Last year for some unknown reason the only outside
decoration on my son’s home, which is directly across the street from mine,
were two lights, entry lights to his garage actually, one was green and the
other was red. I was reluctant to
discuss the matter because he was recently off from a divorce and I wasn’t sure
what the custody of outside decorations entailed.
I was sure of one thing however. The lights were reversed. Red was on the right of the entry and green
was on the left. This was wrong!
How did I know that?
It might have been because I spent twenty-five years as a Navy Dentist,
riding two carriers along the way. Or it
might have been that when I was a teen, my cousin and I competitively sailed a
14’ C Class sailboat on Clear Lake in Iowa for several summers. It might even have been that when we rented a
boat at Hilton Head South Carolina Yacht Club, part of the instruction of going
through the locks to the Inland Waterway included which buoy light should be
where upon leaving and returning.
Sean, Tim and granddaughter Lauren in Hilton Head |
Wherever the knowledge came from and however it was
reinforced, I know that red (Port) is on the left going in and green
(Starboard) is on the right. And so I reminded Sean. I also asked what the reason for the lights
was as decoration. He responded by
telling me the season colors inspired him.
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Sea Buoy |
I was reminded of a story from my Navy years: a very
successful strategist was always noted as going to his cabin and covertly
opening a desk drawer where he would read a piece of paper immediately upon
casting off. His shipmates wondered what
was on the paper that gave him such tactical success and when he was killed
during a battle, his First Lieutenant, rummaged through his pockets, found the
key and rushed below to see what was on the paper. He found a single sheet with
the single sentence, “Port is left, Starboard, right.”
It turns out the reason for the terms comes from ancient
sailing, where the single “steering” oar at the back of the ship was on the
right of the hull or the “Star” side because it was needed to keep the ship
close to the dock and the manning sailor was usually right handed. A similar explanation, but not the term
explains why Polo mallets are swung from the right and the General’s Aide sits
at his left, because both the rider and the aide used to wear swords on the
left making mounting a horse or defending a king a factor in custom.
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Port side of Queen Mary 2 |
The red and green lights are used to stay in the
channel, to make one’s way upstream, and to set rules on who has water right of
way. This is codified in navigation
through the International Association of Lighthouse Authorities, should you wish to check it out. I have supplied
the link.
In my next post I will explain why the closing of a
local restaurant, The Cottage, has special significance for me and my
family. I hope you will stop by.
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