port/starboard and left/right

[Rick H Kennerly]

|o| Orders to the helmsman were traditionally given in terms of "helm",
|o| that is to say, the position of the tiller rather than the rudder.
|o| 'Hard a-starboard!' meant 'Put the tiller (helm) to starboard, so
|o| that the ship may go to port!'.

Which explains why in the movie Titanic the helmsman is spinning the wheel
opposite to the modern convention when ordered "hard to port."

But keep in mind that starboard and right (or left and port) are not
synonyms.  Aboard ship "right" is proper in relative situations ("hand me
the salt there to your right") but port or starboardness are fixed sides of
the vessel.  Otherwise the command "back her to the left", could cause
confusion depending on which direction the speaker or hearer were facing.
"Back her to port," OTOH, always indicates the same direction no matter
which way the speaker or hearer are facing.

Another way to look at it is that when facing forward aboard a ship or
aircraft, starboard is on the right, but when facing aft aboard the same
vessel starboard is at a person's left hand side.

Because a steering station is fixed and the helmsman's position designated,
"come right 10 degrees" is unambiguous (although it's almost always followed
with a specific course--"to 270 degrees", but I've been aboard commands
where all steering commands were given in port or starboard.


rhk