Boating beginners always seem to struggle with the terms ‘port’ and ‘starboard’. I always get the question,”What is Port vs Starboard? and Why can’t we just call it the left and right side of the boat?” This common confusion is simple to clear up with a brief explanation of the function and the history of the terms ‘port’ and ‘starboard’.
What is the difference between port and starboard?
Port is the left side of the boat and is indicated by the red navigation light. Starboard is the right side of the boat and is indicated by the green navigation light.
Forward, Port and Starboard
When you are in motion in basically anything that is not a boat, the direction of travel is the foundation for orienting all other places relative to each other in that vehicle. This applies especially to vehicles that do not have fixed direction seating. Any other vehicle travelling forward in its usual manner will have ‘left’ and ‘right’ side oriented in relation to the front of the vehicle. At least this is how the terms ‘left’ and ‘right’ are supposed to be utilized.
On a sailboat, ‘forward’ is not at all a loose term, just like port and starboard. Let me explain. If the boat should be travelling ‘backwards’ or in reverse, the port and starboard do not switch sides as some skippers may tell you. The direction of the boat travel has no influence on the term ‘forward’, ‘port’ or ‘starboard’. The design of the boat specifically calls for these locations.
The left side of the boat will always be the left side of the boat regardless of the direction of travel. Same goes for the right side. Because of this, separate names were given to the left and right side of the boat. “Port” is used to indicate the left side of the boat, and ‘starboard’ indicates the right side of the boat.
This lengthy explanation is purely to demonstrate the technical definition of forward, port and starboard. Some skippers actually change their terminology while reversing to set an anchor or to pull into a Mediterranean dock. You’re not supposed to, but some less than savvy skippers will try to tell you otherwise. You can ask these folks: ‘Are skippers mounting both red and green navigation lights in the off chance they need to reverse their boat for any length of time?’ I would say certainly not.
History of ‘Port’ and ‘Starboard’
So let’s look at some of the history and lore surrounding these two standard nautical terms. Way back in the mid 1800s the British Navy standardized the terms port and starboard. There were several old English terms that were used for several hundred years before this, and when it came to naval maneuvers, some standardization of terms was in order.
Starboard is an amalgamation of two words ‘steer’ and ‘board’. If you’ve ever done any canoeing, you will know that steering happens at the back of the boat (stern). You can steer the canoe by using your paddle as a lever or rudder. This is the most rudimentary form of steerage in a boat.
If you’ve never done this, picture sitting in the stern, holding the paddle on the starboard “right” side of the boat. With the paddle in a semi-vertical orientation, allow it to drag freely behind the canoe. If you need to turn right, you pull in on the handle, prying the paddle against the canoe, and pushing the blade of the paddle out and away from you.
The stern of the canoe will respond by shifting to the left and point the bow to the right. Tadda! A right turn. To turn left, do the same basic procedure, except push the paddle grip out. As you push the paddle grip out, pull the blade toward the canoe. This will shift the stern to the right and point the bow to the left. Tadda! A left turn. This is basically how to use a steer-board.
During the global trading expansion of the 14th to 18th centuries, boatyards were under increasing pressure to design and build larger and larger boats. These relatively modern boats, even larger commercial ships, were steered using a long board attached to the stern of the boat, just like the canoe example, usually on the right side. This long board was always called the steer-board, purely for its function. Steer board then became starboard and was adopted into the greater nautical lexicon.
Port is named more by default in its relation to starboard. Imagine this, as an old timey shipping vessel approached a wharf, it would be steered by the steer-board. This board would need room to swing left and right in order to steer. Therefore the steer board side could not be the side that was next to the wharf for loading and unloading. By default, the port side was thusly named because that was the side of the boat that would physically be touching dock or wharf while in port.
Navigation Lights
The port and starboard are indicated by specific light colors.
The port side is red, and the starboard is be green.
At night or in low visibility such as a dense fog, these lights must be activated as a precaution against collision. A white stern light must also be lit during low visibility. With these three lights activated, a vessel’s direction of travel can be identified with ease, even if the vessel itself can not be seen or properly identified.
Tips to Remember Port and Starboard
There are a few clever sayings and rhymes to help you remember the color, relative side, and name of the port and starboard sides of the sailboat. One I use more than any other is:
There’s no port left in this bottle.
Since port is a kind of red wine, I know port is red. By elimination, starboard is green.
“port left” reminds me that port is left.
Another memory device is the saying “We left port for the open sea” and still another would be that there are 4 letters in the word port, and 4 letters in the word left. Starboard would then by default be the right side of the boat.
The origins of the word POSH – Port Out Starboard Home
The term ‘posh’ indicates high quality or high price because of high perceived value or high demand. This word originated as a nautical term which incorporates both port and starboard.
In the 17th to 19th centuries, people could travel to all the places their new and exotic goods and spices would soon come from. Travelling from England to India was especially popular while India was a colony of Great Britain. These travels would be long and slow, and a good portion of the time aboard a boat would be spent in both tropic and subtropic conditions.
Those with the means would book cabins on the port side on the way out to India, and starboard cabins for the trip home. The reason for this would be, on the sail out to India, the sun would beat mercilessly on the starboard (the south facing) side of the boat. This would make the starboard cabins unbearably hot. The port side would be spared from this direct heat from the sun.
Upon return, the cabins on the starboard side would be the ones spared from the relentless heat of the sun. Shade side cabins always cost more than sun side. This created the term ‘posh’. Port Out Starboard Home.
Related Questions
What happens if you don’t use Port and Starboard?
In a tense situation at sea, the skipper may say to everyone, “All hands to Starboard” as a way of shifting the weight of the crew aboard to one side of the boat. If this is done in an orderly and timely fashion, the intended outcome would be realized.
If, however, he/she said, “All hands to the right”, only those facing the same direction as the skipper would follow that order correctly and safely. Port and Starboard comes down to eliminating “your left” and “my left” conversation every time. We use Port and Starboard for clarity and efficiency’s sake.
For land vehicles, we kind of do the same thing. If you had to describe a tire on your car that needed fixing, most people would say “driver’s side” and “passenger side”. It’s the same basic principle.
Do other vessels or vehicles use Port and Starboard?
Port and Starboard seem to be used primarily in boating, however you will hear these terms commonly around aircraft. Moreso, when planes are in operation, they need to shine their navigation lights just like boats do. Planes use the exact same colors to indicate port and starboard as sailboats do. The Port side is always red, and the starboard side is always green.