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Sailor talk
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There are a million little
tricks for memorizing different aspects of the sailor’s language. Some
are quite helpful, others only add to the confusion. Well far be it from
me to let it pass without weighing in with my own contribution to the din
of gimmickry.
For memorizing the difference port and starboard and
their corresponding lights, there is a surprisingly simple method. Which
side of the boat is the starboard side? Well, let’s see, the word
"starboard" is longer than the word "port". And the
word "right" is longer than the word "left". So the
starboard side of the boat must be the right-hand side of the boat.
But what of the lights? You guessed it; the word
"green" is longer than the word "red". So the
starboard or right side of the boat will carry the green light, all the
words being longer than those on the port, or left side which carries the
red light.
The only problem with this method is that the beginning
sailor will tend to assume that by this logic, the starboard side of the
boat is actually longer than the port side. That’s fine. Simply explain
that that is where all the weather-helm is coming from. |
* * * * * * * *
That brings to mind the story of the old captain. He
sailed a charter boat for years. Every morning, before he would start out
his sail, he would go to his private locker, take out a piece of paper, read it,
then put it back. At lunch time, he would do the same - go to his locker,
take out a piece of paper, read it, then put it back.
He would do this 2 or 3 times a day - and for all the years that
he sailed. His crew always wondered what it was that he was reading, and
always thought it was a prayer for safety. Whenever they asked him about
it, he would say it was his own private inspiration, but would never tell anyone
what was on that slip of paper.
Years later, the old captain finally went to his sailboat in the
sky. After they held his burial at sea from his boat, one of his longtime
crew went to the captain's locker and looked for the slip of paper that he read
every day. He figured it would be fitting to set it off to sea along with
the old captain.
When the crewmember found the slip of paper, he was surprised to
see that it read:
Port: left; Starboard: right.
Sailor talk
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