Set the Watch

To muster the crew aft at 8 p. m., on the day of leaving port, and divide the ship's company into two watches, named starboard and port watches respectively. The starboard watch, which is the captain's watch, always stands the first watch out, and the port watch, which is the mate's watch, stands the first watch on the home voyage. If the vessel carries a second mate, he always stands the captain's watch.