Term used to refer to the right-hand side of the vessel when facing forward. The origin of the word is divided, with the most widely used theories coming from medieval Nordic boats that used a long oar serving as a rudder (styriboard = rudder side) or from the English, when referring to the side where the unknown sea and the stars lay (Starboard), as their caravels sailed down the Atlantic Ocean heading south. The opposite of starboard is port.