The history of SS Blidösund
The vessel, which is of course today the symbol for steamboat music in Stockholm's waters, was, ninety years ago, nothing more than the dream of some stubborn residents who wanted their own boat.
Without the residents of Blidö's heavy demands for communications to and from Stockholm, Blidösund would never have seen the light of day. But when the summer guests started to venture further out in to the archipelago, the demand for ways of travelling to the Blidö area increased. In 1908, prominent Blidö residents sent out an invitation for a share subscription in a new shipping company. Subscription was slow but in 1910 a limited company was founded which was able to order a vessel from Eriksberg's Mechanical Workshop in Gothenburg, at a cost of 132,000 Swedish crowns.
Maiden voyage
On the 4th of March 1911, Blidösund tavelled from Gothenburg down around the south coast - with overnight stops in Helsingborg and Simrishamn. The journey was not easy but the newly built vessel arrived at Skeppsbron in Stockholm on the evening of March the 7th. Two days later it went on a PR-trip to Blidö. The quays were decked in garlands, flags, streamers and firs. Speeches were made, salutes fired and hurrahs echoed from the quays.
The Blidö war
When the Blidösund started its route, so also started a battle with the Waxholms company which would become known as the Blidö war. The island residents wanted to obstruct the Waxholms company from mooring at their quays. Various property owners requested that permits be required for seventeen of the quays in Blidösundet, and this was approved by the county administrative board. The longer the steamboat war went on, the more Stockholmers chose Blidösund. During Blidösund's second season, 1912, the government overturned the county administrative board's decision and it seems that put an end to the skirmishes. Still it was clear, through its very survival, that the Blidösund company had stood up to the powerful Waxholms company.
Other times
The late 1920s was an auspicious time for steamboat traffic in the archipelago, and so it was for Blidösund. During the war, when industrial developments were put on hold, the old archipelago steamboats just steamed on, even if they had to burn wood instead of coal. After the Second World War, traffic developments picked up speed and an alternative route to Blidö was created. The 1950s were a tough decade for Blidösund. In Mälaren, nearly all the steamboat lines closed down. After Blidösund had run aground in 1949, it became necessary to make renovations to the boat. In addition to the costly repair work, the shipping company's conditions of operations changed due to the steady reduction in the number of passengers during the 1950s.
Out of service
In 1960, after years of losses, old debts and a bleak outlook, Blidösund was taken out of service, nearly fifty years after her first voyage. For most of the 1960s, the vessel resided in the Djurgårds yard where she slowly decayed and was plundered of much of her equipment.
New hope
In 1963, the Archipelago's Passenger Association had been founded as a reaction to investigations and the politicians who had proposed that nearly all bboat traffic from Stockholm out into the archipelago be discontinued. Oneof the association's founders was the doctor and steamboat enthusiast, Leif Rasmusson. Together with Eric Jägeborg, an experienced pilot and skipper, he fitted out the old steamboat Östanå I, but when it proved to be unfeasible to install a new boiler, they looked around for another boat. At this time, 1968, Blidösund was being offered for sale and the shipping company Roslagens Skeppslag bought her for 35,000 Swedish crowns.
Sleeping Beauty awakes
The repair work started early in 1969. Despite eight years of neglect, the boat was basically in good condition. The steam boiler and machinery were well maintained. The finances were poor, but the enthusiasm was great. Metal sheets were replaced and the propeller and propeller shaft were renovated. The repairs were supposed to be kept a secret, but several newspapers wrote about the project and on Blidö, many looked forward the seeing Blidösund back in action.
Rebirth
Saturday the 19th of June 1969 became something of a latter-day reprise of Blidösunds first voyage in 1911. Blidösund took its old route tol Blidö and was welcomed by a mass of cheering at many quays. According to eye-witnesses, many of the elder island residents were very moved. Blidösund's surprising return brought joy to many. Old archipelago residents travelled on her in order to relive bygone days and curious first-time passengers also streamed onboard. The press wrote eagerly about the boat's resurfacing and about the events which had been arranged onboard.
Keeping the business going
The shipping company tried many different ideas in order to get the business to work. Amongst others, regular passenger trips to Mariefred. In 1972, the boat went to Blidö and the surronding area on Friday and Sunday, a schedule which is still in place to this day, the difference being that Blidösund now stays in the archipelago for the whole weekend and fills its Saturdays with journeys to various different day-trip destinations. Private charters have been economically important for the shipping company. Groups have been transported to different destinations or made round-trips within the inner archipelago. A collaboration with the Stockholm City Museum gave rise to "city tours by boat" in Stockholm's waters. Three years later, the so-called literary procrastinations started. For several years, one could travel round Södermalm, via the Hammarby canal in the company of many different well-known guides. The concept worked in such a way that on Monday nights, one came to Klara Mälarstrand from Mariefred and would then hold forth all the way round to Skeppsbron. At the same time, 1973, Steamboat music started, something which has subsequently become Blidösund's trademark.
Creativity and chaos
After Eric Jägeborg's unexpected death in 1977, no-one knew what lay in store for Blidösund. During the summer of 1977, Thure Moberg and "a group of younger seafolk" declared their interest in buying Blidösund and taking it forward in a new direction, and so it was. In the late 1970s, the very breath of Blidösund had a red tint. Left-wing ideas such as pay based on needs, collective agreement and solidarity were the hallmark of the new regime. After a number of years of financial crises and rationalization, the business developed in a more commercial direction. A lavish music programme was started in addition to a comprehensive advertising campaign to promote "Blidösund, the music boat". During the second half of the 1980s, it was not unusual that there was not space onboard for all who wanted to be there - especially during Roffe Wikström's late Sunday night blues sessions. At one point the crew even threatened to go on strike if they were not given tickets!
The present day
The residents of Blidö's own steamboat is now the last genuine coal-fired steamboat in the archipelago. No-one could have predicted her survival or all of the changes she has gone through in order to reach her present-day function as combined music, food, day-trip and regular boat. And there is no reason to doubt that this icon of the archipelago will not live on in good health. Abridged text from Jens Linder's book "S/S Blidösund - the archipelago's last coal-fired steamboat". The book can be ordered from our web site.
