Great addition to any vessel

Knew it! No one can remember that shit.
- Between "port" "starboard" "right" and "left" only two of the words have the same number of letters.
  Left = Port
  For the once per year I have to think about this, that's my mnemonic.
  
  When you are standing in the center of the boat looking forward just remember. Boats are like women! They have PmS! Port (on the left), me (in the middle), Starboard (on the right)!
  
  A related more general mnemonic works for the running lights too. Red has fewer letters than green, so it goes with left which has fewer letters than right and port which has fewer letters than starboard.
  
  You can also face forward and imagine the word "PISS" in the water.
  
  Fo you have any mnemonics for aft, fore, stern and bow?
- "Port" and "left" both have four letters. "Starboard" is the other one.
  Learned that trick a few years ago and have not forgotten since.
  
  Starboard is right because it has two "r"s is how I was told
  
  The problem is that left and right are different depending on which direction you're facing on the ship.
- "no red port left in the bottle"
- I've ingrained this in my brain by doing hand motions whenever I say "port and starboard". I throw my left hand out to my left when I say port and right hand when I say starboard. The muscle memory stops me from forgetting.
  
  Instructions unclear, just punched my first mate in the groin.
- Imagining a ship at port works for me, since then i can remember which side faces towards the port
  
  Search images for "port"
  Literally every single photo is of a ship docked starboard
  
  Does that not depend on which side the port is on?
- This is one the few things I can remember and I have literally no use for it.
  
  I remember it but then question myself
- Alphabetically, port comes before starboard. We read left to right...
  
  a large portion of the world doesn't..

It took me until this year to realize the port and starboard referred to what the ship was touching when docked. The left side goes to the port, the other side faces the stars.
I felt so dumb that I had completed Black Flag 3 times and never picked up on this.
- Port used to be called larboard, and starboard is called that because it comes from middle English for "steering side", essentially. Not actually anything to do with stars. But the port thing is true, they had to dock to port on the left because of the steering oars.
  
  In German it's still "Steuerbord", "Steering board"
- Why would the stars only be to the right? Would the ship start tilting when you haul all the loot into port?
  
  There is no stars over land, because gravity makes them all fall down, so they know to avoid it

- Port is fine stuff!

Port and starboard are easy enough in a powerboat (of the type I am familiar with). Tie up port side, sit on starboard (steer board) side to steer.
But what is most fun is remembering what direction in a channel one is travelling in an area where the channels merge.
- Red right return
  
  Instructions unclear
  
  Are we returning or leaving? Where did the channel end and the new one begin? I go through that enough for it to be a problem, but not enough to remember where they switch direction.
  
  That's how I learnt - but I learnt in the US and it's the opposite here in Europe (Buoyage zone A I believe). Just for S&Gs I guess
- Right, all these people with mnemonics and whatnot to remember port and starboard; I just remember that port is on the port side when you dock.
  Perhaps for Americans it's harder, seeing as they park on the wrong side of the road.

No it is not. Port and starboard are only left and right if you are facing the bow. If you are facing the stern they are reversed (from your perspective). The reason why is to make sure there are unambiguous terms for turning a ship in order to navigate and avoid collisions.
Btw the same rule applies to airplanes. If you are flying and have another airplane flying towards you both pilots must turn starboard to avoid a crash.
- This sign looks like it's fixed to the vessel, so it should be correct unless they put it in the wrong place, or someone decides to read it upside down without correcting it in their head.
- Pilot here. We just say left and right and don't bother with port and starboard.
  
  Usually you also know in which direction is front on a plane lol
  On a ship it might get more confusing sometimes, so I see the reason there at least somewhat
  
  Have you seen the Nathan Fielder special The Rehearsal up on HBO? It's specifically about pilots and how to potentially reduce airplane crashes
  
  I stand corrected.

excuse me if i sound dumb but like why not say left and right and ditch the nonsense?
- Port and starboard are in relation to the ship while left and right are in relation to the person
- Because port and starboard refer to the left and right side of the boat. If you are facing the stern your left would be starboard and right would be port.
  
  And to remember the whole thing: "Star" comes from steer, goes back to old ships which had their rudder and till tied to the side at the aft and specifically, when looking forwards, to the right as people tend to be right-handed. Thus, steering-side == right if you're looking forwards.
  "Port" because that's the side the port is on if you land without risking damaging the rudder. Originally it was "backboard" because that's the board (== side of ship) that's (often) in the helmsman's back, English changed it at some point while everyone else kept it. The terminology goes back to at least Old Norse, probably earlier, that's just the earliest that's attested.
  
  My son is also named Bort
  
  bort bort
- Because left and right are relative, port and starboard are absolute.
  
  Or to be more specific. Left and right are ambiguous because of the missing reference frame. It could be my left, your left or the left of the ship.
  Port and starboard are always left and right in the reference frame of the ship.

"Left" and "Port" both have four letters. "Right" and "Starboard" both have more than four letters. That's how you remember them.
- port and starboard both have an r in the word, for right. that's how I remember them.
  
  How tf fid you get upvotes for this? /s
- Boats used to have their steering paddle out on the right because most people were right handed. When you pulled into port, you didn't want your steering rod to hit the port so port side was the left. That's how I remember.

104 comments on how to memorize starboard and port as right and left.
I have an even better way to know : Just fucking remember it.
It's not that difficult.
- Good idea. Just fucking remember it. JFRI. Jerry Fixes Ruined Items. Got it.

Is no-one gonna mention the inconsistent formatting of the signs underneath? Just me?
- I think it gives character, which is in opposition to the 'black and white mono spaced thing' above it making the joke even funnier

Port and left have the same number of letters, so that works in a pinch.
- This is how I first (and still) remember the difference.
- Did you ever hear about the bishop of Norwich? He always passes his port to the left.

it makes me a little irrationaly upset that we have left and right, both one syllable words
but the naval version of left and right, is a one syllable Port, and a two syllable Starboard
- Well consider you're on the deck in the open air during a storm, waves crashing everywhere, people yelling, you can barely hear anything.
  Do you want to keep asking them to repeat which way to turn because you can't hear? Or do you wanna know short word/one noise = right and long word/two noises = left?
- Right and left are relative to your perspective. Port and starboard are relative to the ship and dont change if you're facing aft.
  As for syllable count, eh vOv
  
  Stage left, stage right

I memorized the following: "Port wine is red, and none is left in the morning"
Therefore Port - Left and Red and the other "Starboard" is Right and Green.

My left, your left, the ship's left, or the ceiling's left?
- I think everybody might have left.

Not a captain, so i can?
- you and the captain make it happen.
  (just don't be captain save a ho)

red and left - both short words. port and left - both short words.
right and green - both long words. starboard and right - both long words.
- PORT is the spirit that's LEFT in the cupboard after the party
  a STARBOARD would be RIGHT under your feet in space if it hasn't floated away
  
  Excellent!

I always remember it by the anagram in letters
P.S. port starboard

I only know port vs starboard because of SpongeBob