Port & Starboard versus Left and Right
Guest
On US ships, right and left are used for helm orders only. This avoids confusion when someone says, "what is that 20 degrees to starboard" followed by the helm responding "20 degrees starboard, aye." followed by the conn saying something nautical but not repeatable.
"The port goes down the throat" is how I was taught to find the throat and peak halyards on a gaff-rigged vessel. The throat halyard is attached to the end of the gaff by the mast, and is hauled on the port side.
"The port goes down the throat" is how I was taught to find the throat and peak halyards on a gaff-rigged vessel. The throat halyard is attached to the end of the gaff by the mast, and is hauled on the port side.
Guest
Is this because left, right, port, starboard are different due to your perspective? My right being your left etc.
Uxb99
Exactly what you said although it took me a while to get out of the habit of saying “clear on 4 and 3…..”
As someone mentioned upthread there is the possibility of confusion arising when communicating with the cabin crew so probably best to clarify eg captain’s side, FO’s side.
Exactly what you said although it took me a while to get out of the habit of saying “clear on 4 and 3…..”
As someone mentioned upthread there is the possibility of confusion arising when communicating with the cabin crew so probably best to clarify eg captain’s side, FO’s side.
Join Date: Sep 2016
Location: USA
Posts: 803
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Left and right are relative to which way your body is facing inside the craft, but port and starboard are not. Which is the point of using them... they're absolute. Port is always the side that the doors are, the captain sits, and the wing with the red light bulb is. Starboard is always the other.
Only in IALA region B, the Americas, South Korea, Japan, the Phillipines, Taiwan...
In the rest of the world, the red marks are to port (left) as you return to port.
https://www.marineinsight.com/marine...ypes-of-marks/
In Cincinnati I would imagine "returning to port" means "headed for Pittsburgh"?
In the rest of the world, the red marks are to port (left) as you return to port.
https://www.marineinsight.com/marine...ypes-of-marks/
In Cincinnati I would imagine "returning to port" means "headed for Pittsburgh"?
Every day a school day, nonsense! I will say that a ride up Pittsburgh's Mt. Washington on the funicular leads to an Italian restaurant (name forgotten) which served the best martini I have ever had. The veal Marsala was excellent as well. Though Pittsburgh is a fine town, I'd prefer to make port in, say, Barbados.
- Ed
- Ed
Boat hull language of ‘port’ and ‘starboard’ fix where the the pointy end must be. You can sit in a boat facing backwards and your left hand or pocket is still your left hand/pocket, but the unchanging starboard side of the hull will now be on your right.
It’s a bit like the ‘left’ bank of a river, which has directionality built into the concept and assumes that the river flows down and away from one. In this case it’s dedicated river language, there for a purpose. The Dnipro flows south, so Kherson is on the west bank, whereas Ukraine’s troops are now crossing to the east or ‘left’ side. (Even though it looks like the right side when seen on a north-facing map.) The old brain spins like a compass in oil.
It’s a bit like the ‘left’ bank of a river, which has directionality built into the concept and assumes that the river flows down and away from one. In this case it’s dedicated river language, there for a purpose. The Dnipro flows south, so Kherson is on the west bank, whereas Ukraine’s troops are now crossing to the east or ‘left’ side. (Even though it looks like the right side when seen on a north-facing map.) The old brain spins like a compass in oil.
Every day a school day, nonsense! I will say that a ride up Pittsburgh's Mt. Washington on the funicular leads to an Italian restaurant (name forgotten) which served the best martini I have ever had. The veal Marsala was excellent as well. Though Pittsburgh is a fine town, I'd prefer to make port in, say, Barbados.
- Ed
- Ed
Vaguely back on topic, in the car industry (or the minor backwater of it that I worked for, GM-H), while we didn't use port and starboard, we used left and right defined the same way - while facing forward - and all parts which had left and right side versions had sequential odd and even part numbers. Thus the left side part had an odd part number, while the right side part was numbered one higher to achieve a matching even part number. A supplier I later worked for used the same system.
On the other hand, street numbering starts with nr 1 on the right side, and nr 2 on the left side and all odd numbers on the the right hand side. Of course, looking from the start of the street to the end...
Maybe it's down to which side you drive.
Avoid imitations
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: Wandering the FIR and cyberspace often at highly unsociable times
Posts: 14,576
Received 425 Likes
on
224 Posts
Left and right are relative to which way your body is facing inside the craft, but port and starboard are not. Which is the point of using them... they're absolute. Port is always the side that the doors are, the captain sits, and the wing with the red light bulb is. Starboard is always the other.
Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: I wouldn't know.
Posts: 4,498
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Apart from that, the starboard/port thing seems to be predominantly an english discussion, haven't had that anywhere else in aviation.
What are those fuel valves for? The big red and green ones are the ones I remember. Havn't been in an Islander since about 1987.
Also, why are the mags on and the fuel pumps off?
Also, why are the mags on and the fuel pumps off?
During my RAF QHI course I was teamed up with a Royal Navy pilot.
When spot turning the helicopter I’d been trained to announce “TAIL GOING LEFT”, “TAIL GOING RIGHT” or “MOVING BACK” etc as required for the benefit of crew cooperation.
My RN colleague used to instead say stuff like “TURNING TO PORT”, “TURNING TO STARB’D” and “GOING ABAFT!”
I think he just did it to confuse me, but I did get used to it and sometimes imitated him with a pirate accent.
When spot turning the helicopter I’d been trained to announce “TAIL GOING LEFT”, “TAIL GOING RIGHT” or “MOVING BACK” etc as required for the benefit of crew cooperation.
My RN colleague used to instead say stuff like “TURNING TO PORT”, “TURNING TO STARB’D” and “GOING ABAFT!”
I think he just did it to confuse me, but I did get used to it and sometimes imitated him with a pirate accent.
No sailor would ever misuse the word "abaft" to means moving in a sternwards didection. Never ever. 'Abaft' can only describe a relative position. "The helm is abaft the mainmast". The destroyer turned abaft the cruiser".
It cannot possibly be used as a direction of motion. That is described as 'astern'. A vessel - or a helo - can move astern, it can never move abaft unless it moves abaft relative to something else as the term expresses where it moved, not in what manner or direction.
Port is always the side that the doors are