Man sought to conquer the water space. To do this, he learned to build durable ships, studied the habits of the weather, and also curbed his fear of But that’s not all, over the years he learned the main thing - cartography, thanks to it he began to draw up accurate routes for his ships. The man also learned what a fairway is, this allowed him to explore almost all bodies of water suitable for navigation. How? The answer to this question lies in what a fairway is.
Looking for suitable routes
A fairway is a section of water that has sufficient depth and size for a vessel to pass through calmly. While in the open sea there is no particular need to calculate such areas, in smaller bodies of water and in coastal zones they are vitally necessary.
Simply put, a fairway is a kind of track, only on water. But such routes are rarely straight, so all turns and dangerous depths are marked with the help of buoys or buoys. In addition, all fairways are indicated in nautical charts, but in order to learn to read them, you need to master a special science - navigation.
Important shipping routes are marked with metal buoys equipped with signal beacons. This is necessary so that at night the captain can see the end of the fairway and not run aground, especially if he has not been in this body of water before.
How fairways are laid
It should be immediately noted that the fairway is a vital element in navigation. Therefore, there are people who study reservoirs in order to draw up the necessary routes in the future. Moreover, if the 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 make life easier for sailors, international markings have been introduced that prescribe colors for each value. So, the right side is painted red, and the left side is painted white.
Established fairways are entered into all nautical charts and databases so that captains can easily find the information they need. In the future, the laid route will rarely be changed, unless due to the drying up of the reservoir, its use becomes impossible.
The importance of fairways in military affairs
Since ancient times, fairways have been used for military purposes. First of all, this was necessary in order to deliver provisions and weapons to the fighters by water. True, any mistake - and the loaded ship could become stranded or, even worse, get a hole, after which its further use would become impossible. Therefore, knowledge about the depths of the reservoir was worth its weight in gold.
It should also be noted that all data on such routes was classified so as not to fall into the hands of the enemy. After all, knowing about them, the enemy could lay mines in the fairway, which would lead to numerous casualties.
In turn, our intelligence officers were always looking for an opportunity to steal such information from the enemy. A good example is the film “The Secret Fairway,” filmed in the USSR in 1986. It describes events that happened during World War II, about how our soldier tried to stop the Germans who wanted to use a secret underwater route.
What is the meaning of the word "fairway"? If anyone is fond of reading books about pirates, sea battles, or circumnavigations, then they know that this term came from the vocabulary of sailors.
Origin
The specific origin of this word is not known for certain, but there are several options for where it came from.
For example, the English expression fair water, which is translated as “free water,” can characterize the meaning of the term “fairway.” This is one version of how this word appeared.
Another version is that this word comes from the Dutch language. The Dutch, who have been experienced sailors since ancient times, used the term vaarwater, formed from the words “varen” (sail) and “water” (water).
Meaning
The fairway is a ship's passage. This is the name given to a waterway through which a ship can pass unhindered. Shallows, sunken ships, reefs and mines are considered obstacles in the path of a vessel.
A safe waterway is marked on maps or directly at the place where it passes. The designation of the fairway in the water space is carried out using navigation equipment - buoys, leading marks, buoys, etc.
In fact, a fairway is a continuous strip of water that is deep enough for most ships to navigate.
Figurative meaning
In a figurative sense, this word means the sphere of someone’s influence, attraction, which determines the political course of a state or party.
The figurative meaning most likely arose due to the fact that this term implies a certain dependence.
In the literal sense, a fairway is a certain shipping route from which a ship can be wrecked. At the same time, the figurative meaning of this word also determines someone’s influence on freedom of choice and forces them to act strictly in a given direction.
Recently, an expression has appeared: “The mood is below the fairway.” At first glance, it makes no sense, although many intuitively understand that it means “being in a bad mood.”
The expression “to be in the fairway” rather refers to its figurative meaning, that is, to be in the thick of events caused by someone’s influence. However, many associate this expression with the direct meaning of the term, equating it to “sailing in the fairway,” that is, walking along a shipping route.
Types of fairway
The term "fairway", the meaning of which is described above, can be used in combination with words characterizing its purpose or location.
The following types of fairway are distinguished:
- Approach - allows the ship to approach a port or harbor.
- Main - denotes the passage from the sea to the port or the path between ports.
- Connecting - located between the main and other fairways in order to connect them to each other.
According to the types of inspection, fairways are: trawled, surveyed by sounding and insufficiently verified using instruments, but tested by vessels.
What synonyms does the term “fairway” have? The meaning of the word is “path, passage, channel, rod, direction.” These nouns can be considered meaningful words.
In relation and marked on the ground and/or map, a passage through a body of water (river, lake, sea, strait, fjord, ocean, etc.), characterized by sufficient depths and the absence of obstacles to navigation, for example, sunken ships, reefs and mines.
On rivers, the fairway usually runs along the line of greatest depths of the channel (thalweg). On border navigable rivers, the border is in many cases set in the middle of the main fairway.
The fairway is marked by means of navigation equipment - buoys, leading signs, buoys, etc.
According to their purpose, the following types of fairways are distinguished:
- approachable (provide access to the outer part of the port or harbor)
- main ones (provide passage to the port from the sea or navigation between ports in skerries)
- connecting (connecting main or other fairways)
According to the accuracy of the examination, they are distinguished:
- fairways swept by hydrographic trawls
- fairways surveyed
- insufficiently surveyed fairways (fairways that do not have an indication of the minimum depth on maps and in navigation instructions, but have been tested by ships)
Based on location, sea, skerry, river and other fairways are distinguished.
see also
- Thalweg - line of greatest depths.
- The core is the line of highest current speeds.
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Literature
- // Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron: in 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - St. Petersburg. , 1890-1907.
An excerpt characterizing the Fairway
Bravery is the key to victory,We have Bagrations,
All enemies will be at your feet,” etc.
The singers had just finished when more and more toasts followed, during which Count Ilya Andreich became more and more emotional, and even more dishes were broken, and even more shouting. They drank to the health of Bekleshov, Naryshkin, Uvarov, Dolgorukov, Apraksin, Valuev, to the health of the foremen, to the health of the manager, to the health of all club members, to the health of all club guests, and finally, separately to the health of the founder of the dinner, Count Ilya Andreich. At this toast, the count took out a handkerchief and, covering his face with it, completely burst into tears.
Pierre sat opposite Dolokhov and Nikolai Rostov. He ate a lot and greedily and drank a lot, as always. But those who knew him briefly saw that some big change had taken place in him that day. He was silent the entire time of dinner and, squinting and wincing, looked around him or, stopping his eyes, with an air of complete absent-mindedness, rubbed the bridge of his nose with his finger. His face was sad and gloomy. He seemed to not see or hear anything happening around him, and was thinking about something alone, heavy and unresolved.
This unresolved question that tormented him, there were hints from the princess in Moscow about Dolokhov’s closeness to his wife and this morning the anonymous letter he received, in which it was said with that vile playfulness that is characteristic of all anonymous letters that he sees poorly through his glasses, and that his wife’s connection with Dolokhov is a secret only to him. Pierre decidedly did not believe either the princess’s hints or the letter, but he was now afraid to look at Dolokhov, who was sitting in front of him. Every time his gaze accidentally met Dolokhov’s beautiful, insolent eyes, Pierre felt something terrible, ugly rising in his soul, and he quickly turned away. Unwittingly remembering everything that had happened with his wife and her relationship with Dolokhov, Pierre saw clearly that what was said in the letter could be true, could at least seem true if it did not concern his wife. Pierre involuntarily recalled how Dolokhov, to whom everything was returned after the campaign, returned to St. Petersburg and came to him. Taking advantage of his carousing friendship with Pierre, Dolokhov came directly to his house, and Pierre accommodated him and lent him money. Pierre recalled how Helen, smiling, expressed her displeasure that Dolokhov lived in their house, and how Dolokhov cynically praised the beauty of his wife, and how from that time until his arrival in Moscow he was not separated from them for a minute.
