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The thing I realized this last few days is that the earth is a big place.
Sep 10, 2025
We must free ourselves of the hope that the sea will ever rest. We must learn to sail in high winds.
Spirits rise as the sails fill... Gone is the sea's glassy surface, and with it the terrible glare. Close the hatches and ports! We're sailing again!
It's remarkable how quickly a good and favorable wind can sweep away the maddening frustrations of shore living.
I can't wait for the oil wells to run dry, for the last gob of black, sticky muck to come oozing out of some remote well. Then the glory of sail will return.
No pessimist ever discovered the secret of the stars, or sailed to an uncharted land, or opened a new doorway for the human spirit.
The greatest thing in this world is not so much where we stand as in what direction we are moving.
If you live a life of make-believe, your life isn't worth anything until you do something that does challenge your reality. And to me, sailing the open ocean is a real challenge, because it's life or death.
A sea captain when he stands upon the bridge, or looks out from his deck-house, thinks much about God and about the world. Away in the valley yonder among the corn and the poppies men may well forget all things except the warmth of the sun upon the face, and the kind shadow under the hedge; but he who journeys through storm and darkness must needs think and think.
Would you learn the secret of the sea? Only those who brave its dangers, comprehend its mystery!
The only way to get a good crew is to marry one.
O Captain my Captain! our fearful trip is done, / The ship has weathered every rack, the prize we sought is won
To reach a port we must set sail
Whenever I find myself growing grim about the mouth; whenever it is a damp, drizzly November in my soul; whenever I find myself involuntarily pausing before coffin warehouses, and bringing up the rear of every funeral I meet; and especially whenever my hypos get such an upper hand of me, that it requires a strong moral principle to prevent me from deliberately stepping into the street, and methodically knocking people's hats off - then, I account it high time to get to sea as soon as I can.
The chance for mistakes is about equal to the number of crew squared.
The ocean has always been a salve to my soul.
You do not ask a tame seagull why it needs to disappear from time to time toward the open sea. It goes, that's all.
I must go down to the sea again For the call of the running tide It's a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied.
I don't know who named them swells. There's nothing swell about them. They should have named them awfuls.
I must down to the seas again, to the vagrant gypsy life, To the gull's way and the whale's way where the wind's like a whetted knife And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow rover, And quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick's over.
If a man is to be obsessed by something, I suppose a boat is as good as anything, perhaps a bit better than most.
It is not the ship so much as the skillful sailing that assures the prosperous voyage.
The desire to build a house is the tired wish of a man content thenceforward with a single anchorage. The desire to build a boat is the desire of youth, unwilling yet to accept the idea of a final resting place.
I am a citizen of the most beautiful nation on earth, a nation whose laws are harsh yet simple, a nation that never cheats, which is immense and without borders, where life is lived in the present. In this limitless nation, this nation of wind, light, and peace, there is no other ruler besides the sea.
O Captain! My Captain! our fearful trip is done.
Give a man a fish and feed him for a day. Give him a fishing lesson and he'll sit in a boat drinking beer every weekend.
A lot of people attack the sea, I make love to it.
My soul is full of longing for the secret of the sea, and the heart of the great ocean sends a thrilling pulse through me.
Hark, now hear the sailors cry, smell the sea, and feel the sky let your soul & spirit fly, into the mystic.
Why do we love the sea? It is because it has some potent power to make us think things we like to think.
The sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever.
The cure for anything is salt water: sweat, tears or the sea.
Smell the sea and feel the sky.
My soul is full of longing for the secret of the sea
Any damn fool can navigate the world sober. It takes a really good sailor to do it drunk.
The sea is as near as we come to another world.
I find the great thing in this world is not so much where we stand, as in what direction we are moving: To reach the port of heaven, we must sail sometimes with the wind and sometimes against it, but we must sail, and not drift, nor lie at anchor.
To reach a port, we must sail - sail, not tie at anchor - sail, not drift.
The planning stage of a cruise is often just as enjoyable as the voyage itself, letting one's imagination loose on all kinds of possibilities. Yet translating dreams into reality means a lot of practical questions have to be answered.
To young men contemplating a voyage I would say go.
The fishermen know that the sea is dangerous and the storm terrible, but they have never found these dangers sufficient reason for remaining ashore.
It isn't that life ashore is distasteful to me. But life at sea is better.
To reach a port we must sail, sometimes with the wind, and sometimes against it. But we must not drift or lie at anchor.
A ship in port is safe, but that's not what ships are built for.
later down the road of life, i made the discovery that salt water was also good for the mental abrasions one inevitably acquires on land.
When you can’t change the direction of the wind — adjust your sails
I can't change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination.
He is the best sailor who can steer within fewest points of the wind, and exact a motive power out of the greatest obstacles.
And the winds and the waves are always on the side of the ablest navigators.
If you don't know where you're going any road will do