On board a pirate ship:
-Captain, on the right I can see a ship full of gold!
-Sailor, speak correctly – replies the captain – it is called starboard!
-Captain, on the right I can see a ship full of starboard
Explanation
Although pirates were quite terrifying bandits, we like to think of them as normal people: we find it funny that such hard and resolute seamen can make such silly mistakes. That is what this joke is all about.
From what we can see, the pirate who answers is ignorant to something as basic while on a ship as knowing what is port (left) and starboard (right). He is also quite a pig-headed person: upon the captain correcting him he thinks that starboard is not a side of the ship, but a term, perhaps nautical, to describe gold.
We are left imagining the fearsome captain looking at the surprised sailor, probably with eyes like saucers or squinting his eyes through the stress of realizing just how stupid his subordinates really are. Maybe the next time he will hire more competent people, retire from the pirating world or at least start to save up some ‘starboard’ so that he can soon retire.
SPANISH
En un barco pirata:
-Capitán, a la derecha veo un barco lleno de oro.
-Marinero, hable bien – responde el capitán - ¡se dice “estribor”!
-Capitán, a la derecha veo un barco lleno de estribor.
Explicación
Aunque los piratas fueron terroríficos bandidos nos gusta pensar en ellos como gente normal: nos resulta cómico que unos marinos duros y resueltos pueden tener errores tontos. Y este chiste precisamente trata sobre eso.
Por lo que sabemos, el pirata que responde desconoce algo tan básico en un barco como saber qué es babor (izquierda) o estribor (derecha). También es una persona muy cabezona: al corregirle el capitán piensa que babor no es un lado del barco, sino un término, quizá náutico, para describir el oro.
Nos imaginamos entonces al temible capitán mirando al marinero extrañado, quizá con los ojos como platos o guiñando un ojo por puro estrés al darse cuenta de lo tontos que son sus subordinados. Quizá la próxima vez contrate a gente más capaz, se retire del mundo de la piratería… o comience a ahorrar mucho “estribor” para poder jubilarse.