A view of the Starboard side of the Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS Ross

Starboard is the nautical term that refers to the right side of a vessel as perceived by a person on board the ship and facing the bow (front). Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (2100x1500, 491 KB) [[ File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Guided missile destroyer Starboard USS Ross (DDG-71) Wikipedia:Featured picture candidates/Arleigh Burke class destroyer Wikipedia:Featured... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (2100x1500, 491 KB) [[ File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Guided missile destroyer Starboard USS Ross (DDG-71) Wikipedia:Featured picture candidates/Arleigh Burke class destroyer Wikipedia:Featured... The Arleigh Burke class of guided missile destroyers, one of the destroyer classes of the United States Navy, is built around the Aegis combat system and the SPY-1D multi-function phased array radar. ... A guided missile destroyer is, as the name suggests, a destroyer designed to launch guided missiles. ... USS Ross (DDG-71) is an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer in the United States Navy. ... A list of nautical terms; some remain current, many date from the 17th-19th century. ... A right-handed Cartesian coordinate system, presenting the z (up) vector and y (forward) vector, the right is defined to be the positive x vector. ... Bow of the Cruise ship Spirit of Endeavour The bows of lifeboat 17-31 (Severn class) in Poole Harbour, Dorset, England The bow (pronounced to rhyme with how) is a nautical term that refers to the forward part of the hull of a ship or boat, the point that is...

Overview

The origin of the term comes from old boating practices. Before ships had rudders on their centerline, they were steered by use of a specialized oar. This oar was held by a cocksman located towards the stern (back) of the ship. However, like most of the rest of society, there were many more right-handed sailors than left-handed sailors. This meant that the right-handed sailors holding the steering oar (which had been broadened to provide better control) used to stand on the right side of the ship. The word starboard comes from Old English steorbord, literally meaning the side on which the ship is steered. The old English term steorbord descends from the Old Norse words stýri meaning “rudder” and borð meaning “side of a ship”. The modern term "steering wheel" comes from the same language root as "starboard" or "steer board". An oar is an implement used for water-borne propulsion. ... Aft of the Soleil Royal, by Jean Bérain the Elder. ... A person who is right-handed is more dextrous with their right hand than with their left hand: they will write with their right hand, and probably also use this hand for tasks such as personal care, cooking, and so on. ... People who are left-handed are more dextrous with their left hand than with their right hand: they will probably also use their left hand for tasks such as personal care, cooking, and so on. ... Old English (also called Anglo-Penis[1], Englisc by its speakers) is an early form of the English language that was spoken in parts of what is now England and southern Scotland between the mid-fifth century and the mid-twelfth century. ... Old Norse is the Germanic language spoken by the inhabitants of Scandinavia and their overseas settlements during the Viking Age, until about 1300. ...

Similarly, the term for the left side of the boat, port, is derived from the practice of sailors mooring on the left side (i.e., the larboard or loading side) as to prevent the steering boards from being crushed. Because the words larboard and starboard sounded too similar to be easily distinguished, larboard was changed to port. Port is the nautical term (used on boats and ships) that refers to the left side of a ship, as perceived by a person facing towards the bow (the front of the vessel). ... Mooring may refer to: Mooring (watercraft), any device used to hold secure an object by means of cables, anchors, or lines Mooring (North Frisian dialect) spoken in Germany Arthur Mooring, British Resident to the Sultan of Zanzibar Leeland and Jack Mooring, members of the Christian band Leeland The Moorings, New...

The starboard side of a vessel is indicated with a green navigation light at night.

The starboard side of most naval vessels the world over is designated the 'senior' side. The officers' gangway or sea ladder is shipped on this side and this side of the quarterdeck is reserved for the captain. The flag or pennant of the ship's captain or senior officer in command is generally hoist on the starboard yard. Quarterdeck Office Systems, later Quarterdeck Corporation, was an American computer software company. ...

Right-of-way for other vessels

Vessels at sea do not actually have any 'right of way' - they are, correctly, in the position of being 'stand on vessel' or 'give way' vessel. This means that at no time should any vessel actually navigate its way into a collision situation, and the rules are clear that no one in command of a vessel should assume a 'right of way' and should at all costs avoid a collision.

Consider two ships on courses that intersect. The rule is that the ship on the left must give way. The stand on vessel sees the green light on the starboard (right) side of the ship on the left. The give way vessel sees the red light on the port side of the stand on vessel. The helmsman gives way to a red light by either turning away and showing a stern light, or by going around the stern of the stand on vessel. Image File history File links Right_of_way_at_sea. ... The International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea 1972 (COLREGS) are published by the International Maritime Organization (IMO), and set out the rules of the road to be followed by ships and other vessels at sea. ... For other uses, see Green (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Red (disambiguation). ... A helmsman is an person who steers a ship. ...

This was likely the beginning of the convention for traffic lights that use red to mean stop and green to mean go. “Traffic Signal” redirects here. ...

There are other rules governing which is a stand on vessel, such as small ships giving way to big ships, powered ships giving way to sailing ships, and in some circumstances vessels under sail giving way to powered vessels that are constrained by their draft, or restricted in their ability to maneuver. Therefore the green light does not mean an unqualified go, but rather it means proceed with caution subject to other rules applying. The earliest railway signals went red/green/white for stop/caution/go following this naval practice and were only later changed to the more familiar red/yellow/green. The draft of a ships hull is the vertical distance from the bottom of the hull to the waterline. ... A signal is a mechanical or electrical device that indicates to train drivers or engineers information about the state of the line ahead, and therefore whether he or she must stop or may proceed, or instructions on what speed the train may go. ...

The very simple application of red light and green light is that if the helmsman sees a red light, the helmsman should make sure that the other vessel can see his green light, which usually means giving way. If he sees a green light, he should stand on, but without getting into a collision situation.

The sailing rules that dictate that a sailing vessel on starboard tack (the side the wind is coming from) is the stand on vessel is as old as any other regulations. Likewise, if on the same tack, a sailing vessel that is upwind of another is the give way vessel.

See also

• Port
• Bow
• Stern

Port is the nautical term (used on boats and ships) that refers to the left side of a ship, as perceived by a person facing towards the bow (the front of the vessel). ... Bow of the Cruise ship Spirit of Endeavour The bows of lifeboat 17-31 (Severn class) in Poole Harbour, Dorset, England The bow (pronounced to rhyme with how) is a nautical term that refers to the forward part of the hull of a ship or boat, the point that is... Aft of the Soleil Royal, by Jean Bérain the Elder. ...

External links

• Navigational terms for directions on a boat
• The origins of 'port' and 'starboard' at the UK National Maritime Museum website