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Because you need to differentiate between "my left when facing the boat" and "my left when on the boat facing forward" or really, left from any other perspectiv

Because you need to differentiate between "my left when facing the boat" and "my left when on the boat facing forward" or really, left from any other perspective. And any time there's a multi-word phrase like that that gets used a lot over many years, it gets shortened.

gkoberger 3y ago
Of course, but this article explains what each word means. Starboard => Means "steering side of the boat" (b/c the oar was on the right side due to sailors mostly being right handed) Port => The side that faces the port when docked
- callamdelaney 3y ago
  You can dock a boat anyway you like, or have been instructed to do so by the dockmaster.
  - hinkley 3y ago
    But if you have a steering board on the other side of your ship, it's a lot easier to dock facing the other way.
  - gkoberger 3y ago
    From Wikipedia: “Vessels with bilateral symmetry have left and right halves which are mirror images of each other. One asymmetric feature is where access to a boat, ship, or aircraft is at the side, it is usually only on the port side (hence the name)”
    - callamdelaney 3y ago
      There are definitely more boats with bilateral symmetry than asymmetric these days.
  - mr_toad 3y ago
    Passenger vessels typically dock port side to the dock. Same with aircraft.
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
- usr1106 3y ago
  Port makes sense, never thought about it. Ships I see rarely, so I couldn't tell which side they use (or even both depending on the harbor) But for passenger planes it's definitely left. In German starboard is steuerbord, steuern = to steer. No shifting over the centuries. However, port is still backbord. I am not familiar with Northern dialects (where they have a coast), back does not tell me anything. Maybe packen = to pack/load)??? Interestingly enough the English argument that the 2 words should not be too similar has not been applied. Maybe because there are already 3 vs. 2 syllables? Whereas English had 2 and 2 so they changed to 2 vs. 1 to make it make obvious what was said even in a big storm?
  - Svip 3y ago
    Similarly, the Danish terms are »styrbord« and »bagbord«, respectively. »Bagbord« comes from »bag« (back) meaning the backside of the sailor steering the boat, because they would be facing the steering side (»styrbord«; »styr« still means to steer today).
867-5309 3y ago
they need the same terminology for humans: "raise you left hand. no, your other left!"
seer 3y ago
I remember thinking why didn’t they just use “boat left” or something, but then at the sailing coarse I took, I remember there was a boat heading toward us and I was skippering, had to communicate exactly how I wanted to pass the other ship - and saying “to port” was just soo simple and easy - a “to our boats left” would have been way too long and you had to communicate things quite quickly… That’s when it “clicked” how useful this shorthand really was.

gkoberger 3y ago

Of course, but this article explains what each word means. Starboard => Means "steering side of the boat" (b/c the oar was on the right side due to sailors mostly being right handed) Port => The side that faces the port when docked

callamdelaney 3y ago
You can dock a boat anyway you like, or have been instructed to do so by the dockmaster.
- hinkley 3y ago
  But if you have a steering board on the other side of your ship, it's a lot easier to dock facing the other way.
- gkoberger 3y ago
  From Wikipedia: “Vessels with bilateral symmetry have left and right halves which are mirror images of each other. One asymmetric feature is where access to a boat, ship, or aircraft is at the side, it is usually only on the port side (hence the name)”
  - callamdelaney 3y ago
    There are definitely more boats with bilateral symmetry than asymmetric these days.
- mr_toad 3y ago
  Passenger vessels typically dock port side to the dock. Same with aircraft.
deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
usr1106 3y ago
Port makes sense, never thought about it. Ships I see rarely, so I couldn't tell which side they use (or even both depending on the harbor) But for passenger planes it's definitely left. In German starboard is steuerbord, steuern = to steer. No shifting over the centuries. However, port is still backbord. I am not familiar with Northern dialects (where they have a coast), back does not tell me anything. Maybe packen = to pack/load)??? Interestingly enough the English argument that the 2 words should not be too similar has not been applied. Maybe because there are already 3 vs. 2 syllables? Whereas English had 2 and 2 so they changed to 2 vs. 1 to make it make obvious what was said even in a big storm?
- Svip 3y ago
  Similarly, the Danish terms are »styrbord« and »bagbord«, respectively. »Bagbord« comes from »bag« (back) meaning the backside of the sailor steering the boat, because they would be facing the steering side (»styrbord«; »styr« still means to steer today).

867-5309 3y ago

they need the same terminology for humans: "raise you left hand. no, your other left!"

seer 3y ago

I remember thinking why didn’t they just use “boat left” or something, but then at the sailing coarse I took, I remember there was a boat heading toward us and I was skippering, had to communicate exactly how I wanted to pass the other ship - and saying “to port” was just soo simple and easy - a “to our boats left” would have been way too long and you had to communicate things quite quickly… That’s when it “clicked” how useful this shorthand really was.