Tsemess Bay

The name received from the river Tsemes flowing into it. The western wing of the bay forms the low-mountain Abrau peninsula . On the right, it is framed by the higher Markotkh Range . The coastline is 15 km long, extends into the land for 7 km, the width at the entrance is 9 km, in the middle part - 4.6 km, the fairway - 11.0 - 12.4 m, the depth of the anchorage - 9.4 - 10 , 9 m ^[3] , the maximum depth is 27 m, which allows any ocean vessels to enter the bay. The shores in the southwest are low, in the northeast elevated, sparsely cut. The entrance to the bay is limited from the north-west by the island of Sujuk , and from the south-east by Cape Doob . In the middle of the bay, opposite the Cape Penai, there are Penai banks with minimum depths of 5-6 m. In the northwestern part of the bay is the hero city of Novorossiysk and the seaport ; in the east - the village of Kabardinka , which is subordinate to the city administration of Gelendzhik . In autumn and winter, a hurricane force wind - Nord-Ost ( Bora ) is a great danger to shipping. The pressure force of the VI category wind on the territory adjacent to the bay is the maximum for the North-Pacific Ocean ^[2] .

Tsemess Bay is not easy to navigate for a variety of reasons. Although the entrance to the bay is quite wide, fairly extensive Penai banks lie right in the middle. Wrecks, their parts and other underwater obstacles also pose a certain danger. In addition, the coast of the bay is bordered by reefs , following parallel to the coastline at a distance of 1.5 - 2.0 cable from it ^[3] . Pilotage is required. The depths of the bay increase gradually, offshore they are sharply reduced, which forces port operations to be transferred to less protected sections of the open coast. The size of the harbor itself is small, the type of harbor refers to the coastal with breakwaters (PV); the slip in the port is small, and there is no dry dock at all. The collapse of the USSR led to an increase in transport crowding in the Tsemess Bay: civil, military and merchant fleets were forced to coexist here. The accession of Crimea to the Russian Federation made it possible to solve the problem of the location of the navy. The extensive and deeper Sevastopol Bay took upon itself a naval specialization, while securing the Tsemessky role as a reserve one, with the main emphasis on trade operations.

The amount of precipitation over the bay in the cold period, as in the Mediterranean , exceeds their amount in the warm period. The slopes of the bay are arid in the summer, covered with xerophytic vegetation. The duration of sunshine over the Novorossiysk Bay reaches 2300 hours per year, and the temperature of its water, even in the coldest month - February - usually does not fall below +6 ° C. As a result of the heat transfer of the sea heated during the summer, even in the winter months, the air temperature above the bay during the day is from +5 ° C and above, and at night it fluctuates around 0 ° C. Being located in the regime of dry subtropics of the Middle Sea type, the waters of the bay practically do not freeze. However, the raids of the Tsemess bay do not provide shelter from the north-east, south-east and south winds. From November to March, a strong northeasterly wind reaches the strength of a hurricane (or severe storm) at a wind speed of over 29 m / s. and sea waves up to 12 points. For comparison: in Sevastopol, even in the most unfavorable times, the wind above the bay does not rise above the “strong” category (8-12 m / sec.), Which corresponds to sea waves of 5-6 points. Bora can last for several days a year and is accompanied by "soaring" of the sea and "graying" of the mountain tops. Air temperature in a couple of hours can fall by 10-15 degrees. Boron as a whole is difficult to predict and dramatically complicates the work of the port as a whole and the problem of ensuring the safety of ships and people in particular. During the bur, vessels are covered with a thick crust of icy dust on the windward side and are turned over by gravity. Lotsia recommends that all vessels during bora leave in advance on the high seas or anchor in anticipation of better weather in a protected area of ​​the village of Yuzhnaya Ozereyevka .

On June 18, 1918, ships of the Russian Black Sea Fleet were flooded with their crews in the Novorossiysk Bay; sailors preferred this fate to shameful surrender to German troops ^{[4] [5]} .

On August 31, 1986, when leaving the Novorossiysk Bay, the Admiral Nakhimov steamboat collided with the Pyotr Vasev bulk carrier and sank after 7-8 minutes ^[6] .

Crash time: 23: 12-23: 20 August 31, 1986

Disaster site: Novorossiysk Bay, distance from Cape Doob 2.2 miles, bearing 208.

A year after the disaster, a commemorative sign was erected on Cape Doob, a tribute to 423 dead passengers and crew.

• Snarskaya S. M. The first geographical BES. - Moscow: Ripol-Norint, 2007 .-- ISBN 978-57711-0112-5 .