds in September. They took with them the necessary amount of food and equipment intended for catching navaga and transporting it - ryuzhi, reindeer sleigh with a full team and firewood. The nets were attached with ropes to stakes frozen in the ice, and lowered with weighted stones through a hole in the ice into the water. The best fishing for navaga occurred soon after the river was covered with ice. The navaga pulled out of the water in ryuzhas was carried closer to the winter huts, culled, straightened, folded in rows and loaded into the brought sleighs. As navaga accumulated, it was transported from fishing winter quarters to places of sale. Navaga was sold in Nesi to buyers coming from Moscow, St. Petersburg, Mezen and other places.

The active development of the Pomors in Gandvik (White Sea) is associated with the harp seal hunt. The seal migrates from Gandvik (White Sea) north to the Arctic Ocean in the spring and returns in the winter. In Gandvik, the animal gathers in large herds, which makes it easier to hunt.

In December, in search of a safe place to give birth, the seal begins to migrate, in Pomeranian - “raking” from the Chill Sea (Arctic Ocean) to Gandvik. Residents of the Zimny ​​and Tersky coasts, under favorable conditions, began hunting for seals already during the return of seals to Gandvik, if the animal was walking close to the coast. This fishery was short-term and intermittent, and involved a small number of industrialists. They beat males and females, and at the same time they ripped out unborn cubs (greenlings) from the females.

Winter hunting began in early February and continued until the end of March. Coastal residents began to guard the animal in advance, sometimes walking along the coast 100 - 150 versts from home. Messages were transmitted from village to village with the help of horses, and on the Zimny, Abramovsky, Konushinsky and Tersky banks with the help of deer. In places where industrialists gathered, special fishing huts were built for one or two boats (7 - 15 people).

Hunting for animals on the ice, the Pomors went several kilometers into the sea. Having caught the animal, the hunters removed the choir from it and threw away the meat.

At the end of the winter campaign, the Pomors began to prepare for spring, or spring hunting, which took place during the molting period of the animal from April to May. During this period, white squirrels were hunted.

Before spring fishing, industrialists united into bursa, skey, and romsha (artel). Bursa, where along rynchans (divorces), where dragged along the ice, arrived in the fishing area. In gathering places, Pomors chose fishery elders (yurovsh(sh)iks), as a rule, from among the most experienced and knowledgeable. The headman was also the leader of his boat. Usually the bursas, skei, and romshis (artels) consisted of Pomors who arrived from different settlements. Small bursas consisted of 10 - 30 boats, large ones exceeded a hundred. If several fishing artels came out of one place, then the elders agreed among themselves to which mining area each of them would lead their bursa. This was done so as not to interfere with each other during fishing.

The evolution of Pomeranian shipbuilding is closely related to the development of sea and river industries. The construction of fishing vessels - large and small - was carried out almost everywhere in Pomerania, but the craftsmen of the Pomeranian and Karelian coasts were especially famous. The Pomors built and used in various fisheries the most tested sea vessel - karbass, and in coastal fishing - ancient-type dugout boats with sewn sides - aspen boats, vesnyanka boats, ice boats, etc.

The ice boat was one of the most versatile watercraft created by the Pomors for sailing on rivers, lakes and especially the Arctic seas. And also for fishing in harsh winter conditions and ice.

The ice boat performed several different functions: it was used as a means of navigation, and if necessary, it could be pulled onto land, ice, and dragged as a land vehicle. It carried all the equipment necessary for fishing and everything that was needed for human life: firewood, food, clothing. Each boat had special equipment: a hook (tail) - a planted stick with an iron tip. The seven boat had 7 hooks, 8 oars (one spare), 8 straps for dragging the boat.

In addition, this boat was used as housing in the field. It was used extensively for overnight accommodation. In the old days, there was a lot of sewing from animal skins, in particular, deer skins were used. They set up for the night like this: they placed the mast from the bow to the stern of the boat and threw it on top, creating a tent over the boat. To prevent the wind from throwing back its edges and blowing inward, oars were inserted into the lugs attached to the edges, and its edges were pressed tightly against the edges of the boat. St. John's hunters slept (including women - Pomeranian women - who, together with the Pomors, participated in the fisheries) in the boat, with their heads towards the bow and stern, and with their feet towards the middle, they were laid in the middle for greater heating of younger or sick people. The bed, as a rule, consisted of deer skins.

In addition to the ice boat, a watercraft such as the karbas, which was adapted for sailing along rivers and seas, was widespread in Pomorie. It was used both as a fishing vessel in marine fisheries and animal industries, and as a means of transporting food, hay, building materials and people. The karbas, used in marine fisheries, was slightly smaller in size than the koch, which allows it to be placed on a par with sea vessels (koch, Pomeranian boat). This kind of carbass was called commercial and went to the area where the animal was caught or caught under its own power. We can say with confidence that some of the carbass had decks - this is mentioned in a written document: for example, the carbass of Matvey Balukov was eagled with “an eagle mark on the front frame, on which the decks were approved,” the carrier carbass of Dvinyan Alexey Banin was “eagled in the decks on the nose above the fence at the bottom of the roof.”

Having reached the shores of the Arctic Ocean and having mastered the islands of the Barents Sea, the Pomors took up navigation both for fishing and catching sea animals, and for trade. It was trade with the indigenous people, mainly fur, that gave impetus to the development of the merchant class and the merchant fleet, which for several centuries, until the beginning of the 18th century, determined the level of development of Pomeranian Arctic navigation. This was largely facilitated by the creation, based on the experience of White Sea navigation, of a type of sea vessels called koch. Kochis were big and small. The exact parameters of these vessels have not yet been established, but based on some technical features and details found by archaeologists during excavations, certain conclusions can be drawn.

Koch is an ancient Pomeranian sailing and rowing vessel of the 11th - 19th centuries. It had characteristic contours for ice navigation and was equipped with a mast, mounted rudder and oars. At first, kochis were built without the use of metal: sheathing boards were sewn with straps to a set of hulls fastened with wooden dowels. The length of such a vessel was 10 - 15 m, width 3 - 4 m, draft 1 - 1.5 m. When there was a fair wind, they set a straight sail, sometimes made of skins, which made it possible to reach a speed of 6 - 7 knots.

In the 16th - 17th centuries, this type of vessel spread beyond the Urals to Siberia, undergoing major changes. The length of the kocha increased to 20 -25 m, width to 5-8 m, draft to 2 m. The vessel could accommodate 10 -15 crew members and up to 30 fishermen. Kochi was built very firmly for the “sea passage”. The set was secured with iron nails, bolts and staples. The grooves and joints of the sheathing were caulked with tarred tow, filled with pitch, and covered with slats on brackets. To completely “scrape” the koch, more than 3,000 special staples were required. About 1,000 m of various ropes were needed. The sail, 14 m high, was sewn from individual panels with a total area of ​​over 230 sq. m. m.

At the end of the 16th and beginning of the 17th centuries, large three-masted deck heads began to be built. On these ships, a steering wheel was used to control the steering wheel. In the stern there was a “breech” - a small cabin for the helmsman (captain) and the clerk. The crew and galley (dining room) were located in the hold. To raise the anchor, there was a gate (manual capstan) on the forecastle (bow of the ship). With fair winds, the ship sailed up to 250 km per day.

The large sea koch was a two-masted keel vessel (the keel of the Pomors was called a kokora), had a length from 19 to 21 m, with a width of 5-6 m. It had up to 90 tons of displacement and 40 tons of carrying capacity. Two boats (usually karbass) were placed on the upper deck, and three to five iron anchors, called sheyms, weighing from 5 to 10 pounds each, were placed on the lower deck. The height of the sides above the water exceeded 2 m, and the total reached 4-4.5 m. The sides were reinforced along the waterline with additional plating that protected them from friction against the ice - an “ice coat.” A large koch had straight sails (usually two) and traveled up to 200 kilometers per day. The design feature of the kocha was the shape of the sides, which were curved like an egg. When compressed by ice, such a vessel did not break, but was squeezed out of the water.

It was these ships that allowed the Pomors to first develop the waters of the White and Barents Seas, and subsequently people from Pomerania (Pomors) sailed on their ships along the entire Arctic coast, both to the west to the “Swedish countries”, and to the east, “meeting the sun” to Siberia, to the Far East and even to Alaska, where the city of Novo-Arkhangelsk (now the city of Sitka) was founded.

Pomors went fishing not only in the White and Barents Seas. Northern sailors possessed the secrets of navigating many sea routes in the Kara, Norwegian and Greenland seas.

At the end of the 15th century, the Pomors went to the northern shores of Scandinavia. In Pomeranian navigation practice, this path was called “Going to the German end.” It passed along the eastern coast of the White Sea and the northern coast of the Kola Peninsula with a portage through the Rybachy Peninsula. In 1494, Russian diplomat Dmitry Zaitsev, returning home from Denmark, first sailed around Scandinavia to the mouth of the Northern Dvina. In 1496, the same path was overcome by the envoy of Ivan III, the Moscow clerk Grigory Istoma. His route to Denmark lay through Novgorod, the mouth of the Northern Dvina and the northern seas. At the beginning of the 16th century, the Russian diplomat and learned clerk of the Grand Duke of Moscow Vasily III Dmitry Gerasimov walked three times through the mouth of the Northern Dvina, past the St. Michael the Archangel Monastery to Norway and Denmark. In Rome, he met the writer Pavel Jovius and expressed a hypothesis about the possibility of sailing to the east through the northern countries (the Northern Sea Route). In 1500-1501, the envoys of Ivan III Tretyak Dolmatov and Yuri Manuilov traveled to Denmark along the same route.

The path through the White Sea from the Northern Dvina became so well-trodden and well-known that from the end of the 15th century, ambassadors of the Danish king repeatedly and independently entered the mouth of the Dvina during their diplomatic missions to the Moscow state. Pomeranian industrialists annually and repeatedly walked across the White Sea to Kola and to the Pecheneg Bay.

Until the middle of the 16th century. the northern lands had no sources of sales, being content with domestic Russian barter trade. Trade was carried out in Kola, Varzuga, Mezen, Kevrola, Pustozersk. New sources of sales arose at the end of the 16th century, when trade with England began and a trade route to Western Europe opened through the White Sea (Arkhangelsk).

From the middle of the 16th century, regular trade relations between the Moscow state and Western Europe began through the White Sea. Timber (mainly mast), skins - deer, horse, elk, were exported from Russia; wax, horse hair, goose down, walrus bone, and lard from sea animals were transported to the West.

In the 16th - 17th centuries, the area of ​​fishing and trading activity became even more extensive. Fishermen and sailors reached the polar territory of Western Siberia to the mouth of the Yenisei, went to Novaya Zemlya, Spitsbergen and the coastal islands of the Barents and Kara seas. This is what the main sea routes of the 16th century were called: “Mangazeya sea passage”, “Novaya Zemlya passage”, “Yenisei passage”, “Grumanlansky passage”.

“Mangazeya sea move"

He was one of the most famous in the history of the development of Siberia. It passed along the coast of the Barents Sea, through the Yugorsky Shar Strait into the Kara Sea to the western coast of the Yamal Peninsula, where ships were dragged through a portage. Judging by the chronicles, this route was mastered by the Pomors no later than the end of the 16th century, and at the beginning of the next century Mangazeya became the largest trading center in Siberia.

In those days, fur was no less attractive than silver and gold. Every year 25-30 nomads came to Mangazeya with food and various goods, and from here 100 to 150 thousand skins of soft junk were sent to Russia: sables, arctic foxes, foxes, beavers... It was a real fur-bearing Klondike, where any industrialist could make a whole lot in a year state. The cost of one silver fox at that time ranged from 30 to 80 rubles, and for 20 rubles in Russia you could buy 20 acres of land (that is, a little more than 20 hectares), for 10 rubles - a beautiful house or 5 horses...

The uncontrolled hunting of fur-bearing animals and the trade of enterprising Pomors and “many sovereign cities of trading people” was soon put to an end. In 1601, a royal governor appeared in Mangazeya, and a few years later there was already a fortress, a kremlin and a vast suburb there.

"Yenisei sea passage"

In the first decades of the 17th century. Pomeranian industrialists began to vigorously develop areas along the largest eastern tributaries of the Yenisei - the Lower and Podkamennaya Tunguska, and also move along the coast of the Arctic Ocean to the mouth of the Pyasina River, to the north-eastern shores of Taimyr. In the first half of the 17th century. Mangazeya industrialists founded on the Yenisei Dubicheskaya Sloboda (1637), Khantayskaya Sloboda, which grew out of a winter hut (1626), settlements in the upper reaches of the Lower Tunguska and other settlements with a permanent population. By 1607, the Turukhanskoe and Enbatskoye winter huts were founded on the lower Yenisei. Thus, the territory in question practically became part of the Russian state at the time when the fur trade of Pomeranian industrialists and their economic ties with the local population were already in full bloom. As the main fur-trading areas moved eastward, Mangazeya began to lose its importance as a trade and transshipment point from the 30s, and its role passed to the Turukhansk winter quarters in the lower reaches of the Yenisei. The Pomeranian population settling there concentrated in places convenient for fishing, primarily along the banks of the Yenisei below Turukhansk, populated the lower reaches of Pyasina, Kheta and Khatanga, gradually developing the coastal areas of the Arctic Ocean for permanent residence.

Thus, a kind of breakthrough from the Turukhansk winter quarters down the Yenisei into the Yenisei Gulf and further into the Kara Sea, to the Taimyr Peninsula, to the western part of the Laptev Sea turned out to be a turning point in the history of the coast-dwellers' navigation in Arctic waters and the further development of Siberia! It became possible thanks to the Mangazeya sea route and the developed ice navigation of the Pomors in the White and Pechora seas. The result was that to the east of the Yenisei Bay, the Mangazeya Pomors laid river and portage routes, and possibly sea routes (around the Taimyr Peninsula) along the Anabar River, and from there to the Olenek River, to the mouth of the Lena and further to the east.

"Novozemelsky move"

Researchers date the discovery of Novaya Zemlya by the Pomors to the 12th - 15th centuries. The first written evidence of the presence and fishing activities of Pomors on the archipelago dates back to the 16th century.

Pomors were attracted to Matka (Novaya Zemlya) by various rich trades. They obtained walrus tusks; arctic fox, bear, walrus, seal and deer skins; walrus, seal, beluga and bear “fat” (blub); omul and char; geese and other birds; eiderdown. In early summer, original artels of 8 to 20 people set out on industrial ships from the White Sea, from Mezen, Pinega and Pechora to the islands of Novaya Zemlya. They went from year to year, which contributed to the formation of entire dynasties of Novaya Zemlya industrialists and sailors. They sailed on boats, kochas and karbass, the crew of which was led by a helmsman. Often, ice conditions, severe storms, and the loss of a ship forced industrialists to spend the winter on Novaya Zemlya. Some of them died, others survived and gained experience. Initially, only driftwood was used to build housing and heat it. Then they began to take with them a variety of log houses (for installations in wintering areas) and a supply of firewood.

In winter, the main trade of Pomors was catching arctic foxes using traps - sacks. Kulems were built along the coast over a long distance. In order to inspect the culems in a timely manner, industrialists placed several distribution huts for 2-3 people at a distance of 5-10 km from the camp hut (and from each other). Having built a camp hut with a stove-heater, bunks and a canopy, nearby or close to the hut they built a bathhouse and a “hut” of logs for storing provisions and loot. A multi-meter long worship cross was erected next to the hut. The cross served as a kind of beacon sign for many years. In the same season or subsequent ones, a whole system of Pomeranian crosses and Gurias (pyramids made of stones) was usually erected on the coast, which served as gates, beacons and indicated safe approaches to the anchorage for ships.

"Grumanlansky move"

The Pomors, who hunted sea animals and fished long before the Barents, in the 11th - 12th centuries, paved the way to the Spitsbergen archipelago, calling it Grumant.

The “Grumanlansky passage” is a path from the White Sea along the northern coast of the Kola Peninsula to Bear Island and further to the Spitsbergen archipelago. The journey to Spitsbergen was considered relatively easy: in free-sailing conditions it would take eight to nine days. The Pomors went to Spitsbergen mainly to fish for walruses. In addition, they caught beluga whales, seals, polar bears, arctic foxes, and hunted deer. An important source of income for the “Grumanlans” was eider down. Unlike the Dutch, who were engaged in whaling on Spitsbergen only in the summer, Pomeranian industrialists remained here for the winter.

At the end of the 18th century. On Grumant (Spitsbergen) there were about 270 Pomor ships with crews of over 2 thousand Pomor industrialists.

So, in the 16th - 17th centuries, the Pomors already made regular fishing voyages to Matka (Novaya Zemlya) and Grumant (Spitsbergen). Since the 16th century, they established regular sea communications with the polar city of Mangazeya (Western Siberia), and from there, along rivers and land, Pomeranian industrialists rushed to the Yenisei and Lena.

The development of the lands of Siberia and the Far East by the Pomors, as mentioned above, which actively began in the 16th century, took place in two ways.

The first was laid by the Pomors through the northern seas from the mouth of one river to another along the coast of the Arctic Ocean - the Breathing Sea (Studenets, Icy Sea), through the city of Mangazeya on the Taz River to the Yenisei River, and along its right tributaries - to the Lena River and further to East. As a result, by the middle of the 17th century, Eastern Siberia was traversed, and the Amur was discovered to Europeans by Erofey Pavlovich Khabarov - Svyatitsky, Kamchatka, the Kuril Islands - by Vladimir Vasilyevich Atlasov, both from Ustyug, the Chukotka Peninsula - by Semyon Ivanovich Dezhnev, a Pinezhan.

Cape Dezhnev

The cities of Turukhansk, Yakutsk, Verkhoyansk, Anadyr, the villages of Khatanga, Nizhnekolymsk and others were founded by natives of Veliky Ustyug, Mezen, Pinega and Kholmogory Pomors.

Another path to the development of Siberia and the Far East began from the south of Pomerania, the upper reaches of the Northern Dvina, where, at the expense of the Solvychegodsk - Pomeranian merchants Stroganovs, Ermak Timofeevich recruited and trained for two years from the population of his native village of Borok on the Northern Dvina a fighting detachment of Pomors. Which went along the Chusovaya River to the more populated forest-steppe part of Siberia. This opened the way for the population of Pomerania and Muscovy to the east, north and center of Siberia.

The bulk of the people who crossed the Urals were people from Pomerania - Mezenians, Dvinyans, Ustyuzhans, Kevrol residents, Vologda residents, Pustoozersky residents. Siberia attracted them with its undeveloped spaces, untold mineral wealth, and priceless furs.

By the middle of the 18th century, the Pomors had crossed and acquired the Aleutian Islands and Alaska for Russia. Since 1803, immigrants from Pomerania conducted a study of the West Coast of North America (Oregon, California, Columbia River), which at that time was uninhabited by Europeans. From 1804 to 1807, the Hawaiian (Sandwich) Islands began to be actively developed.

On September 11, 1812, a Pomeranian merchant, a native of Totma, Ivan Aleksandrovich Kuskov, founded Fort Ross, the first European settlement and fortress on the coast of northern California, 80 km north of San Francisco.

fort ross

Fort Ross operated from 1812 to 1841. In September 1816, construction of three forts began on the island of Kauai (Hawaii). Fort Elizabeth - in honor of the wife of Alexander I, Fort Barclay and Fort Alexander. The remains of the stone foundation of the Elizabethan fortress have survived to this day; the walls of the other two were earthen. A small church was built on the territory of the Elizabethan fortress, and a chapel on the territory of the Aleksandrovskaya fortress. It was the first Orthodox church in Hawaii. The activities of the Pomors in the Hawaiian Islands continued until the 20s. XIX century.

Conclusion

The discovery and start of operation of the Northern Sea Route can be called one of the most outstanding pages in the development of the Russian North. It has become not only the shortest waterway between European Russia and the Far East, but also a unique transcontinental route of significant interest to the economies of many countries around the world. The length of the Northern Sea Route from the Kara Gate to Providence Bay is about 5,600 km. The Northern Sea Route can serve as the shortest transport route between Western Europe and the Asia-Pacific region, so it is possible that it has yet to play a significant role in global economic processes. In addition, for the Russian Federation it is of great strategic importance due to the possibility of transporting hydrocarbon and mineral raw materials from the Far North, as well as supplying these areas with equipment and food. A whole network of unique scientific objects and weather stations is concentrated along the route of the Northern Sea Route, without the existence of which in the modern world it is impossible to imagine the life activity of not only domestic, but also many foreign scientific communities studying the natural and climatic features of the Far North.

What about the Pomors? The Pomors have not disappeared today. Stereotypes of behavior, self-designation, ethnic self-awareness and a sense of “specialness” have been preserved. The Pomeranian spirit and Pomeranian character are the values ​​that our ancestors forged over the centuries, fighting for self-survival and existence in the harsh conditions of the North and the development of the Arctic. It is these values ​​that continue to define the essence of modern Pomors.

Boris Shergin

Dictionary of Pomeranian and special words and expressions,
explanation of proper names and titles

Admiral's hour- this is how noon was called in Arkhangelsk from the times of Peter the Great and almost until the revolution.
Aksinya-poluz And dear— January 24, old style. According to the popular calendar, it is the middle of winter, half of the cold weather has already passed.
Ared- a mythical figure mentioned in the Bible, memorable for his amazing longevity.
Aredian eyelids- a popular Russian expression for amazing longevity, equivalent to “Methuselah years”.
Afanasiev day— January 18, old style. From this day on, the polar night ends, and the morning dawns appear at noon. From February 2, old style, the sun appears, daylight hours increase every day, gradually turning into a sunsetless northern three-month day.

Barque, barge- an ocean sailing vessel in which the rear mast is equipped with oblique sails, and the rest have straight sails.
Shoe covers- high leather boots with soft soles with round toes, sewn on a straight last; convenient for walking on thick ice in winter and summer, used by Pomors in fishing.
Bayun O To(from the word "bayat") - a storyteller.
Birch(from the word "berdo") - patterned; patterned non-colored weaving.
Bl A th- a lot.
Blazn And t- to seem, to appear, to appear.
Brother s nya- a wooden or copper vessel for mash or kvass.
Brig, brigantine- types of light two-masted vessel: the brig has a direct rig, the brigantine has a second mast with oblique sails; were built in the North in the 18th and 19th centuries.
B at evo- an open, elevated place.
Bus, b at mudflow- light rain, wet fog, drizzle.
Butenant- military rank in the Polish army during the Polish occupation of 1612.
Formerly A Nye- event, occurrence.
Fast And on- flow, speed, rapid flow of water.

IN A wifey- female deer.
Vap, or vapa, - dye.
IN A cancer- mountain, steep hill, rocky mountain near the seashore.
Waterline- a line or stripe drawn with paint along the hull of a ship from bow to stern. The vessel should not land in water deeper than this line when loading.
Veden's day— November 21, old style. According to the popular calendar, it is time for heavy snowfalls: real winter has begun.
Belisarius feeds— Belisarius, the famous Byzantine commander (499-565), after high-profile victories over the Persians and other enemies of Byzantium, as a result of palace intrigues, was subject to temporary disgrace, which later gave rise to the legend of the blinding of Belisarius, that he ended his life as a beggar . In old school textbooks one could read the story of Belisarius, in which it was mentioned that a guide boy collected alms to feed the unfortunate Belisarius.
Veres, heather- juniper; heather - juniper.
Shipyard- a place where ships are built.
IN e training- a long and narrow flag sewn from multi-colored material that showed the direction of the wind; were attached to long poles. They were found and served rather as decoration in Arkhangelsk, including the beginning of the 20th century.
Dilapidated (dilapidated) lake- a lake in which fish are caught only in the old (defective) month.
Vzvz O day- heavy seas; steep, big wave, steep swell.
The sea sighed— the tide has begun.
"Grape(i.e. garden) Russian"- a book by Andrei Denisov (1675-1730) about the persecution that the Old Believers were subjected to by the church and the tsarist authorities at the end of the 17th and beginning of the 18th century. Andrei Denisov founded a large settlement of Old Believers on the Vyg River, which became a kind of cultural center of Pomerania (the so-called Vygoretsia).
In Spanish O di head- bowing his head low.
Get involved— to penetrate, to understand.
Water cr O weave— low tide, the state of the water during the lowest tide, calm when changing tidal currents.
Vozh- leader.
Voloshch A Not- residents of the volost.
Gate And sha- return, return.
East(also easterly) - east wind; gusty, often gale-force wind from the east, blowing at the western mouth of the Matochkin Shar Strait.
Rising and setting sun- sunrise and sunset.
Howl- food, eating. Under normal conditions, Pomors had three or four howls a day: the first howl was breakfast, between 4 and 6 o’clock in the morning; second howl - lunch (about e day) at 9 am; third howl - p A uzna—between lunch and dinner; the fourth howl is dinner (supper). There were two main fishing trips: the first at 9 o’clock in the morning and the second at 3 o’clock in the afternoon.
On Wed e that- towards.
Knitted weaving- a type of through patterned stitching on fabric made by pulling out transverse threads - hemstitching.

G A lyot- a type of sea sailing vessel, a type of Dutch-style schooner, appeared in the North since the 18th century.
G A ndvig- the song name of the White Sea, a word of Scandinavian origin.
Garch And T, gark A t- bark hoarsely.
Gl I day— 1) A sign on the shore (usually a cross or a cairn) indicating a safe fairway when entering a camp or strait; 2) An elevated point near the camp, from which a wide view of the sea opens. From here they watched the sea.
Glyza- block.
Granary gnus- mice.
Gov O rya- speech, conversation.
Golk- scream, clamor
G O lomen, G O crowbar- far from the coast, open sea; naked I ny- going far out to sea.
Golub e ts- blue, turquoise paint.
Throat, G And rlo, throats And on- a strait connecting two basins; The White Sea Throat is a strait connecting the northern part of the White Sea with the Barents Sea.
Guest- merchant.
Grumal A us(Grumanlans) - Russian industrialists who sailed to Grumant (Spitsbergen) and wintered there.
lips A , lips And tsa- a large bay into which a more or less large river flows. Guba is the name of the river whose mouth opens into the lip.
G at bka, or l A hta, is a small lip, a shallow sea bay.
Good O To- An ancient Russian musical instrument similar to a cello.
Goose Land- among the Pomors this was the name of a certain northern land, where the souls of brave and kind people rest.

"De mortui nizil ni bebene"- a distorted Latin proverb: “De mortuis aut bene aut nihil” - “About the dead (speak) either nothing or good.”
Houses And more- coffin.
Dos e linen- ancient.
dr A twist(same as scrub) - rub, clean; to scrub the deck - to wash the deck.
Dresv A , gresv I stone— granite rock, burnt and crushed, is used for washing floors, decks and wooden sidewalks; To do this, stones heated in a furnace are thrown into cold water, causing them to become brittle, and then crushed into coarse sand.

Yegoryev day— April 23, old style, the time of spring flood in the North. "Yegory with water, Nikola (May 9, Old Art.) - with grass, Trinity (50th day after Easter) - with a leaf."

Yozy- stakes that are driven into the bottom of the river and intertwined with rods for catching salmon.
Yola(hence - yawl) - an easy-to-move, undecked, single-sail vessel with a high bow and stern; used for fishing off the Murmansk coast and in Norway, from where the Pomors took a sample of this vessel.

AND A give- to love, appreciate, greedily want, crave.
Reap within yourself- to hold back, to clamp down.
AND And ra(to fatten) - wealth, luxury.

Z A bologna- the young part of the wood closest to the bark. Transforms into an annual ring. Sapwood, as an insufficiently strong part of the wood, is removed when selecting shipbuilding material.
Rear e ny- remote, pushed far away.
Z A lying down- a concentration of animals on an ice floe or on the shore.
Sunset And my, sunshine O zhee- means the sun.
Zar O d- haystack.
Zarud And t- to bloody, to stain with blood.
Zar at graze- clutter up with ice, hummock.
Zat O r— constriction of ice at the mouth in spring.
Zdv And wife- Exaltation, church holiday on September 14, old style. According to the popular northern calendar, the cold season begins on this day.
Earthlings A old woman- an ancient old woman, “she looks into the earth, walks on the edge of the grave.”
Winter sea- part of the White Sea adjacent to the Winter Coast.
Winter coast- the eastern coast of the White Sea from the Dvina Bay to the Mezen Bay.
Znatl And vyy- healer, sorcerer.
Plover- a northern bird like a gull. Among the Pomors, boys who worked on fishing vessels were called plovers.

Ik O tnitsa(from the word “hiccups”) - someone who suffers from a special disease, like epilepsy, common in the North - klikusha - a swear word among Pinezhans and Mezen residents.

Kaz e nka- a cabin on a ship in which either the owner or the helmsman lived.
Kamk A - silk fabric with patterns of oriental (Chinese or Constantinople) or Venetian origin (according to the epic expression, “damask is not expensive - the pattern is cunning”).
Canon- rule, rank.
Kan land- Kanin Peninsula, in former times a deserted place. “Fall into the Kansky moss” - get lost, abyss.
TO A ntel- a musical plucked instrument like the gusli among the Finns and Karelians.
TO A rbas- a sailing and rowing vessel of the ancient Russian type for river and sea coastal navigation. Karbas is light and agile on the move; widespread in the North to this day. Sea carbass had a deck.
TO A rbasnik- owner of carbass.
Kem- the western coast of the White Sea with its center in the city of Kem.
Kepten- captain.
Kerezhka- a type of sled with a wicker body; In them, industrialists dragged food and small gear with them.
Leather Elder- in the Solovetsky Monastery, an elder who was in charge of the reserves of leather and leather goods.
Cook O ra, or kek O ra, - tree trunk with rhizome; it is used to connect the beams to the frames. Replaces frames on river vessels.
Cop s Lya, cop O ly, or ut O ry, - vertical risers of the sleigh, embedded in the runners. “Put the conversation on its feet” - talk about the main thing, the main thing; “get lost” - lose the right thread in life, get lost.
TO O rga- a rocky islet or shoal formed near the shore.
TO O rga, or korg, - the front vertical beam that secures the ship's hull at the front, - the stem.
Core e la- western coast of the White Sea region (Karelia).
Feeder, or baker, - captain of a sea fishing vessel.
Beggar box- contemptuous expression; in the North, beggars walked with a box or basket.
TO O mouth- rent.
Coast s h— oblique, with fasteners on the front, a sundress worn by Old Believers.
Boiler I on- ship crew of industrialists for walruses.
TO O cha, koch, or kochm A ra, is the oldest sailing deck vessel, similar in structure to a boat, but much smaller in size. Kocha has been known in the North since the time of Novgorod rule.
Cat- shallow.
Krenev O th- strong.
Creña- runners.
Cross brothers- sworn brothers.
Mole e t- weaken, diminish. Mild water - low tide. Winter has come to an end - the end of winter.
Ridge- mountain ledge.
TO at gums- magic, sorcery.
Cook at l- a hat made of fur or thin cloth, like a bonnet or cap, worn by monks and children.
Kulyomka- a trap for the beast.
Idol And logical gods- gods of ancient mythology (from the word "idol" - an image of a pagan god).
TO at ter- type of sea sailing vessel; were built in the North in the 18th and 19th centuries.
TO at fman(Norwegian) - merchant.

Laz O ri- morning dawns.
L A hta, l A htitsa- a small sea bay.
Levk A With- a mixture of glue or drying oil with chalk; The object to be painted was thickly covered with gesso.
Lek A la- a model, life-size form of parts of a ship or parts of a wooden drawing, knocked together at the site where the ship was built. The location of the patterns determines the outline of the future vessel.
Lesina- tree.
L e stacking- Old Believers' rosary; linen rosaries were placed with the dead.
Summer 7158-1650; chronology in pre-Petrine Rus', until 1700, was carried out “from the creation of the world” (1650+5508).
Summer mountains- the same as Letny Bereg - part of the White Sea coast, to the left of the mouth of the Dvina.
Fever A childhood- villainy, evil intent, evil deed, recklessness.
Licht e r- tug unloading vessel. Goods from large ships are unloaded onto lighters and thus delivered to the shore.
L O Dya- the largest of the Pomeranian ships, a sea-deck three-masted sailing vessel. The ancient boat lifted a load of 12 thousand pounds.
Longche A To- one year old.
Lop, L O Psky coast- this is how the Kola Peninsula was called in the old days, where the Lop, Lopins, or Lapps lived - the original inhabitants of the Kola Peninsula. (Hence Lapland.)
Lyalo- a device for casting bullets.

Old water- places with great depths, depth; hardened coast- mainland; hard ice- glacier or glacier.
M A bird- a beam that supports the ceiling boards.
M A on(from the word “to lure”) - deception.
M A ra(hence - haze) - mirage, thick fog.
Bear— Bear Island.
Between O current time, Also mezhennik, low water- quiet days in midsummer, when there is almost no wind; The river level at this time is taken as the norm when calculating the normal level.
Michaelmas— November 8, old style; The polar night begins on Grumant.
Polyphagous(from the word "multiple eating" - gluttony) - having eaten a lot.
Soft- pleasant to the touch.

Alarm- drum.
Observer- a shelf on which plates are placed on edge.
N A dragged- elevated cape.
Nav- dead man navi - relating to the dead.
Habitual dogmas(from the word “skill”) - unshakable rules; familiar, established routines.
N A roofs- copper cymbals in the orchestra.
Vain- sudden.
Natod e linen- made for this purpose; specially made, adapted or intended.
Nat- necessary.
Nakhod A flax(from the word "nakhod" - raid, attack) - participant in the raid, robber.
German settlement- district in Arkhangelsk. The Germans, English and Dutch have lived here in houses and courtyards since ancient times. Before the German War of 1914, the German Settlement was known as the richest part of the city.
Nem O yes(from here - unwell) - sick.
Nesobbl yu bottom- carelessly.
Nestud And roved(from the word “to study”) - unscientific.
Nikola spring— May 9, old style.
Nikolin's day- May 9, old style, on Novaya Zemlya - a turn from winter to spring, birds arrive.

Charming- magical, specified (from the word “to charm” - to bewitch, to enchant).
About e day- southeast wind.
Exchange(expletive) - deceitful, fake, false (person).
Rim e Rina- jambs at the doors.
Fire e lo(from the word “oppression”) - crushed, pressed.
One A cue- the only one.
OZN O ba- cold.
Flange log- foundation of the house.
OK at weave(from here - to envelop) - a blanket.
Oli- even.
Oprik O sit- jinx it.
Ord A - a small animal from a rare, now exterminated species of striped squirrel.
Cool down- chill, cold attitude.
Attitude, entrainment, get carried away or attitude- to be carried away on an ice floe.
Send I blow- bounce off; spinner, detachment stone- a stone that recoiled, bounced off the shore into the water, a stone standing alone in the water.
From Petrov A to Pokrov A - from Peter's Day (June 29, old style) to Intercession of the Day (October 1, old style).
Queue- degree, rank.
Oshk at th- polar bear.

P A news- rumors, unreliable news (as opposed to news); no news, no A lead- no news, no rumors, no news.
Palag at Nye(pollaguna) - a wooden lagoon for milk.
P A portage- a piece of canvas, which was glued to the board, preparing the latter for painting; then they covered it with gesso, polished it, and then applied the design.
P A ptes- musical singing in parts.
P A already- the third meal of the day among industrial Pomors (see the word “howl”), food between lunch and dinner.
Perel A kid- a set of bells accompanying the buzzer.
Overcoat And t- go through, change.
Pl A become- burn with a wide, strong flame.
Pober e janitor- northwest wind.
Pob O rank- side plating of the vessel.
Having been A flaxseed- true story, happened.
P O wind- tailwind, towards the wind- downwind, tailwind.
Pogood A face- a bow for playing the whistle.
Subdd O n- the lower flooring of the ship, in contrast to the upper flooring - supplies.
Podtov A rier- a wooden flooring extending over the bottom of the vessel, on which the cargo is placed; protects the load from getting wet.
Living- having a lot of belongings (property), prosperous.
Bowing is a great custom- bowing from the waist is a sign of great respect.
P O cool— fishing vessel crew; n O cool to dress up- recruit, recruit a team.
Noon- south. At noon- to the south.
Polivn O th stone- a rock that is covered with water at high tide.
Floor at day(at noon, to the south) - south wind.
Midnight O chnik- northeast wind.
Diarrhea at Ha- a snowstorm from below, without snow falling from above.
Pop A lady- hit, hit.
Por A That- very, very, strong, strong.
Give birth- add, enlarge; increase strength and health.
Porozno- empty, empty.
Order O prominent- walking along the same line, neighboring.
Posed A aunt- turn gray.
Last O prominent- obeying at the first word.
P O salty(solar) - rotation along the sun, in the direction of the sun's movement.
Postan O prominent- sedate.
P O become- stateliness, posture; postat e yno- stately, straight, with dignity; sings piece by piece- sings as it should.
River bed- river bed.
Arr. e better- pier, berth for ships.
Invited at would be- a steep (underwater) shore, under which it is deep.
Pripri A twist- accept; spice up the work- get to work.
Pr And honor- poetic speeches sung in the North by women on special occasions.
Prov e hide— to speak, to speak out (from the word “broadcast”).
Pr O supervisor- prankster, entertainer, joker.
Prohvat And there is- catch yourself.
Pr at live, surround- overturn.
Pr I day- yarn.
Puff- spirit; puff translate- take a breath.

Glad e t- to desire earnestly, to strive.
R A bottom- Parents' Day, All Souls' Day.
Development O Dieu— time of change of currents; The ice disperses at this time, forming passages for ships.
R A nshina- a small Pomeranian vessel of an ancient type, adapted for early spring fishing.
Rank O ut- the general name for all the wooden or steel beams on a ship (masts, yards, topmasts, bowsprit) on which the sails are attached.
Walk with yardarms- maneuver.
Christmas- Christian holiday of the birth of Christ, December 25, old style.
Pink- torn.
R O msha— fishing for sea animals by “boats,” that is, by an association of small artels (6-8 people each).
R O pack, ropaki- a pile of ice, ridges of ice floes standing along the shore.
R O read(seaworthy) - to fasten, tie; cast the sheets- attach the sheets.
Tiller- a lever for steering the ship.

WITH A lma- a strait between islands or between an island and the mainland.
WITH A line- a frying pan with lard poured into it. A linen lamp was inserted into the sock.
St. e And- Swedes.
St. e walls- has news, knows.
Sville- helical fibers in wood, making it unsuitable for processing.
SG O get up- grab it by the handful.
Semyonov day, or Semyon the Summer Guide, - September 1, old style, the beginning of autumn.
Siver, or north, - north wind.
Sire And n(from the Greek word “siren”) - in the monuments of ancient Russian writing and in folk tales, a fantastic bird with a woman’s face and breasts.
Buffoon- a wandering actor in ancient Rus'.
Skoropol at directly- soon and safely.
Sl And personal- similar to each other, similar in face, identical.
Shifting wind- variable wind.
WITH O Lombala— an ancient suburb of Arkhangelsk; The old way of life was preserved here for a long time.
Sp O suckers- northern lights.
get ready- going to.
Gregarious(from the word “herd”) - many, numerous.
Stanovoy- main.
St A Rina, or old And on, is an epic song.
St A tka- remnants, inheritance, inheritance.
Glass- Stockholm.
Topmast A - continuation of the upper end of the ship's mast.
St e stump— step; become a degree- stand on the step; power— here: board members.
Table e schnitsa- plank table surface, top board.
Page A day- swear word; literally - a poor peasant hired as a worker for the summer (during the harvest), the last poor man in the village.
Strange man- wanderer.
Holy Week is the last week of Lent before Easter.
Guardian- river fairway.
Page O deep singing, saline- musical terms among Pomors.
Candlemas Day— February 2, old style, beginning of the seal hunt.
Suv O th, or talkers, - disorderly excitement when opposing currents meet or when wind and current meet.
Suz e We- wilds.
Sur I bottom- neat, decent, clean, correct.
WITH s grovka- rehearsal.

Rigging— rope equipment of the vessel; standing rigging- gear that holds masts and other beams used for setting sails in proper order; running rigging- gear by which the sails are controlled.
Tal A carry- talent, ability.
Tana-lip- Tana-fiord.
Teldos A - wooden panels on the bottom, - internal lining of a decked vessel.
Tert at Ha- masseuse.
Ting O To, or teen, - walrus tusk.
Title to harden- learn the symbols of abbreviations accepted in the Church Slavonic language (from the word “titlo” - a superscript sign indicating the omission of letters, an abbreviation characteristic of some words of the Church Slavonic language).
Tee at n(obsolete) - a judge of the lowest degree.
Pushing Mountains- randomly located mountains.
Torosov A ty- impassable due to the accumulation of hummocks - sea ice.
Triodion Colored- a collection of Easter hymns in the Orthodox Church.
Trinity Day- beginning of summer in the North; according to the church calendar - the 50th day after Easter.
Tr at days, or yearlings- teenagers whom their parents “by promise” sent to the Solovetsky Monastery for a term, at the same time they studied shipbuilding skills.
Tul And there is- hide, take cover.
Turya mountain- a mountain on the Western shore of the White Sea.
Tusk(hence - dim) - opaque, dull sky.

Ugh O r(from the word “mountain”) - an elevated, mountainous coast, a part of the coast that is not flooded by the tide.
Udrobel- I became timid.
Control I G- a measure of working time in the peasantry in the past, from rest to rest - approximately a third of the working day.
Usad And t- steal.
Ust I Not- inhabitants of the river mouth.
Fragile- dilapidated.
Matinee- spring or autumn frost in the mornings, before sunrise.
Ushkuiniki, or oshkuiniki(from the word "oshkuy"), ear head, originally - industrialists on a polar bear; brave, desperate people. In ancient Rus', ushkuiniki were called bands of Novgorodians who, in large boats - ushkuys - went to the distant northern rivers and engaged in robbery.

Factory- trading office and warehouse of a merchant overseas.
Forsht e ven— timber along the contour of the bow of the vessel; in the lower part it is connected to the keel.

Hehena- hyena.

Cher e va- fish entrails.
Chernop A hot rivers- rivers along the banks of which the agricultural population predominated.
Read by t O lkam- read fluently, as opposed to reading syllables.
Chud- Chudsky, Finnish tribe, which in ancient times inhabited northern Rus'.
H at nka- children's sled with high sides and a back - body.

Shang A - barley flatbread with butter, sour cream, and cereal.
Sh A yat- smolder.
Shel O Nick— southwest wind (from Sheloni).
Skipper- a person responsible for deck property on sea vessels.
Shk at on- type of sea sailing vessel; were built in the North in the 18th and 19th centuries. Pomors sailed on schooners almost to this day.
Shn e ka- a single-sail fishing vessel on Murman, a sample of which was taken from the ancient Normans. Pomors fished for cod on augers back in the early 20th century.
Shn I va- a type of Pomeranian ship, distinguished by its slowness.
Pieces e take a look- bow and stern - beams holding the ends of the boards that form the hull of the ship. The Pomeranian name for the stem is korg or harness.

Floor And sse(simple language) - you rise, you wonder.
Etta- Here.

Yurovo- a herd of sea animals; Yurovshchik- head of the artel fishing for sea animals, the most experienced seafarer-industrialist.

Jagra- an underwater sandbank stretching from the shore into the sea.
Yar- copper oxide, used as a green paint.

Boris Shergin, "Ocean - Russian Sea" Moscow, "Young Guard", 1959

Boris Shergin, "Ancient Memory", Moscow, "Fiction", 1989

The settlement of the Podvina and Pomerania regions by Slavs began in the 10th-11th centuries. Dragging their ushki across watersheds (portos), the Novgorodians gradually entered the Onega and Northern Dvnna basins, and then onto the shores of the White Sea, displacing and partially assimilating the local Chud tribes. In 1218, chronicles mention the first city that had already appeared here - Veliky Ustyug, and the widespread development of the expanses of the North began.

The harsh climate was not conducive to the development of agriculture, so the main occupations of the population here were fishing, sea animal hunting, and hunting. The old Pomeranian proverb “The sea is our field” reflects this reality well.

Shipbuilding here also has a long history. The construction of lodia, shnyak, soyma, kochi, karbas and other types of Pomeranian ships began somewhere in the 13th century. At local shipyards - the so-called artisanal shipyards - they made ships both for coastal communication and for long sea voyages: voyages on the White Sea, access to the vastness of the Cold Sea, voyages to Grumant, to Norway, to Matka (the islands of Novaya Zemlya), to Mangazeya. Thanks to developed navigation, the Pomors mastered the Arctic Ocean basin from the Scandinavian Peninsula to the mouths of the Ob and Yenisei.

Under Peter I, the question arose about the introduction of “new-style” courts. By two special decrees (1714-1715), the sovereign forbade the construction of boats, kochi and ships of other ancient Pomeranian types, ordering “to build sea vessels - galliots, gukars, kats, flutes, whichever of them (Pomors - and incl.) wants "In order to completely replace the usual old ships in two years with those built according to Western European models. However, this clearly failed to be accomplished, since in 1719 it was necessary to issue another decree, according to which “the old courts - lodi, karbus soyma, kachi and others” should have been “re-ordered” (as we would say now - registered) and given “on to reach those eagled, but not to do it again.”

Be that as it may, even in the middle of the 18th century one could see the same Pomeranian ships, albeit somewhat modified under the influence of Western models in relation to local conditions.

What is karbas

Our article is dedicated to carbass. If other types of Pomeranian ships - Lodya, Komi, Shnyak - have not survived to this day, karbasa are still being “sewn” in some northern villages.

Stitched karbasa were first mentioned in 1591 in the “Customs Charter” of the Solovetsky Monastery, but this does not mean that they had not been built before. The technology for building “sewn” ships has been well known since the times of Ancient Rus': the side boards were sewn together with wire, a rope of sponge, and animal sinew, and the seams were caulked and tarred. For a number of centuries, “clumsy” boards were used, as they were called in ancient documents. The logs were split along the trunk with wedges, and then processed with an ax. The boards turned out thick and rough. The appearance of mechanized sawing of logs in the North dates back to the end of the 17th - beginning of the 18th centuries; however, “saw” boards came into use by shipbuilders no earlier than the 20s. XVIII century.

There is no need to talk about the existence of any drawings of karbas, as well as other types of Pomeranian ships, since they were built without any, in today's language, documentation. The craft of shipbuilding was passed down from generation to generation. Each master had his own measurements in the form of poles with notches, and, if necessary, made sketches directly in the sand. It is not surprising that ships of the same names differed from each other. We can also talk about traditions - about the local style of construction: the White Sea shores - Zimny, Letniy, Tersky, Kemsky - introduced their own characteristics into the appearance and design of the karbas. Karbas from Pomerania spread to Eastern Siberia and here also acquired some unique features.

Karbasa clearly differed both in the area of ​​navigation and in purpose. Karbas are known for fishing, traveling, postal (by the way, mail in some White Sea villages was transported on karbas until the 50s of the 20th century), cargo, customs, pilot, etc. Carbas were used to transport pilgrims to the Solovetsky Monastery (from Kholmogor, and then from Arkhangelsk); These “passenger” boats accommodated up to 45 people and were served by 5 crew members. There were also light karbass, adapted for transferring cargo to larger deep-draft seagoing vessels, so lody and kochi usually took on board one or even two such boats. It is interesting to note that in the times of Peter the Great, karbas were used as auxiliary vessels during military operations in the Baltic.

In general, the karbas was a universal hard-working boat, light and quite seaworthy. Possessing good wave germination and sufficient stability, the karbas practically did not take in splashes. A typical karbas had a sharp stern (however, they also made a transom), a straight keel line (although on small boats there was a curved one), a vertical stem (could also be curved), and a sternpost slightly inclined towards the stern (could also be vertical). The plating was done edge to edge on powerful, sparsely placed frames (but it could also be smooth).

If we talk about the difference in dimensions, then the size of the karbas was usually characterized by the number of pairs of oars (they distinguished between “tee”, “four”, “five”, “six”), and in some places - by the number of “yaboys”, i.e. boards ( belts) side plating.

Drawings from life and drawings of typical karbas were first made in the mid-19th century by P. Bogoslavsky. Descriptions of the main types of karbas are given below based on data given in his book “On Merchant Shipbuilding in Russia” (St. Petersburg, 1859)

Pomeranian deck carbass (with a transom stern) had a length of up to 12.1 m, a width of up to 2.1 m, a side height of about 1.5 m and could carry up to 8 tons of cargo with a draft of up to 0.76 m. Such vessels were built in Kholmogory and in villages along the Summer Coast. The sheathing belts were connected to each other and attached to the set with wooden dowels and “sewn together” with a stitch. There was also an internal lining, which, like the outer one in the underwater part, was resinous. The surface part of the hull and mast was painted with red paint, except for the upper part of the sides, which were always painted with black or green. The ship had two masts. The front one was attached to the stem, and a straight sail, called the “bow” sail, was raised on it. A second mast was placed slightly aft of the midships, which was higher than the front one; the sail on it was called “big”. There was a bowsprit, but no jib. Pumps were installed to pump out water. There was only one anchor - a cat weighing up to 130 kg with a hemp rope up to 40 m long; lifted it by hand.

Kholmogory karbas, reminiscent of Pomeranian ones, had a length of up to 10.6 m and were built mainly in the Kholmogory district, as well as in Kola, Pustozersk and Mezen. In the stern there was a cabin - a cabin - for the helmsman. Typically, the length of this aft superstructure did not exceed 1/4 of the length of the hull. On such cargo carbas, coal, firewood, tar, stone, etc. were delivered to Arkhangelsk.

Spring carbass, used during spring fisheries for sea animals, had a length of up to 9.1 m, a width of 1.2-2.1 m, a side height of 0.61 to 0.9 m, and a draft of 0.3-0.6 m. In the bow, the karbas had a slightly greater fullness than in the stern, the stern was made sharp. Two runners (“heelings”) were placed on the bottom, making it easier to drag the boat across the ice. 6-8 oars were used for rowing. Two masts were installed, and on smaller hulls - one.

In order to protect against compression by ice, the hull was given an “egg-shaped” shape - the camber of the sides reached 35 from the vertical; the sheathing was made smooth. Water was poured with a ploy - a ladle on a long handle.

River carbass had a length of 6.4-8.5 m (sometimes more), and the width was always slightly less than 1/3 of the length. It accepted loads from 650 to 1000 kg with a draft of 0.3-0.6 m. It had good performance and sailed quite steeply into the wind.

Region- it was a large karbas (up to 10.6 m long with a width of up to 1.5 m and a side height of 0.6-0.9 m), built on the banks of the Vaga and Vychegda. It differed from other types of carbass only in that a canopy was erected over its middle, and sometimes over the entire body, with railings (poryskis) placed on both sides. The oblas usually had one mast with a straight sail and 2-4 oars.

Primorsky karbas- it is always a single-masted ship; Each locality had its own traditions of its construction regarding the shape of the stems, the location of the cans and other details.

Construction of karbas

The construction of the hull began with the keel (matitsa), for which a healthy spruce tree was selected with a natural bending angle of the root, close to straight, to form the stem (bow bark). The rear cocora and the keel were connected to a lock. The bookmark was secured in the normal position - with the keel down, and the tongue was selected. Then pre-prepared frames (springs) from spruce roots were placed on the keel and secured with wooden dowels. After this, the hull was sheathed with boards, starting from the keel.

According to another version of the technology, one powerful template was installed on the fill in the area of ​​the bow and stern chines, to which the sheathing boards (stitches) were pulled up. Adjacent boards were pressed against each other and against the templates using several birch pliers used as clamps. The frames were inserted and adjusted in place after the skin was installed. At the same time, the nasal contours were displayed more fully. This technology for constructing carbass was described in the mid-19th century by S. Maksimov in his book “A Year in the North.” In the same way, craftsmen in the city of Kargopol (Petr Ivanovich Ponomarev) “sew” karbas today. Long gap. In some villages, they “sew” small karbass on patterns with clinker lining and runners - heels, but only with completely bent frames and using copper rivets or iron nails.

Usually the frames in the upper part had a cross-section of about 50X80 mm. The spacing was 0.8-1.0 m, but on the largest frames, two or three additional frames bent from spruce or larch slats were sometimes installed between the main pine frames. “Native” frames made from solid spruce root were considered good, but sometimes they were assembled from two halves with overlap in the keel area.

The thickness of the pine cladding boards depended on the size of the carbass and most often ranged from 18 to 22 mm. The boards were laid with the core side out, as the craftsmen said - “with the wool along the course of the boat.”

From ancient times until the beginning of the 20th century, and in some villages (for example, the Plesetsk region) until the 50s. the boards were sewn together with vice (vichy). Vitsa - that's what twigs are called in the North - were most often made from steamed branches of young juniper or its roots; They also used heather, thin stems of young fir trees or 1/4 inch thick hemp rope and thin rawhide straps.

An interesting description of the technology of “sewing” karbas was made by K. Badigin when he visited the village of Koida in 1951: “The boards are sewn to the frames with a 5-centimeter seam with a thick spruce “thread” with a cross-section of about 10 mm. The length of the boards is sewn together with heather thread with a diameter of 7-8 mm; the seam is 2.5 cm. Holes for sewing are quickly drilled with a special drill-drill in the shape of a bow with a leather string. After pulling the wooden thread, each hole is clogged with wedges - pine on the outside, and soft spruce on the inside.”

The seams were recessed into grooves hollowed out for them and filled with resin. At the same time, the body became monolithic and waterproof. The joints of parts were always painted with hot resin; sometimes the parts themselves were pre-fired to protect them from rotting. The hull was caulked; Since tow was considered a luxury for karbas, they were often caulked with moss. Sometimes a tarred hemp cord was laid between the edges of the boards. After caulking, the body was tarred inside and out. Nowadays, resin is extracted from the roots of pine trees; in the old days, high-quality resin, with a reddish tint, was extracted from pine trunks. Made according to all the old rules, karbas served for a long time - with good care, up to 30 “waters”, or even more.

The service life of the carbass also depended on the nature of the cargo transported. The main loads - sea animal fat, fat, salted fish, tar and salt - protected the wood. It should be noted that the British specially soaked wood intended for shipbuilding in salt water and added salt to the caulk. Lloyd's Insurance even extended the validity of its certificate if the hull was salted. There is no need to talk about the benefits of impregnating the body with fat! Many Arkhangelsk owners of wooden small boats even now every spring soak the inside of the hull with hot drying oil rather than painting it. Some people believe that it is better to do this with hot transformer oil.

External fenders were installed on the finished hull, and cans (gazebos) were cut into place. The roof of the shed or cabin (bolka) was lined with birch bark. The cabin had no furniture or decoration: the skin of a polar bear or deer was laid on the floor, or just a heap of hay covered with an old sail.

The oars were carved from pine, and their handles were sometimes made from birch.

The oarlocks on all carbass were made of wood. These were either paired pins, between which the oar is inserted, or single pins, onto which the oar is put on with a leather loop. When fishing with nets, removable wooden pins were used, installed near the midsection; Closer to the ends, where the rowlocks no longer interfere with the work with the nets, permanent pins were placed, sometimes used for fastening gear when sailing.

Going to the fishery, the Pomors had a small boat hollowed out of aspen with karbas - an aspen or tee. A typical aspen frame had a length of up to 4.5 m with a width of about 0.9 m and a side height of about 0.5 m. Sometimes such boats were built from pine or spruce.

Sailing weapons

So, a typical karbas had one or two masts with a simple, like the boat itself, straight or sprint (which appeared in the North in the 18th century) rig. Since the middle of the last century, straight sails on carbass began to disappear, but sprint sails have survived to this day. With such imperfect - from a modern point of view - armament and the absence of centerboards or centerboards, the karbas sailed relatively steeply to the wind (up to 50°). Approximate calculations show that the sail area was approximately twice the product of the hull length and the waterline width.

The spar was carved from pine, and more recently from spruce. According to the drawings of P. Bogoslavsky, one can notice that on a two-mast hull, the height of the large mast is 3/4 of the greatest length of the hull, and the height of the bow is 10-20% less; The length of the sprint is always equal to 3/4 of the height of the mast.

For a single-mast hull, the height of the mast was chosen equal to 80-90% of the maximum hull length; The mast was installed at a distance of 1/3 of the hull length from the bow.

Rough canvas for sewing sails was woven in the villages. Wealthy shipowners bought factory canvas of the best quality in the cities of Arkhangelsk or Onega. Sometimes, in the 16th-17th centuries, the sail was made from ravuga (suede), and the equipment was made from the skin of a sea hare or walrus, so that when sailing in polar latitudes the sail and equipment would not freeze. In the 18th century, hemp cable began to be used everywhere for rigging.

The sprint sail along the luff was attached to the mast with a slack line or segars. On small boats it was raised and removed along with the mast.

The upper end of the sprints, stretching the sail diagonally, entered a loop on the bow-benzel corner of the sail, the other end rested against a line located in the lower part of the mast no taller than a man; This made it possible, if necessary, to quickly release the sprints and immediately reduce the sail area by half.

The large mast of a two-masted carbass could have shrouds; In this case, the sail was raised by a halyard. Large karbas could have a pulley on the top of the mast, but more often they simply made a hole, which was lubricated with fat for better sliding of the halyard.

The sprint sail was controlled by a sheet and a sprint sail, which was attached to its end. On small karbas there might not have been a sprint guy, and the running end of the sheet was thrown over a cleat (or over a can) and certainly held in the hands, so that in the event of a sharp gust of wind it could be poisoned immediately. On large carbass, the running ends of the sheet and guy were fastened together on the stern oarlock or on a wooden cleat sewn from the inside to the side. When sailing without a load, special attention was required to control the sails, since the karbas quickly gained speed, but just as quickly lost it, as soon as the sheet was loosened.

When the sail was not in use, it was enough to press the sprint along with the sail to the mast and surround it several times with the same sprint guy or other tackle. If necessary, the masts could be removed and placed on cans along the sides.

Descriptions of some boats

A well-preserved boat is on display in the Arkhangelsk Museum of Local Lore, giving an idea of ​​the Pomeranian shipbuilding of old times. This is a tee from the village. Dolgoschelye, used for fishing since the 50s. XIX century until 1912. The boat attracts attention with its grace and lightness. Its length is 4.2 m, width - 1.35 m, side height at midship - 0.45 m.

They say that the spruce used to make the dugout base of this tee - the “pipe” - was passed down by inheritance. The “pipe” itself is processed very finely and in the middle part is turned almost flat, which is why the ends are raised. In the middle part, the thickness of the “pipe” does not exceed 15 mm, and increases towards the ends. Attached to the edges of the pipe are narrow stern and bow transoms made of boards about 40 mm thick, expanding upward from approximately 20 to 40 cm, their length is about 45 cm. Two spruce boards 12 mm thick are placed on each side. The board has a camber of about 35°. The bottom board is sewn to the “pipe” with an overlap, and the next one is butted to it. Frames are bent; installed quite often (space 18-20 cm). The boards are sewn only to the frames; they are not sewn together. The boat has an external fender (approximately 15X30 mm). Three pairs of connectors are sewn to the sides from the inside. A keel and a pair of heels are placed on the outside of the bottom.

All sewing is done with thin rawhide straps. Traces of later repairs can also be discerned - seams with hemp rope, reinforcements with nails and U-shaped brackets (such fasteners are widely used in the North when building larger ships with smooth plating). The entire body is tarred.

Pilot P.I. Korobitsyn told us about a small carbass of an interesting design. The boat is 4-4.5 m long, 1.2-1.5 m wide, very easy to move, and stable. Such a karbas is built on bent heather or larch frames with overlapping 12-mm pine or spruce boards using copper rivets. The spacing is 25-30 cm, the transom and forespigel from the board are 30-40 mm. The keel is curved from a board the same width as the sheathing boards, but two or three times thicker than them. The sheathing boards are flattened to the transom and forespigel, or the transom and forespigel are cut in along the course of the boards. This carbass has one pair of oars. Nobody remembers when such boats began to be built on Ustya and Vaga, but now they are already beginning to disappear. With the filling of the northern rivers with Progress and Kazankas, the old craft is forgotten.

Navigator G. A. Lukyanov, in the 50s. who worked at Goslov’s White Sea base, located in Sumsky Posad, said that they used carbass, which in appearance are very similar to the Primorye carbass described above, to fish for White Sea herring in the Solovetsky skerries. The ship was about 6 m long, about

1.5 m. It had one mast with a sprite sail; there was no rake guy. Oarlocks were made in the form of wooden paired pins. In addition to other supplies for fishing, the karbass had bags made of bearded seal or walrus skin, filled with finely chopped alder and pine chocks 15-20 cm long. These bags, which protected the fuel from moisture, also served as life-saving equipment. Alder was used for smoking fish. Pine logs were used as fuel in case of landing on treeless islands (corgi). By the way, here in the huts, which have long been built in deserted places, there was always dry fuel, birch bark, salt, crackers, and matches. According to the old Pomeranian tradition, having used these supplies, one should replace them with fresh ones, one should leave behind cleanliness and order, and, if necessary, repair the hut...

Boat motors, which appeared at the beginning of the 20th century, were first used on spruces - fishing vessels borrowed from the Norwegians. The maritime yearbook “Sputnik Pomora” for 1910 provides instructions for operating a low-power kerosene engine. It is clear that not everyone could afford to purchase such an engine!

Old people say that until the war, the Pomors practically did not know motors, but went fishing by oars and sails tens of kilometers away, in accordance with strong tidal currents. Sometimes on a weekday, after work, we would go fishing overnight so that we could return to work by the morning.

That's probably all... and not all that is known about karbas.

V. Belienko, V. Bryzgalov, Arkhangelsk.

Notes

1. Karbas, plural karbasa - this is how this word is pronounced in the North.

2. In all cases, the craftsman’s ability to select high-quality material played an important role. The place where the tree grew and its age were also taken into account. If we talk, for example, about pine, it was believed that at 60 years old it “is only suitable for firewood and only at 190, 200 and 300 years old does it become the size of a ship’s wood, suitable for a frame and for masts” (Memorial book for the Arkhangelsk province on 1861, Arch-k).

FEBRUARY 2010

What types of ships are there?

POMORian VESSELS

In the previous issue, in the story about Viking ships, we noted that the Scandinavian traditions of ship building took root well in Rus'. It's time to get acquainted with our ancient ships.

Already in the 12th century, Novgorodians reached the shores of the Arctic Ocean. And later, in the Russian North, a unique seafaring culture of the Pomors, the Russian inhabitants of the White Sea region, developed.

Pomors already in the 16th-17th centuries. made long trips across the Arctic Ocean - to Novaya Zemlya, Spitsbergen (the Pomors called this archipelago from the Norman Grumant). They caught fish and sea animals at sea and traded with Norwegian ports. The sailors of the Russian North had their own names for the cardinal points and main compass points (directions), and special designations for navigational hazards - pitfalls and shoals.

Navigation conditions in the Arctic Ocean are very difficult for wooden ships. Any collision with a large ice floe threatens death. The ship's hull, sandwiched between ice fields, can easily be crushed. To sail in the Cold Sea, the Pomors learned to build special vessels - kochi. Kochi were very strong, with additional ice belts on the sides. The body of the koch was shaped somewhat like a nut shell and was pushed upward when the ice compressed. The plating of Pomeranian ships was somewhat reminiscent of the plating of Scandinavian ships - it was also made “overlapping”, with the plating belts superimposed on each other. But when assembling their ships, the Pomors used a very interesting technique. The plating of the kochs and other northern ships was assembled not on nails, but on juniper pins - they did not loosen over time and did not leak.

Each large Pomeranian village had its own shipbuilding tradition. For short trips near the coast and for fishing, small karbas boats were built. For long-distance trade voyages on the White Sea, large three-masted vessels were used - boats capable of transporting large quantities of cargo. The Pomors used such boats to travel to northern Norway, reaching the city of Tromsø. And in the east, Pomeranian ships were used for voyages along the Siberian rivers and polar seas off the coast of Siberia.

OUR REGATTA

And the new question of our Regatta is connected precisely with the voyages of Russian sailors of the 17th century, or more precisely, with the pioneers of Siberia and the Far East.

A Russian explorer first passed through this strait in the 17th century, a second time it was discovered and mapped by a Russian navigator in the first half of the 18th century, and the strait received its name in honor of this navigator already in the second half of the same century from one of the participants in the expedition of the famous English traveler. It is necessary to name the strait, both its discoverers and the English navigator.