Friday, January 26, 2018

A Primer on Basic Nautical Terms


Nashville-based photographer Benjamin “Ben” Perlin maintains a special interest in working with vintage camera equipment as well as processing his photos in a traditional darkroom setting. Outside of his photography work, Benjamin Perlin enjoys sailing.

When traveling in a sailboat, or any other sea vessel, one might notice a special vernacular used to delineate parts of the ship as well as the different directions. For those first starting out, it’s important to get a sense of the fundamental terms and what they mean, as many of the more advanced terms refer back to them. The two major directions used in nautical terminology are port and starboard.

It’s important to note that these directions are not fixed, such as west and east, but are relative to the front (or bow) of the ship. For example, when facing the bow, the port side of the ship is to the left while the starboard side is to the right. This does not change. When facing the rear (or stern) of the ship, the port side of the ship is now to the right and starboard is to the left.