Terminology of shipping. The fairway is what?

From time immemorial, man strove to conquer the water space. To this end, he learned to build solid ships, learned the weather's habits, and also curbed his fear of the water surface. But this is not all, over the years he realized the main thing - cartography, thanks to which he began to make precise routes for his ships. Also, a person learned what a fairway is, this enabled him to master practically all water bodies suitable for navigation. How? The answer to this question lies in what is the fairway.

In search of suitable routes

The fairway is a piece of water that has enough depth and size to allow the vessel to pass safely there. If in the open sea there is no special need to calculate such areas, then on smaller ponds and in coastal zones they are vital.

Simply put, the fairway is a kind of route, only on the water. But such routes are rarely direct, so all turns and dangerous depths are indicated with buoys or buoys. In addition, all the fairways are indicated in the sea charts, but in order to learn how to read them, you need to learn a special science - a mission.

Important shipping routes are indicated by metal buoys equipped with signal beacons. This is to ensure that at night the captain was able to see the end of the channel and not run aground, especially if he had not previously been in this water space.

How to build fairways

We must immediately note that the channel is a vital element in shipping. Therefore, there are people who are engaged in the study of reservoirs, in order to further compose the necessary routes. At the same time, if natural depth is not enough, it is increased artificially.

The fairway is always tied to the direction of the current both on the river and at sea. Based on this, the right and left sides are determined. To simplify the life of sailors, an international marking was introduced, which prescribes colors for each value. So, the right side is painted in red, and the left side in white.

Established fairways are placed in all naval maps and databases, so that the captains can easily find the information they need. In the future, the paved route will rarely change, except that due to the drying out of the reservoir its use becomes impossible.

The importance of the fairways in military affairs

For a long time the fairways were used for military purposes. First of all, it was necessary in order to deliver supplies and weapons to the soldiers on the water. True, any mistake - and the laden ship could become aground or, worse still, get a hole, after which its further use would become impossible. Therefore, knowledge of the depths of the reservoir were worth its weight in gold.

Also it should be noted that all the data on such routes were classified, so as not to fall into the hands of the enemy. Knowing about them, the enemy could put mines in the fairway, which would lead to numerous victims.

In turn, our scouts always looked for the opportunity to steal such information from the enemy. A good example is the film "The Secret Fairway", filmed in the USSR in 1986. He describes the events that occurred during the Second World War, about how our soldier tried to prevent the Germans who wanted to use the secret underwater route.