Why do ships use “port” and “starboard” instead of “left” and “right?”

Re:Why do ships use “port” and “starboard” instead of “left”... by yafbum on Wednesday April 19, 2023 @12:43AM (#35624319)

In medicine there is one obviously very important perspective, and in theatre two. But mariners still need words for relative left and right directions all around them, like "the preferred channel is to the left of the buoy" (the channel and the buoy don't have port or starboard sides, and it wouldn't be useful to communicate about their relative angle as seen by the boat's crew).

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Re:Why do ships use “port” and “starboard” instead of “left”... by mhandley on Wednesday April 19, 2023 @01:05AM (#35624435)

>like "the preferred channel is to the left of the buoy"

While this is true, we (at least in England) would normally say "leave the buoy to starboard" (though when racing we'd call it a 'mark' rather than a buoy). Perhaps it's habit, I'm not sure, but it's generally unambiguous.

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Re:Why do ships use “port” and “starboard” instead of “left”... by yafbum on Wednesday April 19, 2023 @01:10AM (#35624473)

Same in the US. But only if you were actually going there, not if you're just describing what's around you!

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Re:Why do ships use “port” and “starboard” instead of “left”... by manarth on Wednesday April 19, 2023 @03:15AM (#35625260)

> the channel and the buoy don't have port or starboard sides

In the context of a channel, the buoys (marks) are coded port and starboard, coloured red and green, and shaped like a can or a cone respectively.

When navigating a channel into harbour, the port marks are left to the port of the ship, and the starboard marks to starboard.

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Re:Why do ships use “port” and “starboard” instead of “left”... by midasuni on Wednesday April 19, 2023 @03:40AM (#35625437)

Red right returning

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Re:Why do ships use “port” and “starboard” instead of “left”... by manarth on Wednesday April 19, 2023 @06:28AM (#35626463)

A nice, solid, memorable rule, which works all the time. Just like "I before E except after C".

Except when weird species seize their feisty foreign neighbours.

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Re:Why do ships use “port” and “starboard” instead of “left”... by roelschroeven on Wednesday April 19, 2023 @04:51AM (#35625909)

But be careful, because there are two configurations for lateral marks, called Region A and Region B, as defined by IALA.

In Region A (Europe, Greenland, Africa, most of Asia, most of Oceania) port marks are red and starboard marks are green.

In Region B (North and South America, Japan, South Korea, Philippines, Taiwan) port marks are green and starboard marks are red.

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