red port / green starboard

[dada]

asked recently why port/ starboard.
steerboard on the rhs of a ship, docked on opposite side (port).
but why red for port and green for stbd. you'd think it'd be the other way around - red for steer(star)board so as not to dock on that side and damage the rudder. anyone know the significance of these colours ?

[G-MANN]

Mmmmmmmm,

No idea!!!!

Maybe we could discuss over a nice cuppa tea and a chocolate cake?? :rolleyes:

[Red Four]

I believe it all goes back to Latin, where left is sinister, which is something to be avoided(in English), and therefore merited a red (warning)light. Right, if I remember correctly, is dexter, and didn't need a warning, so could have a green light!

Oh well, it made sense at school! :rolleyes:

[englishal]

Its because Port is a red wine.....

[Don D Cake]

Here's what I found in my Delia Smith book of maritime history....

From early times, to avoid collisions, ships underway or at anchor by night carried at least a single lantern showing a white light. There seems to have been no fixed rule about the use of lights until 1824 when two white lights were required to be shown in ships navigating the canals of the Netherlands and Belgium. In 1845 coloured lights were authorized for this purpose.

In that same year HMS COMET carried out experiments at Pithead with red, green and white lights, and 1847 Admiralty regulations called for all British steamships to be fitted in the approved manner. No such requirement existed for sailing vessels. After 1850 all steamships in the busy fairways of the open seas were required to show coloured lights by night. The colours red and green had been selected as the least likely to be confused.

The French in 1863 instituted a practice of making the lights visible on the beam as well as ahead. This led to international agreement on the use of sidelights, visible through definite arcs. About the same time sailing vessels were first required to show red and green sidelights.

Trinity House, the British pilotage authority, had ruled in 1840 that two steamships steaming toward each other by night, to avoid collision were each to alter course to starboard, thereby keeping the other ship on the port hand. The red light, indicating danger, was assigned to the side to be steered away from.

A series of conference of the principal maritime nations has produced the International Regulations for Preventing collision at Sea, in which are embodied directions regarding lights, steering and sailing rules. In the most recent revision (1953) these are greatly clarified, and are made applicable to aircraft taxi-ing or alighting on water in ocean areas. Further revisions, drafted at the 1960 Safety of Life at Sea conference, will soon be brought into effect

[Vmike]

Reds are all lefties. That's how I remember it, anyway. Dunno why though.

[Georgeablelovehowindia]

Every time St. Delia e-mails Mrs. Georgeable with the latest recipe, it causes this here computer to lock up!

[mustafagander]

Vmike,
How about "a little PORT LEFT in the bottle"?? Works for me. Of course if you are teetotal..... :D

[Kermit 180]

Dinner ettiquette, pass the port to your left.

[scanscanscan]

When were nav lights introduced on ships?
Some further info is available on... www.nmm.ac.uk/faqs/nav1.htm (http://www.nmm.ac.uk/faqs/nav1.htm)
Cheers

[Mariner9]

In my old Merchant Navy college days we were taught:

"When you see three lights ahead
Starboard wheel & show your red"

However we amended it to:

"When you see 3 lights in front
full ahead & ram the c**t!"

[George T]

Hang on Did'nt aircrafts have lights befor ships?

[Mariner9]

No TCAS on ships. It's amazing they manage to avoid hitting each other more often, particularly as they're all at the same flight level. :)

[DX Wombat]

It all goes back to the Vikings and their longships. The rudder, or steering board was always attached to the right side of the long ship, hence "steering board" became "starboard", and "port" referred to the side which you tied up against the quay to prevent damage to the steering board, but I don't know why the colours. <img src="smile.gif" border="0">

[Hot Rod]

"RED IS NEVER RIGHT" works for me. If it works for you depends on your political opinion....

[Skyjob]

My old man once taught me something easily to remember the colour codes by:

If in the old sailing days a ship's captain would ask any of his crew what the colour on the left of the ship was, and no answer was given he would smack them around the cheek. (Taken into account that most people are right handed) The left cheek would turn red and hurt, hence to turn away from it every time and never to forget unless you wanted to get hurt again.

[jetfour]

Mariner9, obviously attended same alma mater!

"When you see the Red and Green, you can safely pass between!!"

[Few Cloudy]

Yep, when our perfidious class was in RAF training we remembered it "Right begins with an 'R' and Red begins with an 'R' - Red's on the Left"

By the way I think TCAS on ships is a good idea - as in "descend - descend now..."

Finally one for DADA - apparently the word Posh comes from Port Out Starboard Home - the "posh" guys booked the coolest side of the ship to the Far East and back. These days I guess they book the sunny side for a cruise.