An attempted reconstruction of the view of the port of Gdansk roads at the turn of the 17th century
based on the atlases of Gellentin and Pfeffer (from the collections of the State Archives, Gdansk). By Ryszard Kwiecien and Janusz Fiuk, Gdansk. Photo by Ewa Meksiak
System of navigational aids
Vessels approaching Gdansk were required to use one of three deep-water fairways as far as the mouth of the Vistula, and then up the river as far as the inner port on the Motlawa. On either side of the fairways every dozen metres or so there were wooden buoys fixed to the seabed by means of chains and anchors. The largest barrel buoys marked the entrance to the fairway. The leading marks were realigned every year in accordance with the direction of the fairway currently in use. As seen from on board ship, the leading marks had to be in line for the course to be correct.
Pilotage
It was probably already in the 15th century that, in return for a fee, self-employed pilots with their own boats and crews offered assistance to ships wanting to enter the port. At the turn of the 16th century Gdansk pilots were stationed at the Wisloujscie Fortress. In order to make the piloting system more efficient the City authorities appointed official pilots. The hoisting of the relevant flag indicated that the captain was calling for a pilot. In the early eighteenth century, the City authorities tried to make pilotage obligatory to all incoming vessels.