Which side of a ship is starboard?

Answer 1

The earliest English ships had a rudder on the side, not at the back (astern) as is usually the case today. Like a modern rudder, it resembled a board. The "steer-board" was on the right-hand side of the vessel.

Although it's a coincidence, it is helpful to remember that English cars still have their steering gear on the right.
The term "Starboard" comes from early vessels which had a "Steering Oar", wider than the rest for propulsion. The modern term for that today is a "Rudder".

The steering oar was located at the vessel's stern (rear), and most people then, as now, were right handed. Thus, the steering oar was located on the right side of the vessel.

The etymology of "Starboard" comes from the Old English word "Steorbord", which literally means "Side on which ship is steered".

Also, the term "Larboard" was originally the term used for the Port side (left) of a vessel. Larboard is derived from the practice of mooring vessels on the left side to protect the steering oar from being damaged by water action (e.g., tides, storms, etc.). The term was changed to "Port" because the two terms sound similar, and in the heat of battle or in an emergency where clear orders and communication is required, mistaking one for the other could lead to disaster.

For navigation, each side of the ship is denoted by a Red or Green light, Red being Port and Green being Starboard. However, this is not where the term "Port Wine" comes from.

It is crucial for ships at sea during night hours to know visually the orientation of any vessel so they can determine if the other ship's course will be a hazard to their own.

For more information, see the related Wikiepedia link listed below:
From Wikipedia: The origin of the term comes from early boating practices. Before ships had rudders on their centerlines, they were steered by use of a specialized steering oar. This oar was held by an oarsman located in the stern (back) of the ship. However, like most of the rest of society, there were many more right-handed sailors than left-handed sailors. This meant that the steering oar (which had been broadened to provide better control) used to be affixed to the right side of the ship. The word starboard comes from Old English steorbord, literally meaning the side on which the ship is steered, descendant from the Old Norse words stýri meaning "rudder" (from the verb stýra, literally "being at the helm", "having a hand in") and borð meaning etymologically "board", then the "side of a ship". Similarly, the term for the left side of the boat, port or larboard, is derived from the practice of sailors mooring on the left side (i.e., the larboard or loading side) as to prevent the steering boards from being crushed. Because the words larboard and starboard sounded too similar to be easily distinguished, larboard was changed to port.

Answer 2

No. The left side facing forward is the port side, leaving the starboard side on the right when facing forward. A good explanation and history of the term is found on Wikipedia.org "starboard."

I only want to add the regardless of the direction you are facing, from bow the left side is always the Port side and right side is always the Starboard side. So if facing aft on the vessel you place your left hand on the rail, it is still on the starboard side rail.

Answer 3

It would be the right side of the ship as you face the bow.

Answer 4

Starboard. left is port.