Port and Starboard
Nautical terms can make people quite confused, especially when they have similar names, which is the case with port and starboard.
Although the words are close, their meanings are quite different. Therefore, if you want to start navigating, it is essential to understand what each term relates to.
What is port?
Port, represented by the acronym BB, means the left side of the vessel. This name comes from the time of ancient navigations.
When ships went down the Atlantic along the African coast, they had land with their respective ports on their left (good board), and on their right side there was only the sea and the unknown.
The color of the light located on the port side of a ship is red/red (it is believed to be related to the heart and longing). It serves to alert, during the night, the other vessels.
In compartment numbering, when the last number is even, it refers to a space on the port side.
Port in English is porthand or port.
What is starboard?
Starboard, represented by the acronym EB, is the right side of a vessel, facing the bow. In old French, it was called stribord – which, in turn, came from the Dutch stierboord (on the side of the rudder).
The starboard side of a vessel must be signaled, at night, by a green navigation light.
When two vessels approach on opposite courses, the two must start on the starboard side in order to pass port to port.
Compartment numbering, when the last number is even, indicates a starboard space.
In English, starboard is starboard.
What is starboard?
Boreste, BE, is the new name used to refer to Starboard. The term was adopted by the Brazilian Navy in 1884 instead of starboard to avoid confusion with port.
As the two words are very similar, starboard started to be replaced by starboard, for reasons of navigation safety, mainly in maneuvering voices or in bad weather conditions in which it is difficult to distinguish port from starboard.
What are the main parts of a vessel?
In addition to port and starboard, we also have stern and bow.
Stern is the back section of the ship. It is one of the most important and respected parts of a vessel. The term derives from Puppis, a constellation in the southern hemisphere and one of the parts of the ancient constellation of Argo Navis, the ship of Jason.
Bow is the forward part of the ship, in the normal direction of travel, at the forward end.
If an object is more forward than another, it is said to be Ahead (AAV) of it. Or, otherwise, it is called Ante-a-Re (AAR).
Port and Starboard in navigation and other nautical terms
The terms port and starboard are well known in navigation, especially in relation to wind direction and the position of the vessel. If the ship, for example, moves to the right, the maneuver is known as a starboard yaw, and if this occurs to the left, it is called a port yaw.
In nautical community was welcomed with affection by its members. To distinguish himself from the others, the neophyte wore white clothing. In Christian religious terminology, there is also no such thing as going forward or backward and left or right. It is said bow to stern and port to starboard.
Other differences in relation to sea and land navigation is the distance. A land mile and a sea mile do not express the same distance (the nautical mile equals 1852 meters and the land mile 1609 meters).
The same goes for speed. On land it is said kilometer per hour and at sea we use knots.
