Roadstead
A roadstead (or roads – the earlier form)[lower-alpha 1] is a body of water sheltered from rip currents, spring tides, or ocean swell where ships can lie reasonably safely at anchor without dragging or snatching.[3][4] It can be open or natural, usually estuary-based, or may be created artificially.[5] In maritime law, it is described as a "known general station for ships, notoriously used as such, and distinguished by the name".[6]
Definition
A roadstead can be an area of safe anchorage for ships waiting to enter a port, or to form a convoy. If sufficiently sheltered and convenient, it can be used for the transshipment of goods, stores, and/or troops; or, for the transfer of same to and from shore by lighters.[3][lower-alpha 2] In the days of sailing ships, some voyages could only easily be made with a change in wind direction, and ships would wait for a change of wind in a safe anchorage, such as the Downs or Yarmouth Roads.
Notable roadsteads
- Basque Roads, France
- Roadstead of Brest, France
- Carrick Roads, England
- Castle Roads, Bermuda
- Cherbourg Harbour (la Grande Rade), France (artificial)
- The Downs, England
- Fayal Roads, Azores, Portugal (Battle of Fayal)
- Gage Roads, Western Australia
- Hampton Roads, Virginia, US
- Kossol Roads, Micronesia
- Lahaina Roads, Hawaii, US
- The Nore, England
- Puget Sound, Washington, US
- Royal Roads, Canada
- Scapa Flow, Scotland
- Schillig Roads, Germany
- Spithead, England
- Tail of the Bank, Scotland (Clyde estuary)
- Roadstead of Tallinn, Estonia
- Toulon Roads, France
- Road Town, Tortola, British Virgin Islands
- Rede van Texel, Texel, Netherlands (historic)
- Roosevelt Roads Naval Station, Ceiba, Puerto Rico
See also
Notes
- Charts and nautical publications often use roads rather than roadsteads.[1] Roads is the earlier term.[2]
- For example, in the Second World War, many merchant ships and many troops arriving at the UK were unloaded/disembarked from ships anchored at the Tail of the Bank in the upper Clyde estuary.[7]
References
- Walker, George K. Definitions for the Law of the Sea: Terms Not Defined by the 1982 Convention. Leiden: Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, 2012.
- Little, William; Fowler, H W; Coulson, Jesse; Onions, C T; Friedrichsen, G. W. S. (1983). The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (Volume II) (3rd ed.). London: Book Club Associates. p. 1838.
- United States Army technical manual, TM 5-360. Port Construction and Rehabilitation. Washington: United States. Government Printing Office, 1964.
- Oxford Dictionaries: Definition of roadstead in English
- Roadstead: Extensive Definition
- Black's Law Dictionary: What is roadstead?
- Robins, Nick (21 January 2014). "Clyde Anchorages Emergency Port". Scotland and the Sea: The Scottish Dimension in Maritime History. Seaforth Publishing. p. 175. ISBN 978-1-4738-3441-5.
External links
- Harbor Types of the World's Large Sized Ports, Hofstra University site
- Ports and Ocean Distances, searoutes.com
- Roadsteads around the world
- Singapore roadstead
- Marseille Rade
- Dutch ships in the roadstead of Texel, 1671
- Roadstead of Villefranche-sur-mer
- Greek bunker vessel AGIA ZONI III at Piraeus roadstead
- Volvo Ocean Race 2012 in the roadstead of Lorient
- HNoMS Harald Hårfagre or Tordenskiold at the roadstead of Trondheim, 1906
- Golden Fleece lying at anchor in the roadstead (painting by Jack Spurling, 1929)
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