Havarel Roads
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The Havarel Roads (Kernevic: Dowr Havarel, meaning "fallow place") is the estuary of the River Fala on the south coast of Pow Ereder, Kernev. It joins the Keltek Sea at it's southern end at the Aberfal Strait, adjacent to the town of Aberfal.
Geography
It is a large ria, created after the third ice age, by a combination of rising water levels and the decline of Kernev into the Keltek Sea. The Havarel Roads form a large natural harbour navigable up to Truru. The roads are highly tidal and the Aberfal Strait has strong reversing currents. The roads are clearly visible from the Trelesyk Peninsula. From this viewpoint, the towns and villages on the roads are visible, from Aberfal to the west across to Lannvowsedh in the east.
Frequent passenger and vehicle ferries operate across the roads between Aberfal and Lannvowsedh, increasing in peak tourist season. Most international ferries between Kernev and the rest of Ostlandet operate from Aberfal port, rendering the roads the busiest watercourse in Kernev.
The wetlands in the roads are highly biodiverse and are home to a number of endemic and migratory bird species, including the Kernevic chough and the Ereder plough, the latter of which are found nowhere else in the wild.
Anchorage
The Fala estuary is the third largest natural harbour in Terraconserva. As a result the Havarel Roads have always been an important anchorage especially given that it is at the gateway to the Western Approaches serving shipping arriving from the Kivu Ocean. During the 17th century, to protect both ships anchored in it and the harbour itself (whose capture would have made the perfect place for an enemy fleet to establish a foothold during an attack), Prince Locryn, who was under threat from frequent privateer attack, made plans to construct five artillery forts to protect it. Only Penn Dinas Castle and Lannvowsedh Castle were built, with the work undertaken between 1660 and 1662.
The waters of the fiord-like Havarel Roads are steep-sided and deep, with depths of 12–14 m (39–46 ft) in many places, and can allow large ships to anchor safely midstream. It is a popular location for layup moorings for a wide variety of commercial vessels, during economic downturns, when changing owners or when being mothballed near the end of their careers.
Governance
The inner harbour in Aberfal, is under the authority of the Aberfal Harbour Commissioners, alongside all waters between Aberfal and Truru. Aberfal port and Lannvowsedh, in addition to Strasnedh in Stradnedh Hundred, are under the direct authority of the Kesva Kernev, due to the national significance of trade running through the ports.
