Cobba Clintar is an archipelago in the Åland Sea, located on the fairway in the direction of Marihehamn, Åland Islands.
In Cobb Clintar is a pilot station, which is currently not used. In recent years, houses and harbor have been renovated, and now the island is used, including for exhibitions. Cobb Clintar is also a popular destination for excursions from Mariehamn.
It is believed that the first human activity on Cobba Clintar was fishing in the 17th and 18th centuries from the then village of Auvergne, now Marihamn. On the map of 1807, Storlandet Island is mentioned as Bodsker after one or more fishing sheds were built on the island. In connection with the founding of Mariehamn in 1861, a pilot adaptation cabin and a white painted square pyramidal lighthouse were built on Cobba Clintar, and in 1863 the then pilot station was moved from Notho to Mariehamn. Most of the pilots' work then is carried out from Cobb Clintar, and the main pilot station is located in the city.
Next to the pilot station there is a gas lighthouse from 1883 with red and white light, which flashes 50 times a minute. In 1890, it was moved to the neighboring island of Corse due to the creation of new entry roads to Marihehamn. In the same year, the natural harbor was extended to a marina. To facilitate navigation in poor visibility conditions, a manual mistletoe was installed in 1903. In 1910 it was replaced by a much larger factory with diesel engines that compressed air to a pressure of 3-4 bar to turn on the siren. To make room for equipment, a large Art Nouveau style cockpit was built on two floors with the engine room on the first floor, the house on the second floor and the mistletoe in the attic.
In connection with World War I, fog equipment was dismantled in 1915 and sent to Kokskär lighthouse in Estonia. After Finland gained independence in 1917, two patrol ships were sent to Marihehamn, whose task was to meet the incoming ships and carry them to Marihehamn with their sirens. This activity was stopped in 1919, when new equipment was installed on the mistletoe on Cobba Clintar. In 1922, the telephone connection was established when the line was disconnected through Esfolm. Between 1936 and 1937, a new port was built with a breakwater and a pier.
As usual, the pilotage at Marihamn was smooth on a straight and short course, but in poor visibility conditions, narrow passageways could cause serious problems, especially for large sailing vessels that did not have room to go out again and change course if they entered incorrectly. Three - mast barque Maiden of Mariehamn sat on the shelf of Marhällan, a small island west of Cobb Klintar, on November 5, 1928 . On the night of December 14, 1933 sank and "Bark Plus" and "Bark Fred". Both of them had no time to get to the pilots and had to try to enter Marihehamn by themselves. To improve security, a sector lighthouse was built on Twibenan Island, north of Cobb Clintar in 1934. Four years later, a concrete lighthouse with a fog bell was erected on Markhallan.
During World War II, much of Finland's foreign trade went deep into the waters of the Aland Islands to protect itself from Russian submarines. Before traveling across the Åland Sea convoys usually gathered outside the pilot site, and then they were accompanied by warships. In 1940, the most common route was the southern one, and 1119 ships were sent to Mariehamn. The following year, the main route lay to the north of the Åland Islands, and only 151 ships were missed.
Shipping traffic in Mariehamn increased from 150-200 vessels per year in 1860-1880s to 350-500 vessels in 1920s and 1940s. The record was set in 1965, when 1163 ships were moored at Mariehamn.
During the 1960s, nine small pilot sites on the Aland Islands were closed. This led to the pilots on Cobb Klintar, Nyhamn and Longines being tasked with taking care of the deployment of the belts over a large geographical area. In January 1972, the pilot station at Cobba Clintar was shut down and the remaining pilots were transferred to Mariehamn. Before closing, the Markhellance Lighthouse was electrified and equipped with a fog siren as a replacement for the Cobba Clintar siren. After closing, the building was taken over by the landlord.
The islands were purchased by the city of Mariehamn in 2005 and the port was completely renovated in 2006 - 2007, when, among other things, the breakwater was rebuilt from scratch. An external copy of the original lighthouse, which was demolished in 1954, was installed in 2012. The external dimensions are the same, but inside there is a room that can be rented for events with a large panoramic window overlooking the Aland Sea.