Ships and Sailing Quotes

"The man who has experienced shipwreck shudders even at a calm sea."

- Ovid, Poet

"The fishermen know that the sea is dangerous and the storm terrible, but they have never found these dangers sufficient reason for remaining ashore."

- Vincent Van Gogh, Painter

"It is not that life ashore is distasteful to me. But life at sea is better."

- Sir Francis Drake, Sea Captain

"Until you have the courage to lose sight of the shore, you will not know the terror of being forever lost at sea."

- Charles Cook

"We must free ourselves of the hope that the sea will ever rest. We must learn to sail in high winds."

- Aristotle Onassis, Shipping Magnate

"The wind and the waves are always on the side of the ablest navigator."

- Edmund Gibbon, Historian

"Twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than those you did. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from safe harbor. Catch the wind in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."

- Mark Twain, Great American Writer

"There is nothing more enticing, disenchanting, and enslaving than the life at sea."

- Joseph Conrad, Writer

"It is not the ship so much as the skillful sailing that assures the prosperous voyage."

- George William Curtis, Writer

"He who lets the sea lull him into a sense of security is in very grave danger."

- Hammond Ines, Novelist

"The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails."

- William Arthur Ward, Writer

"When a man comes to like a sea life, he is not fit to live on land."

- Dr. Samuel Johnson, Writer

"There is nothing - absolutely nothing - half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats."

- Kenneth Grahame, Writer

"There is nothing like lying flat on your back on the deck, alone except for the helmsman aft at the wheel, silence except for the lapping of the sea against the side of the ship. At that time you can be equal to Ulysses and brother to him."

- Errol Flynn, Actor

"The cabin of a small yacht is truly a wonderful thing; not only will it shelter you from a tempest, but from the other troubles in life, it is a safe retreat."

- Francis Herreshoff, Boat Designer

"I wanted freedom, open air and adventure. I found it on the sea."

- Alaine Gerbault, Sailor

"A sailor is an artist whose medium is the wind. Live passionately, even if it kills you, because something is going to kill you anyway."

- Webb Chiles, Sailor

"At sea, I learned how little a person needs, not how much."

- Robin Lee Graham, Sailor

"Never in my life before have I experienced such beauty, and fear at the same time"

- llen MacArthur, Sailor