"Jeff" wrote
| Its the same question as before - does the port and starboard side
| change if you're going backwards?


No. Port and starboard is fixed. It's part of the boat. That's why there's a green light on the starboard side
and a red light on the port side. You have a right hand and you have a left hand. If you walk backwards your right
hand is still your right hand and your left hand is still your left hand.
Rule 34 says in the first sentence says "a power driven vessel underway." The second paragraph says
"the whistle signals prescribed in paragraph (a). It means prescribed for power driven vessels because that's
all they talk about in the first paragraph. Nowhere does it say a sailboat has to do whistle signals. It's only
talking about power boats.

Cheers,
Ellen