15/05/2024
🟥SUBJECT: Origins of "Port" & "Starboard"
Imagine you're standing on a ship facing forward, towards the front or "bow." Now, if you extend your arms out to your sides, your left hand would be pointing to the port side, and your right hand would be pointing to the starboard side.
So, why the different names?
✅Well, back in the day when ships were mostly powered by oars, the left side of the ship was called the "port" side because that's where the ship would dock in port. "Larboard" which is an archaic nautical term and older term was used to refer to the left-hand side of a ship when facing the bow (front). Over time, this term was replaced by "port" to avoid confusion with "starboard," the term for the right-hand side of the ship. The change was made because "larboard" and "starboard" sounded too similar, especially in noisy conditions at sea, which could lead to dangerous misunderstandings.
✅The right side, or starboard side, was the side where the steering oar (or later, the steering board) was usually located. Over time, these terms stuck, even as ships evolved to have more modern navigation systems. So, next time you're on a ship, you'll know exactly which way is port and which way is starboard!
***The steering oar or steering board is an over-sized oar or board, to control the direction of a ship or other watercraft prior to the invention of the rudder.
