eastbound TA which side is better?

[waterbabyfish]

getting ready to book a eastbound ta to southhampton,I can choose any side of the ship and I prefer as far aft as I can get in a balcony stateroom because we spend a lot of time out on the balcony. So all your advice is welcomed.

[martincath]

Starboard would be sunnier going eastbound in the north atlantic - so depending on time of year/how good you find ship AC/Heating to be, that could make a difference (the old fable that POSH stands for Port Outbound, Starboard Home originated precisely because of this issue, so sailing from the UK you would have theoretically have desirable amounts of sun and shade).

 

[waterbabyfish]

so if your standing on the stern of the ship looking towards the bow, starboard would be on my right, correct? Regal princess TA to Southampton.

Edited February 6, 2020 by waterbabyfish
wrote in left when i meant right

[2552phxcrzr]

Looking towards the bow, starboard is right and port is left.  The way I remind myself is that both port and left are four letters.

[martincath]

Yep - other mnemonic devices include 'longer/shorter words match' (Starboard has more letters than than Port, Right more than Left) which also helps remember which side the different navigation light colours go (green is longer than red, so green is on starboard and red on port side).

 

And of course those of us who learned to drive on the left side of the road, i.e. sitting in the right-hand side of the vehicle to control it, instinctively know that you steer from the right - which is also why the word starboard ('steer board') exists in reference to the side of the water vessel, as overwhelmingly people are right-handed so a steering oar is easier to handle with your right hand. Which then lead to port referring to the other side as docking with that side on land meant you could leave your steering oar attached and in the water instead of having to lift it into the boat every time... although the word 'port' was more commonly talking about wine until the 1840s when the UK and US navies banned 'larboard' - the older term, from 'lade board' or the side you loaded the boat from (many other languages still use some derivation of 'land board' or 'back board'). Since it sounds similar to starboard, you can imagine that in heavy weather or over engine noise, gunfire etc. confusion between shouted directions is much less likely when using Port rather than Larboard.

 

Betcha never forget it now 😉

[Jim_Iain]

On 2/6/2020 at 10:23 AM, 2552phxcrzr said:

Looking towards the bow, starboard is right and port is left.  The way I remind myself is that both port and left are four letters.

LOL.... that's how I remember it also