My trick to remember port is by thinking of it as a boating action- "I have left port".
I took the Coast Guard Auxillary boater course when I bought my boat and it was excellent. I think it is or was $25, 8-4 on a Sat and included pizza for lunch. Lots of good info that I still use everytime I am on the water: tying knots, navigation rules, safety rules, tips to loading and unloading, docking in current or wind in tight quarters. For me it was a day very well spent, going into I greatly underestimated how much useful stuff I would learn. David Maul was the instructor and he was listed in the phone book.
