Helpful (or not so helpful) hints: Ship directions

How many of you out there have been reading a book where the characters are on a ship? And how many of you have read about your characters saying things like "Pirates off the starboard bow!" or "What's going on aft?". And how many of you have absolutely no idea what they are saying?
That was me about fifteen minutes ago.
So, to help out those that have the same problem, I have listed basic ship directions and a picture of a ship pointing out different parts. Good luck to you!

Port- Left side of the ship
Starboard- Right side of the ship
Aft- The back side
Bow- Front side

Picture from
http://nytcrosswordingothicmisc.blogspot.com/2009/04/parts-of-ship.html