Q 01/05

Facing forward on a boat, where is starboard?

A) To your right

B) To your left

C) Straight ahead

D) Behind you

Answer · why

A) To your right

The name comes from Old English steorbord, the 'steer side', because early ships were steered with an oar on that side.

Q 02/05

Why was the steering oar on early ships placed on the starboard side?

A) Prevailing winds blew that way

B) Roman law required it

C) Most people are right-handed

D) Sails were hung on the other side

Answer · why

C) Most people are right-handed

The result was that ships docked on the opposite side, which became the 'port' or loading side.

Q 03/05

What was the older name for the port side of a ship, changed in the 1500s?

A) Leeboard

B) Windward

C) Loadside

D) Larboard

Answer · why

D) Larboard

It came from 'ladebord' or loading side, and was dropped partly because it sounded too much like starboard when shouted.

Q 04/05

Which manoeuvre turns a boat's bow through the wind so the wind moves to the other side?

A) Jibing

B) Heaving to

C) Tacking

D) Reefing

Answer · why

C) Tacking

A series of them in a zig-zag lets a boat make progress toward a destination directly upwind.

Q 05/05

A jibe (or gybe) turns which part of the boat through the wind?

A) The bow

B) The keel

C) The mast

D) The stern

Answer · why

D) The stern

An accidental one can send the boom swinging violently across the cockpit, which is why sailors call 'gybe-oh'.