[Destroyer]

Spareparts is exactly right. The ship on the left is required by law to manuver away from the ship on the right, and the best way to do that is simply to cross behind the ship on the right.

This is the way that the rule for which boat has the right of way came about . Back when boats had only sails and the rudder was a board lashed to the starboard side of the boat. That board was called the steering board. (Think Viking longboats) [This is where we got the term starboard btw... steering board became steerboard became starboard through the years.. The steering board side of the ship was the right side since most people are right handed and their strong arm is their right arm, so they lashed the steering board to the right side of the ship]. Ships were usually piled high with cargo and so it was difficult for the person steering the boat while standing on the back, right side of the boat to see off to his left side. His vision was blocked a lot of the time by the cargo. When there were two boats crossing each other the boat on the left side had a clear field of vision towards the boat on the right side cause there was no cargo in his way. So the rule became that the boat with the clear field of vision had to manuver out of the way of the boat with the limited vision.. and thus was born the rule of the road that the boat on the starboard side always has the right of way.

(And as a side note, since the steering board was always lashed to the right side of the ship, when the ship was tied up at the dock they would always tie the boat up with the left side of the boat facing the dock to prevent the steering board from being broken by rubbing on the pilings..and that's why the left side of a ship is known as the "port" side)

Class dismissed.. :)