What the general between "Indian" movies with Goyko Mitich's participation and the Russian film creation under the name "The Geographer Spent on Drink the Globe"? In principle, anything, except one detail. And in tapes of studio of DEFA, and in the drama by Alexander Veledinsky with participation Konstantin Khabensky, groups of people — respectively, dashing Indians and ordinary Russian school students — move on the rough river with boulders and thresholds. Some — on the canoe, others — on the raft. This process carries the name rafting.
Whether raft, whether boat
Unlike the Indian and other ancestors, the modern raft (in translation from English means "raft") looks more likely as the big inflatable boat or even the mattress from synthetics. Also it is capable to overcome without loss on water long distances and quite dangerous obstacles. To float on it with the sufficient share of comfort and safety, even on the most restless river, can from four people to two dozen.
By quantity of layers, rafts divide into one - and two-layer. Advantage of the first, easier and compact, in simplicity of preparation for alloy. The main plus of the second big reliability and stability on water is considered.
Ancient rafting
The modern raft isn't too similar to the classical wooden raft, but rafting is known to mankind from time immemorial. And the same dashing "German" Indians who were safely battling against white conquerors at cinema for certain weren't pioneers of alloy, and adopted management science the small boats on not the smooth and quiet river at former inhabitants of local reservoirs. The similar assumptions confirm also excavation of archeologists. According to them, the boats canoes which are perfectly looking even on the most terrible river thresholds are very long time ago known to people and were used to overcoming natural water barriers. Rafting for alloy not only soldiers and also expeditions of gold diggers and hunters, but also for movement of bulky objects, in the industrial purposes was used. For example, wood. By the way, sometimes call rafting also something unimaginable. If only on water something moved, reminding the raft and capable to pass without loss though some barrier.
Sports rafting
In process of development by people of the rivers and various ways to overcome their rafting along with canoe slalom began to turn into really extreme type of water sports. He is capable to throw the real sea of adrenaline and energy in blood of participants. In sports documents the similar movement of people in helmets and life jackets on rafts, to be exact rafts, is called as the scientific phrase: "Command rafting on the mountain rivers for a while with obligatory overcoming natural and artificial water obstacles". The crew of such raft is, in fact, professional team. And his captain performs functions also the coach answering not only for result, but also for safety of teammates and the raft. Sports rafting competitions consist of four separate types: sprint (or qualification) for which the team can receive up to 100 points; parallel sprint (200 points); slalom (300); and, at last, so-called long race (400). The team which gained the maximum quantity of points becomes the winner of the tournament.
Tourist rafting
Inflatable and convenient as in transit, and when carrying synthetic "raft-boat-mattress", enjoys great popularity and at adoring risk and passion of tourists thrill-seekers. Especially it is demanded in the early spring, during the descent from mountains of avalanches and the rough or so-called white water rushing on beds of the rivers with plentiful foam and fountains of ice splashes. For rafts separate stones, dangerous thresholds (sites with big difference of water level) both not less dangerous and threatening with turnover barrels reckon as the main obstacles (sites with the contraflow arising in the place of falling of water). Thresholds which are overcome by rafters are subdivided into six categories. Fans and the beginning athletes usually compete on thresholds of the third or fourth categories. Professionals — the fifth or sixth. The task maximum for many tourists, especially beginners, is the peculiar bathing in ice water of stream chaos, wild on degree. And here for more skilled rafters the same task consists in other — to win against this terrible stream, to cope with it, to subordinate to itself "white water" and to survive …