hard to port
Steer sharply left
Hard to port is a nautical command meaning turn the ship's bow sharply to the left—port being the left side of a vessel when facing forward.
The "hard" indicates maximum rudder deflection, demanding the sharpest possible turn: Hard to port! There's a reef ahead!
The phrase appears in maritime contexts and naval fiction.
- helmVessel's steering mechanism
- rudderPivoting stern blade
- tillerBoat steering lever
- nauticalOf ships and sailing
- shipSeagoing transport vessel
ship's wheel · captain · wheel · navigate · dead reckoning · left · stern · bow · deck · sailor · sea legs · command · all hands on deck · vessel · turn · sharp · steer · bridge
- Nautical Idiomsbatten down the hatches, all hands on deck, smooth sailing, three sheets to the wind, in the same boat
- nautical termsahoy, afloat, aye aye, aye-aye, becalmed
- pilotagepilots, harbor pilots, pilot boat, marine pilots, river pilots