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Money can't buy you happiness, but it can buy you a yacht big enough to pull up right alongside it.

Land was created to provide a place for boats to visit.

It isn't that life ashore is distasteful to me. But life at sea is better.

The ocean has always been a salve to my soul.

As soon as you set foot on a yacht you belong to some man, not to yourself, and you die of boredom.

Having a yacht is a reason for being more cheerful than most.

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

There never was a great man yet who spent all his life inland.

And the winds and the waves are always on the side of the ablest navigators.

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

Anyone who has to ask about the annual upkeep of a yacht can't afford one.

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.

I always say that a girl never really looks as well as she does on board a steamship, or even a yacht.

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

Men in a ship are always looking up, and men ashore are usually looking down.

A small craft in an ocean is, or should be, a benevolent dictatorship.

Of all the things that man has made, no is so full of interest and charm, none possesses so distinct a life and character of its own, as a ship.

A ship is always referred to as 'she' because it costs so much to keep one in paint and powder.

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.

To young men contemplating a voyage I would say go.

Any damn fool can navigate the world sober. It takes a really good sailor to do it drunk.

Seagulls . . . slim yachts of the element.

The greatest pleasure when I started making money was not buying cars or yachts but finding myself able to have as many freshly typed drafts as possible.

At Christmas you can get real bargains. I saw one item marked down ten dollars. It was a yacht.

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Navigate Sailing Adventure Blog

How to Get Your Sea Legs

This blog chronicles the good, the bad, and the ugly about living on a boat and sailing the world. Named one of Feedspot’s BEST SAILING BLOGS of 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023.

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75 of the Most Epic and Inspirational Sailing Quotes

The most awesome collection of quotes about sailing and yachting you don’t have to be a sailor to find inspiration from these insightful quotes from veteran sailors, authors, poets, celebrities, sports heroes, businessmen, and world travelers. with 75 instagrammable and pinnable images, you may even find some inspiration from some of my adventures sailing the world.  .

By Michelle Segrest, Navigate Sailing – How to Get Your Sea Legs

While many people think sailing is all smooth seas, sunshine, sunsets, and beautiful beaches, it’s also a lot of hard work and can be incredibly challenging. Sometimes we just need a little inspiration or some friendly reminders about why we continue to battle the seasickness and the fear and the storms to reach that personal nirvana and freedom that comes from being one with the sea.

If I included all the quotes from which I’ve found inspiration through the years, the list would stretch across all the world’s oceans. Therefore, I’m only including my 75 favorites—some of them are personal and from my own sailing adventures and experiences. I realize some of the most popular and classic inspirational sailing quotes are missing from this list, so please leave your favorites in the comments!

Inspirational Sailing Quotes from Seasoned Sailors

“There is no better tool or equipment you can have on board than a well-trained crew.” —Larry Pardey

2. "To desire nothing beyond what you have is surely happiness. Aboard a boat, it is frequently possible to achieve just that. That is why sailing is a way of life, one of the finest of lives." ―Carleton Mitchell

3. "Confronting a storm is like fighting God. All the powers in the universe seem to be against you and, in an extraordinary way, your irrelevance is at the same time both humbling and exalting." ―Francis LeGrande

4. "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

5. "If you are going to do something, do it now. Tomorrow is too late." —Pete Goss

6. "It's remarkable how quickly a good and favorable wind can sweep away the maddening frustrations of shore living.” — Ernest K. Gann

7. "A sailing vessel is alive in a way that no ship with mechanical power ever be." —Aubrey de Selincourt

8. “If you can’t repair it, maybe it shouldn’t be on board.” —Lin and Larry Pardey

Inspirational Sailing Quotes from Authors and Poets

9. “I am the master of my fate. I am the captain of my soul.” —William Ernest Henley

10. “How inappropriate it is to call this planet Earth, when clearly it is Sea.” —Arthur C. Clarke

11. “It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end.” – Ernest Hemingway

12. “I was amazed that what I needed to survive could be carried on my back. And, most surprising of all, that I could carry it.” —Cheryl Strayed

13. "Ships are the nearest things to dreams that hands have ever made, for somewhere deep in their oaken hearts the soul of a song is laid." —Robert N. Rose 

14. “The most challenging times bring us the most empowering lessons.” —Karen Salmansohn

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

16. "The sea speaks a language polite people never repeat. It is a colossal scavenger slang and has no respect." ―Carl Sandburg

17. "The sea finds out everything you did wrong." ―Francis Stokes

18. "Confronting a storm is like fighting God. All the powers in the universe seem to be against you and, in an extraordinary way, your irrelevance is at the same time both humbling and exalting." ―Francis LeGrande

19. "Sailors, with their built-in sense of order, service and discipline, should really be running the world." — Nicholas Monsarrat

20. "No pessimist ever discovered the secrets of the stars, or sailed to an uncharted land, or opened a new heaven to the human spirit." —Helen Keller

21. “On a day when the wind is perfect, the sail just needs to open and the world is full of beauty.” — Rumi

22. "Now and then we had a hope that if we lived and were good, God would permit us to be Pirates" —Mark Twain

23. "And after two days in civilization we realized we could never stay for long and started to plan our next adventure." —Bob Bitchin (Letters from the Lost Soul)

24. “When your life is moving too fast and you find yourself in chaos, introduce yourself to each color of the sunset.” —Christy Ann Martine

25. “We are all apprentices in a craft where no one ever becomes a master.” —Ernest Hemingway

26. “In the end, we only regret the chances we didn’t take.” — Lewis Carroll

27. “You can. You should. And if you are brave enough to start, you will.” —Stephen King

28. "Land was created to provide a place for boats to visit." —Brooks Atkinson

29. “The question isn’t who’s going to let me; it’s who’s going to stop me.” —Ayn Rand

Inspirational Sailing Adventure Blog Quotes

Sailing the Baltic Sea

Read more about the memories from my first week at sea when we set sail from Stralsund, Germany on Aug. 19, 2018 on a worldwide sailing voyage.

30. “The Baltic Sea is a bitch! But I love her.” —Michelle Segrest

31. “It’s in moments like these that you forget how soothing the sea can be, and you remember its power and force.” —Michelle Segrest

32. “We can battle the sea, or we can embrace it. Sometimes she will be sweet and sometimes mean as a snake. We must embrace the experience and trust we will get through it.” —Michelle Segrest

Sailing the Bay of Biscay

Crossing the Bay of Biscay is a rite of passage for all sailors. It was grueling, but also rewarding when we made it to the other side. Learn more about the Bay of Biscay and why it is feared among sailors.

33. “As soon as we entered the Bay of Biscay, we knew it. Things started getting uncomfortable immediately.” —Michelle Segrest

34. “There are ships much bigger and heavier than ours sitting at the bottom of The Bay of Biscay. Don’t think for a minute that wasn’t on my mind.” —Michelle Segrest

35. “Sometimes when you are sailing you have periods of heavy waves with breaks of calm smooth waters. We had zero breaks from the heavy waves. They just kept coming.” —Michelle Segrest

Sailing the North Sea

Read about how I battled and overcame fear while sailing the North Sea at night in heavy traffic and eventually began to trust my ship and embrace the night watch.

36. “Our sailing vessel protects us from the hostile sea. In return for her protection, we keep her in deep waters. We steer her away from obstacles. We show her the way home, and she takes us there—safely and securely.” —Michelle Segrest

A Whale Encounter While Sailing from Morocco to the Canary Islands

Some moments at sea make all the seasickness and hard work and challenging times totally worth it! This was one of them!  Read about this spectacular eye-to-eye encounter with a whale.

37. “Our whale continued to circle us and was very curious. At one point he swam right next to Seefalke’s port side, turned onto his side and looked right at us.” —Michelle Segrest

38. “All those hours of being sick and uncomfortable were only a distant memory now and totally worth it for 40 minutes of a glorious encounter with this gentle giant of the sea.” —Michelle Segrest

Learning to Sail

You never forget your first sailing experiences. As I began learning to sail on The Baltic Sea in 2013, I began to fall in love with the art of sailing and the sea. Read about my first sailing experience and my Top 10 Tips for Beginning Sailors.

39. “In losing complete awareness of time, I felt pure freedom. I was becoming one with the sea.” —Michelle Segrest

40. “Learning to sail is a lifetime commitment and not just a one-course seminar.” —Michelle Segrest

41. “When you sail for the first time, you have one of two experiences. It becomes a one-time, bucket-list thing you check off your list, or it becomes a part of your soul forever.” —Michelle Segrest

Adjusting to Living Full-Time on a Sailboat

It took a while to get used to living full-time on a sailboat while sailing the world . Read about how to make the adjustment to a life at sea and what it’s really like to live life sideways.

42. “I noticed all the many bruises and cuts and scrapes that seem to have tattooed my limbs—battle scars of a true sailor that are telling the story of my journey.” —Michelle Segrest

43. “If you nurse every wound you get on a sailboat, you will spend all your time nursing wounds. It’s best to just blurt a four-letter word and keep going.” —Michelle Segrest

44. “When you live on a sailboat, you learn to live on at least a 20-degree tilt. You sleep on a tilt. You cook on a tilt. You pee on a tilt. You are just sideways—all the time.” —Michelle Segrest

45. “This is a grand experience, and I’m grateful every day for the opportunity to challenge myself. But I can’t pretend it’s all sailing and sunshine all the time.” —Michelle Segrest

Sailing the Spanish Atlantic Coast

Read about how we found adventure in unexpected places while discovering the best private beaches in Spain as we sailed along the Spanish Atlantic Coast.

46. “Adventure comes in all shapes and sizes. It can be dramatic or poetic, heart pounding or profound. It can be all of the above or something totally and completely unexpected.” —Michelle Segrest

47. “Perhaps you have experienced this personal nirvana that makes you continue to want and need the next special experience. I believe this is what makes your passion a part of your heart and soul and not just a hobby.” —Michelle Segrest 

Inspirational Sailing Quotes from Sports Heroes

48. “Be bold. If you're going to make an error, make a doozy, and don't be afraid to hit the ball." —Billie Jean King

49. “Set your goals high and don’t stop till you get there.” —Bo Jackson

50. “What makes something special is not just what you have to gain, but what you feel there is to lose.” —Andre Agassi

51. “Courage, sacrifice, determination, commitment, toughness, heart, talent, guts. That's what little girls are made of; the heck with sugar and spice.” —Bethany Hamilton

Inspirational Sailing Quotes from Celebrities and Artists

52. “You need something to open up a new door, to show you something you seen before but overlooked a hundred times or more.” —Bob Dylan

53. “Jobs fill your pocket, but adventures fill your soul.” —Jamie Lyn Beatty

54. “You are the one that possesses the keys to your being. You carry the passport to your own happiness.” —Diane von Furstenberg

55. “If you obey all the rules, you miss all the fun.”  —Katharine Hepburn

56. “Every man gotta right to decide his own destiny.” —Bob Marley

57. "If your ship doesn’t come in, swim out and meet it. " —Jonathan Winters

58. “You can waste your lives drawing lines. Or you can live your life crossing them.” — Shonda Rhimes

Inspirational Sailing Quotes from World Travelers and Adventurers

59. “Traveling—it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller.” –Ibn Battuta

60. “The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity.” —Amelia Earhart

61. "I wanted freedom, open air and adventure. I found it on the sea." — Alaine Gerbault, French Aviator

Inspirational Sailing Quotes from Business Leaders

62. “One of the greatest discoveries a person makes, one of their great surprises, is to find they can do what they were afraid they couldn’t do.” — Henry Ford

63. “If you talk about it, it’s a dream, if you envision it, it’s possible, but if you schedule it, it’s real.”— Tony Robbins

64. “If you really want to do something, you’ll find a way. If you don’t, you’ll find an excuse.”— Jim Rohn

65. “The big challenge is to become all that you have the possibility of becoming. You cannot believe what it does to the human spirit to maximize your human potential and stretch yourself to the limit.”— Jim Rohn

66. “Live your life by a compass, not a clock.” —Stephen R. Covey

Inspirational Sailing Quotes from Movies

67. “The big boats get the glory, but small boats make the sailor.”— From the movie “Wind”

68. "Now—bring me that horizon.” —Captain Jack Sparrow, The last line from “Pirates of the Caribbean”

69. "That's what a ship is, you know—it's not just a keel and a hull and a deck and sails, that's what a ship needs. But what a ship is, really is, is freedom." — Captain Jack Sparrow, “Pirates of the Caribbean”

70. “Not all treasure is silver and gold, mate.” —Captain Jack Sparrow, “Pirates of the Caribbean”

71. “Carpe diem! Seize the day, boys. Make your lives extraordinary.” —From the movie “Dead Poets Society”

Inspirational Sailing Quotes from Surprising and Unknown Sources

72. “There’s a big, wonderful world out there for you. It belongs to you. It’s exciting and stimulating and rewarding. Don’t cheat yourselves out of this promise.” —Nancy Reagan

73. “A bad day sailing is 100 times better than a good day at work.” —Anonymous

74. “I am not afraid. I was born to do this.” —Joan of Arc

75. “The good seaman weathers the storm he cannot avoid and avoids the storm he cannot weather.” —Unknown. This is one of my all-time favorite quotes and is my mantra while at sea. Does anyone know who originally said it?

Please leave your favorite and most inspirational sailing quotes in the comments.

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The 101 Most Inspiring Sailing Quotes For Your Next Adventure

Looking for the best sailing quotes.

Sailing is one of the oldest and most captivating activities in history, so there are a whole lot of sailing quotes all over the internet. You’ll find quotes from famous authors, poets, songwriters, and actors, everyone has something to say about sailing and we don’t blame them!

With every passing year, more people are turning to sailing as a way to find respite from their everyday routines – and as they do, an increasing number of inspiring sailing songs and quotes about sailing have been shared by adventurers around the world.

Perhaps we need to get adding to the list as we embark on our fifth year of living on a sailboat!

In this blog post we’ll explore some of these sailing quotes. Most of them are great for Instagram captions (I know, I’ve used a lot of them!) or you can write them in the front of books when you gift them to people.

Or you can just read and enjoy! It’s totally up to you!

Famous Sailing Quotes

These are timeless sailing quotes that you’re likely to see over and over again, and for good reason. Some of these famous quotes are our absolute favourites!

• “A ship in the harbor is safe, but that’s not what ships are built for.” John A. Shedd, American Author
• “I’m not afraid of storms, for I’m learning how to sail my ship.” Louisa May Alcott, American Poe t
• “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, American Writer
• “One’s destination is never a place, but always a new way of seeing things.” Henry Miller, American Writer & Artist
• “Smell the sea and feel the sky. Let your soul and spirit fly.” Van Morrison, Irish Singer-Songwriter
• “The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails.” William Arthur Ward, American Writer
• “Smooth seas do not make skillful sailors.” Franklin D. Roosevelt, 32nd U.S. President
• “You can never cross the ocean unless you have the courage to lose sight of the shore.” Christopher Columbus, Italian Explorer
• “A man is never lost at sea.” Ernest Hemingway, American Writer
• “If one does not know to which port one is sailing, no wind is favorable.” Seneca, Roman Philosopher
• “A bad day sailing is 100 times better than a good day at work.” Unknown
• “I am the master of my fate. I am the captain of my soul.” William Ernest Henley
• “How inappropriate it is to call this planet Earth, when clearly it is Sea.” Arthur C. Clarke
• “The good seaman weathers the storm he cannot avoid and avoids the storm he cannot weather.” Unknown

Sailing Quotes About Freedom

These quotes will be sure to instill that feeling of freedom and adventure that you find when you’re out sailing. Warning – reading these may well encourage you to head off on a sailing adventure of your own!

15. “It is not that life ashore is distasteful to me. But life at sea is better.” Sir Francis Drake, English Explorer

16. “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, Dutch Post-Impressionist Painter

17. “I wanted freedom, open air, and adventure. I found it on the sea.” Alaine Gerbault, French Sailor

18. “The days pass happily with me wherever my ship sails.” Joshua Slocum, First Person to Single-Hand Circumnavigate

19. “Home is where the anchor drops.” Unknown

20. “It’s remarkable how quickly a good and favorable wind can sweep away the maddening frustrations of shore living.” Ernest K. Gann, American Sailor & Author

21 “On life’s vast ocean, diversely we sail. Reasons the card, but passion the gale.” Alexander Pope, English Poet

22 “Land was created to provide a place for boats to visit.” Brooks Atkinson

23. “There is nothing more enticing, disenchanting, and enslaving than the life at sea.” Joseph Conrad, Polish-British Writer

24. “Flying might not be all plain sailing, but the fun of it is worth the price.” Amelia Earhart, American Aviation Pioneer & Author

25. “For whatever we lose (like a you or a me), it’s always our self we find in the sea.” E.E. Cummings, American Poet & Author

26. “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

27. “The sail, the play of its pulse so like our own lives: so thin and yet so full of life, so noiseless when it labors hardest, so noisy and impatient when least effective.” Henry David Thoreau, American Poet & Philosopher

28. “On a day when the wind is perfect, the sail just needs to open and the world is full of beauty.” Rumi

Weathering Storms Quotes

Sailors face some pretty tough conditions out there, and some great quotes have come from those reflecting on the strength and courage that storms at sea have given them. Sailing can be dangerous . These sailing quotes are great life quotes as well.

29. “There are some things you learn best in calm, and some in storm.” Willa Cather, American Writer

30. “Confronting a storm is like fighting God. All the powers in the universe seem to be against you and, in an extraordinary way, your irrelevance is at the same time both humbling and exalting.” Francis LeGrande

31. “The most challenging times bring us the most empowering lessons.” Karen Salmansohn

32. “The sea finds out everything you did wrong.” Francis Stokes

33. “Any fool can carry on, but a wise man knows how to shorten sail in time.” Joseph Conrad, Polish-British Writer

34. “The sea speaks a language polite people never repeat. It is a colossal scavenger slang and has no respect.” Carl Sandburg

Cruising Quotes

Our favourite sailing quotes sum up what life is really like as a full-time cruiser. It’s not always glamorous, but it’s always an adventure.

If you’re thinking of becoming a full-time liveaboard then we’ve got the ultimate guide for you . Go from landlubber to salty sea dog in no time!

35. “The goal is not to sail the boat, but rather to help the boat sail herself.” John Rousmaniere, American Author

36. “There is no better tool or equipment you can have on board than a well-trained crew.” Larry Pardey , Sailor

37. “A sailing vessel is alive in a way that no ship with mechanical power ever be.” Aubrey de Selincourt

38. “Only two sailors, in my experience, never ran aground. One never left port and the other was an atrocious liar.” Don Bamford, Sailor & Author

39. “We are all apprentices in a craft where no one ever becomes a master.” Ernest Hemingway

40. “If you are going to do something, do it now. Tomorrow is too late.” Pete Goss, British Sailor

41. “To be successful at sea, we must keep things simple.” Pete Culler, Author & Renowned Wooden Boat Builder

42. “Go small, go simple, go now.” Larry Pardey, Sailor & Writer

43. “To desire nothing beyond what you have is surely happiness. Aboard a boat, it is frequently possible to achieve just that. That is why sailing is a way of life, one of the finest of lives.” Carleton Mitchell

44. “At sea, I learned how little a person needs, not how much.” Robin Lee Graham, American Sailor

45. “The lovely thing about cruising is that planning usually turns out to be of little use.” Dom Degnon, Freelance Writer

46. “Cruising is fixing your boat in exotic locations.” Unknown

Sailing Quotes From Novels

Nothing quite matches the feeling of waking up on a sailboat or yacht in the middle of an ocean and living life at its most adventurous.

Sailing quotes from books and novels demonstrate that this kind of experience has been inspiring adventure seekers for decades, expressed by writers who want to capture the unique freedom only found while sailing.

Whether you are just getting started with your sailing journey, or have a lifetime’s worth of experiences, these classic quotes will reconnect you to what makes such an activity so special!

47. “It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end.” Ernest Hemingway

48. “I was amazed that what I needed to survive could be carried on my back. And, most surprising of all, that I could carry it.” Cheryl Strayed

49. “Now and then we had a hope that if we lived and were good, God would permit us to be pirates.” Mark Twain, Life on the Mississippi

50. “Ships are the nearest things to dreams that hands have ever made, for somewhere deep in their oaken hearts the soul of a song is laid.” Robert N. Rose 

51. “To move, to breathe, to fly, to float, To gain all while you give, To roam the roads of lands remote, To travel is to live.” Hans Christian Andersen, The Fairy Tale of My Life: An Autobiography

52. “I knew that if I allowed fear to overtake me, my journey was doomed. Fear, to a great extent, is born of a story we tell ourselves, and so I chose to tell myself a different story from the one women are told. I decided I was safe. I was strong. I was brave. Nothing could vanquish me.” Cheryl Strayed, Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail

53. “The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun.” Christopher McCandless, Into the Wild

Sailing Quotes From The Movies

A love for sailing often stirs within us when the wind picks up and we smell the salty sea. Movies have captured the allure of setting sail, taking that adventurous voyage across a vast ocean, and embracing what lies beyond.

Here is a collection of some of our favorite sailing quotes from the movies – motivating you to get out on open waters!

Whether you’re trying to motivate yourself to jump on an upcoming journey or just appreciate a beautiful day at sea, these sailing lines will undoubtedly hit close to home.

Here’s your invitation: suit up, let down your sails, drop anchor, and join us as we explore these famous words with our inspirational takeaways. Let’s set sail!

Top tip: Watch some of the best sailing YouTube channels to get inspired!

54. “Not all treasure is silver and gold.” Captain Jack Sparrow, Pirates of the Caribbean

55. “They say home is where the heart is, and for most people that consists of four walls and a welcome mat. But for me, it’s the ocean, with the warmth of the sun on my skin.” Bethany Hamilton Soul Surfer

56. “Now…bring me that horizon.” Captain Jack Sparrow, Pirates of the Caribbean

57. “The ocean doesn’t help you. You help yourself!” Dwayne Johnson (as Maui), Moana 

58. “It’s not just a keel and a hull and a deck and sails, that’s what a ship needs but what a ship is…what the Black Pearl really is…is freedom.” Captain Jack Sparrow, Pirates of the Caribbean

Quotes About The Ocean

With the vastness of the ocean and its many mysteries, it’s no surprise that people have been writing about this enchanting body of water for centuries.

From ancient Greek philosophers to modern-day songwriters, each quote captures something different and provides an interesting perspective on this seemingly endless expanse of blue.

Whether you’re looking for inspiration on how to appreciate the beauty of nature or simply need a reminder to savor life’s little moments, read ahead to discover some insightful quotes about the ocean.

Or if you’re looking for something more short and snappy you’ll be wanting the best ocean captions for Instagram .

59. “The sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever.” Jacques Yves Cousteau, French Naval Officer

60. “When your life is moving too fast and you find yourself in chaos, introduce yourself to each color of the sunset.” Christy Ann Martine

61. “We are tied to the ocean. And when we go back to the sea, whether it is to sail or to watch – we are going back from whence we came.” John F. Kennedy, 35th U.S. President

62. “Live in the sunshine, swim the sea, drink the wild air.” Ralph Waldo Emerson, American Philosopher

63. “At the beach, life is different. Time doesn’t move hour to hour but mood to moment. We live by currents, plan by the tides, and follow the sun.” Sandy Gingras, Writer & Illustrator

64. “Dance with the waves, move with the sea, let the rhythm of the water set your soul free.” Christy Ann Martine, Canadian Poet

65. “If there’s a heaven for me, I’m sure it has a beach attached to it.” Jimmy Buffett, American Singer-Songwriter

66. “Every time I slip into the ocean, it’s like going home.” Sylvia Earle, American Marine Biologist

67. “The sea is a desert of waves, a wilderness of water.” Langston Hughes, American Poet

Quotes To Encourage You To Untie The Docklines

Have you ever had a burning desire to strike out on your own but were too afraid or held back by the safety and security of staying within the confines of what’s comfortable?

Maybe it was a job, maybe it was a relationship, or perhaps you yearned for exploration – whatever it may be, know that you’re not alone. The uncertainty and fear associated with leaving comfort zones is felt by many.

To provide some motivation on your journey, here are some inspiring quotes to encourage you to untie those docklines and let the current take hold!

68. “Only those who risk going too far can possibly find out how far they can go.” T.S. Eliot

69. “Don’t be afraid to fail. Be afraid not to try.” Michael Jordan

70. “In the end, we only regret the chances we didn’t take.” Lewis Carroll

71. “If we were meant to stay in one place, we’d have roots instead of feet.” Rachel Wolchin

72. “No pessimist ever discovered the secrets of the stars, or sailed to an uncharted land, or opened a new heaven to the human spirit.” Helen Keller

73. “You can. You should. And if you are brave enough to start, you will.” Stephen King

74. “Until you step into the unknown, you don’t know what you’re made of.” Roy T. Bennett

75. “I am not the same, having seen the moon shine on the other side of the world.” Mary Anne Radmacher

76. “It feels good to be lost in the right direction.” Anonymous

77. “And after two days in civilization we realized we could never stay for long and started to plan our next adventure.” Bob Bitchin (Letters from the Lost Soul)

78. “You’re braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.” Christopher Robin

79. “Jobs fill your pockets, but adventures fill your soul.” Jaime Lyn

Short Sailing Quotes For Instagram

Feel free to pair these quotes with your favorite sailing photos for a touch of inspiration and adventure on your Instagram feed! ⛵️📸✨

80. “Sail away into the horizon and let your worries drift away.” ⛵️✨

81. “Life’s roughest storms prove the strength of our anchors.” ⚓️💪

82. “Smooth seas never made skilled sailors.” 🌊⛵️

83. “Every adventure requires a first step. Mine was setting sail.” 🌟⛵️

84. “Find your direction and set sail towards your dreams.” 🌅⛵️

85. “The ocean stirs the heart, inspires the imagination, and brings eternal joy to the soul.” 🌊❤️

86. “Sail with the wind, explore the unknown, and embrace the journey.” 🌬️⛵️

87. “In the waves of change, we find our true direction.” 🌊🧭

88. “Life is better on a boat.” 🚤💙

89. “Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” ⛵️✨

90. “The ocean is calling, and I must go.” 🌊⛵️

91. “Saltwater heals everything.” 🌊💙

92. “Sailors have the best stories.” ⚓️📖

93. “Life is a journey. Enjoy the sail.” ⛵️✨

94. “Let the sea set you free.” 🌊⚓️

95. “Wind in my sails, salt in my veins.” 🌬️⛵️

96. “Sail more, worry less.” ⛵️😌

97. “Sailing is the ultimate freedom.” ⛵️🌅

98. “Adventure awaits where the sea meets the sky.” 🌊🌌

99. “A smooth sea never made a skilled sailor, but it sure makes for a great day on the water.” 🌊⛵️

100. “Life’s a shipwreck, but we must not forget to sing in the lifeboats.” 🎶⛵️

101. “Happiness comes in waves.” 🌊😊

Conclusion: The Best Sailing Quotes

The best sailing quotes can provide guidance to help any sailor out on the open sea. These quotes range from statements of encouragement to lessons of caution; they provide advice and inspiration that can be appreciated by anyone who loves sailing and exploring the open water.

Even seasoned sailors may find the motivation to push further in the waves after reading these insightful words. You never know when you may need a bit of extra courage and resolve to reach your goals.

No matter what your sailing aspirations are, keep peace within yourself, sail with passion, and hold high hopes for all your upcoming voyages!

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81 Best Sailing Quotes & Captions. Stuff Boaters Really Say.

These ones speak to our salty hearts. in the sea of witty sayings, these verses truly touch us and we find them to be, ah, so true.

Looking for something emotional, spiritual, inspiring? Or, maybe witty, funny, feisty?

I have you covered.

We sailed hundreds of miles; I read through hundreds of quotes and picked the ones which show the many facets of this complicated and amazing life at sea .

You will also like this post: 85 Beloved Sailing Songs (and Karaoke). The Only Playlist you Need.

All of our posts on: Boat Life @ No Texting & Tacking .

81 Best Sailing Quotes

Why do you need sailing quotes? Why 81 of them! Use them whenever you need to:

• Lift up your spirit.
• Need something to go with that great sailing song .
• Have a great thought to accompany your morning coffee.
• Make a custom gift – these are excellent on cups and T-shirts.
• Lighten the mood.
• Say something funny before your say, “Cheers!”

Inspirational Quotes About Sailing

Sailing revealed to us the larger and, in many ways, the better side of our world. I wish I had the words to describe the feelings and emotions out on the water.

But I do not.

So, I offer to you these powerful and inspiring words of others.

1. “You can never cross the ocean unless you have the courage to lose sight of the shore.” – Christopher Columbus

2. “It’s remarkable how quickly a good and favorable wind can sweep away the maddening frustrations of shore living.” – Ernest K. Gann

3. “Sailors, with their built-in sense of order, service and discipline, should really be running the world.” – Nicholas Monsarrat

Be inspired: 45 Epic Sailing Movies We Will Watch Over and Over… 81 Best Sailing Quotes & Captions. Stuff Boaters Really Say.

4. “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

5. “The wind and the waves are always on the side of the ablest navigator.” – Edmund Gibbon

6. “Who is staring at the sea is already sailing a little.” – Paul Carvel

7. “ Remember. It was a professional who built the Titanic, it was an amateur who built Noah’s Ark.” – Vanessa Linsley

Funny Sailing Quotes

If there is one thing all boaters share, it is the sense of humor and the ability to laugh at ourselves.

These funny quotes are not always born out of fun times. But we have all been there.

And we can look back and laugh about it now.

8. Sailing: The fine art of getting wet and becoming ill while slowly going nowhere at great expense. – Henry Beard and Roy Mckie

9. Sorry for what I said when I was docking the boat. – Unknown

10. If you can’t repair it, maybe it shouldn’t be on board. – Lin and Larry Pardey

Boat life: Pros and Cons of Living on a Boat. By Experienced Boaters. Why We Never Missed Space, While Living on a Sailboat

11. “The best bilge pump of all is a bucket in the hands of a frightened man.” – Butch Dalrymple-Smith

12. “Sometimes I wonder if my sailboat is thinking about me too.” – Unknown

13. “A diesel loves her oil same as a sailor loves rum.” – Kurt Russell (Captain Ron), Captain Ron

You might be wondering: Can you Live on a Boat? Yes, and Now is the Right Time. Catamaran vs Monohull: Let’s Solve This (we Lived on Both). The Cost of Living on a Boat for our Family of Five.

14. Land was created to provide a place for boats to visit.” – Brooks Atkinson

15. “To my crew: Please be reasonable and do it my way.” The Captain – Rusty Mills

16. “When the draught of your vessel exceeds the depth of the water, you are most assuredly, aground.” – Ian Walsh

Emotional Sailing Quotes

It is hard to introduce these next quotes, without sounding like I am trying to invent one myself.

They say that on the water, the highs are really high, and the lows are really low . It is true. We have been through quite a few challenging times on the water.

But then the highs make us forget.

17. “The cure for anything is saltwater – sweat, tears, or the sea.” – Isak Dinesen

18. “He who lets the sea lull him into a sense of security is in very grave danger.” – Hammond Ines

19. “The man who never dreams, goes slowly mad.” – Thomas Dolby

20. I don’t know who named them swells. There’s nothing swell about them. They should have named them awfuls.” – Hugo Vihlen

21. If one does not know to which port one is sailing, no wind is favorable.” – Seneca, Roman Philosopher

Spiritual Sailing Quotes

We feel incredibly humbled on the water. Exposed, vulnerable, yet free and full of hope, forever admiring this incredible home God has created for us.

Few other times in my life, my prayers have been as sincere and my gratitude as genuine, as while sailing under the stars.

22. “Keep us, our God; for your ocean is so wide and our boat is so small.” – A Greek Orthodox sailor’s prayer.

23. There go the ships: [there is] that leviathan, [whom] thou hast made to play therein. – Psalm 104:26

24. The ships of Tarshish did sing of thee in thy market: and thou wast replenished, and made very glorious in the midst of the seas. – Ezekiel 27:25

25. And he entered into one of the ships, which was Simon’s, and prayed him that he would thrust out a little from the land. And he sat down, and taught the people out of the ship. – Luke 5:3

26. Sing unto the Lord a new song, and his praise from the end of the earth, ye that go down to the sea, and all that is therein; the isles, and the inhabitants thereof. – Isaiah 42:10

27. And saw heaven opened, and a certain vessel descending upon him, as it had been a great sheet knit at the four corners, and let down to the earth: – Acts 10:11

28. “Sail with those who sail; travel with those who travel;” – Divine Liturgy prayer

Feisty Sailing Quotes

Go for it – say what you want to say. Boaters are known to speak and sing from the heart.

The thing is, when our lives depend on it, and the risks and dangers are so real, there can be little room for politeness.

Ah, that’s OK, they don’t mean it.

Actually, we do.

29. “The sea hates a coward.” – Hugh Rawson

30. “He that will not sail till all dangers are over must never put to sea.” – Thomas Fuller

31. “Only fools and passengers drink at sea.” – Allan Villiers

32. “There are more sharks on the land than in the sea.” – Neil Wheatley

33. “The right of way goes to the vessel with the least competent crew.” – Mike Baiocchi

34. “May Thor fill your sails, to the place of vengeance!” – Vikings, Season 2

35. “Only the guy who isn’t rowing has time to rock the boat.” – Jean-Paul Sartre

36. “The sea finds out everything you did wrong.” – Francis Stokes

37. “A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for.” – John A. Shedd

38. “…When the storm rages fierce, Hoist the sail to the top. Oh, how merry the Storm-King appears!…” – The Northmen, a Viking Saga

39. “Now…bring me that horizon.” – Jack Sparrow, Pirates of the Caribbean

Quotes About Pirates

Our kids’ morning would often start with climbing the mast, adjusting a sail, or dropping anchor. They spied for boats, found treasures after tourists left the beach, explored caves.

Except for the rum , I feel that our cruising life brought them as close to that childhood dream of being a pirate, as one can get.

40. “Every generation welcomes the pirates from the last.” – Lawrence Lessig

41. “As to hanging, it is no great hardship. For were it not for that, every cowardly fellow would turn pirate and so unfit the sea, that men of courage must starve.” – Mary Read

42. “Some pirates achieved immortality by great deeds of cruelty or derring-do. Some achieved immortality by amassing great wealth. But the captain had long ago decided that he would, on the whole, prefer to achieve immortality by not dying.” – Terry Pratchett, The Color of Magic

43. “There is nothing so desperately monotonous as the sea; I no longer wonder at the cruelty of pirates.” – James Russsell Lowell

44. “Now and then we had a hope that if we lived and were good, God would permit us to be pirates.” – Mark Twain, Life on the Mississippi

45. “Not all treasure is silver and gold, mate.” – Captain Jack Sparrow, “Pirates of the Caribbean”

Boating Life and Cruising Quotes

I can probably invent at least 81 quotes on boating life , myself. I probably should.

Living on a sailboat and cruising offers an endless supply of events, feelings and emotions. Sufficient to write stories, songs and books for years to come.

Yep, boat life is that unique. Just as those people said it :

46. “It is not that life ashore is distasteful to me. But life at sea is better.” – Sir Francis Drake, Sea Captain

47. “The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails.” – William Arthur Ward

48. “Anchor as though you plan to stay for weeks, even if you intend to leave in an hour.” – Tommy Moran

49. “Only two sailors, in my experience, never ran aground. One never left port and the other was an atrocious liar.” – Don Bamford

50. “The goal is not to sail the boat, but rather to help the boat sail herself.” – John Rousmaniere

51. “The lovely thing about cruising is that planning usually turns out to be of little use.” – Dom Degnon

52. “There is no better tool or equipment you can have on board than a well-trained crew.” – Larry Pardey, cruise’There is no better tool or equipment you can have on board than a well-trained crew.” – Larry Pardey

53. “A tourist remains an outsider throughout his visit; but a sailor is part of the local scene from the moment he arrives.” – Anne Davison

54. “To be successful at sea we must keep things simple.” – R. D. (Pete) Culler

Best Quotes for the Galley

Almost any good kitchen quote can find its way into the galley of a boat.

I loved my galley and I loved cooking in it. But it was hot, with limited supplies and few conveniences and gadgets.

Oh, add the occasional seasickness , and do not wonder why I picked these witty quotes.

55. “Sandwiches are wonderful. You don’t need a spoon or a plate!” – Paul Lynde

56. “Cooking well doesn’t mean cooking fancy.” – Julia Child

57. “She who cooks, never cleans.” – Unknown

58. “I cook with wine, sometimes I even add it to the food.” – W.C. Fields

59. “This evening’s forecast includes a 0% chance of me cooking.” – Unknown

60. “Save the earth! It’s the only planet with coffee.” – Unknown

61. “I read recipes the same way I read science fiction. I get to the end and I think, “Well, that’s not going to happen.” – Unknown

Quotes About the Sea

This is someone else’s world. We are merely visitors.

The sea is a world with few instructions, no signs and lots of stars. It is really, really hard not to leave you with your head spinning and wanting more.

62. “A man is never lost at sea.” – Ernest Hemingway

63. “The sea does not reward those who are too anxious, too greedy, or too impatient. One should lie empty, open, choiceless as a beach – waiting for a gift from the sea.” – Anne Morrow Lindbergh

64. “Most of us, I suppose, are a little nervous of the sea. No matter what its smiles may be, we doubt its friendship.” – H.M. Tomlinson

65. “There is, one knows not what sweet mystery about the sea, whose gently awful stirrings seem to speak of some hidden soul beneath.” – Herman Melville

66. “Limitless and immortal, the waters are the beginning and end of all things on earth.” – Heinrich Zimmer

67. “My bounty is as boundless as the sea, my love as deep. The more I give thee, the more I have, For both are infinite.” – William Shakespeare

68. “How inappropriate it is to call this planet Earth, when clearly it is Sea.” – Arthur C. Clarke

69. “I wanted freedom, open air and adventure. I found it on the sea.” – Alaine Gerbault

70. “The sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever.” – Jacques Yves Cousteau

Quotes About Fishing

Ah, the joy of catching a fish, and cooking it, and being grateful for it.

It is hard to describe.

What is even harder to describe is how hard fish are to catch and the average price per fish caught, after the initial investment of all the fishing gear .

Do not get me started!

71. “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

72. “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.” – Alex Blackwell

73. “The two best times to fish is when it’s rainin’ and when it ain’t.” – Patrick F. McManus

74. “The fishing was good; it was the catching that was bad.” – A.K. Best

75. “My biggest worry is that when I’m dead and gone, my wife will sell my fishing gear for what I said I paid for it.” – Koos Brandt

76. “Do not tell fish stories where the people know you. Particularly, don’t tell them where they know the fish.” – Mark Twain

Sailing Quotes of Old

We will not be reinventing the wheel.

Here are some truths and wise words, of those who came before us. Whose eyes gazed upon those same stars, and whose feet splashed in those same waters.

We are not smarter, nor more sophisticated, nor better.

We are simply the next old.

77. A smooth sea never made skilled mariner. – Old English Saying

78. Bound is a boatless man. – Viking Expression

79. You will reach your destination, even though you travel slowly. – Old Viking saying

80. Red sky at night, sailor’s delight. Red sky in the morning, sailors, take warning. – Old Saying, unknown origin.

81. Travel far and wide and you should possess the secrets of man. – Norse Mythology

Final Thoughts: Sailing Quotes

Wow, what a fun treasure hunt!

It took a while to collect these amazing sailing quotes and captions. I hope they cheer, inspire and console your yearning, restless spirit, as they did mine.

If you enjoyed this post, please share it. Thank you.

Fair winds, fellow dreamer.

More sailing and traveling inspiration

45 Epic Sailing Movies We Will Watch Over and Over…

85 Beloved Sailing Songs (and Karaoke). The Only Playlist you Need.

27 Perfect Books for Boaters.

Pros and Cons of Living on a Boat. By Experienced Boaters.

Mina is the creator and owner of No Texting and Tacking. She is an award-winning author, a philologist, a registered nurse and a native Bulgarian. She turned into a travel blogger in 2018, when her family of five decided to sail and travel the world.

75+ Best Sailing Quotes for Your Inner Sailor

The freedom that comes with casting off the lines and heading out into open water is something many authors, poets, and explorers have aimed to express in words.

This list contains the best sailing quotes, whether from a famous writer or an avid sailor.

Many of these famous quotes about sailing are inspirational, while others represent the challenges of a sailing lifestyle. Other sayings on the list are sailing metaphors for life – inspiration for all sailors, world travelers, and adventurers!

Find a specific type of sailing quote in the sections below, or browse all the quotes.

Sail Away Quotes

Below are sailor sayings that express what it feels like to live on the ocean. These quotes make you want to cast off the lines and sail away with no plan for return to port.

1. “There is nothing more enticing, disenchanting, and enslaving than the life at sea.” —  Joseph Conrad, Polish-British Writer

2. “I wanted freedom, open air, and adventure. I found it on the sea.” —  Alaine Gerbault, French Sailor

3. “Smell the sea and feel the sky. Let your soul and spirit fly.” —  Van Morrison, Irish Singer-Songwriter

4. “Flying might not be all plain sailing, but the fun of it is worth the price.” —  Amelia Earhart, American Aviation Pioneer & Author

5. “A man is never lost at sea.” —  Ernest Hemingway, American Writer

6. “It is not that life ashore is distasteful to me. But life at sea is better.” ―  Sir Francis Drake, English Explorer

7. “The days pass happily with me wherever my ship sails.” —   Joshua Slocum, First Person to Single-Hand Circumnavigate

8. “For whatever we lose (like a you or a me), it’s always our self we find in the sea.” — E.E. Cummings, American Poet & Author

9. “To young men contemplating a voyage, I’d say go.” — Joshua Slocum, First Person to Single-Hand Circumnavigate

Inspirational Sailing Quotes

These are our favorite sailing and sailboat quotes that capture the feeling of a day on the water.

10. “A bad day sailing is 100 times better than a good day at work.” —  Unknown

11. “Hark, now hear the sailors cry, smell the sea, and feel the sky let your soul and spirit fly, into the mystic.” — Van Morrison, Northern Irish Singer & Songwriter

12. “It’s out there at sea that you are really yourself.” — Vito Dumas, Argentine Solo Sailor & Circumnavigator

13. “You haven’t lived until you’ve sailed.” — David Sedaris, Theft by Finding: Diaries

14. “The sail, the play of its pulse so like our own lives: so thin and yet so full of life, so noiseless when it labors hardest, so noisy and impatient when least effective.” — Henry David Thoreau, American Poet & Philosopher

15. “On a day when the wind is perfect, the sail just needs to open and the world is full of beauty.” — Rumi, Persian Poet

16. “Confronting a storm is like fighting God. All the powers in the universe seem to be against you and, in an extraordinary way, your irrelevance is at the same time both humbling and exalting.” — Francis LeGrande

Sailing Quotes About Life

These sailing quotes are metaphors for life and translate to its many challenges and struggles.

17. “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, Dutch Post-Impressionist Painter

18. “I’m not afraid of storms, for I’m learning how to sail my ship.” ―  Louisa May Alcott, American Poet

19. “If one does not know to which port one is sailing, no wind is favorable.” ―  Seneca, Roman Philosopher

20. “I am the master of my fate. I am the captain of my soul.” ― William Ernest Henley, English Poet & Writer

21. “Not all treasure is silver and gold, mate.” —  Captain Jack Sparrow, Pirates of the Caribbean

22. “Live in the sunshine, swim the sea, drink the wild air.” ―  Ralph Waldo Emerson, American Philosopher

23. “The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails.” ―  William Arthur Ward, American Writer

24. “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, American Writer

25. “On life’s vast ocean, diversely we sail. Reasons the card, but passion the gale.” ―  Alexander Pope, English Poet

26. “One’s destination is never a place, but always a new way of seeing things.” —  Henry Miller, American Writer & Artist

27. “Smooth seas do not make skillful sailors.” —  Franklin D. Roosevelt, 32nd U.S. President

28. “You can never cross the ocean unless you have the courage to lose sight of the shore.” — Christopher Columbus, Italian Explorer

29. “Any fool can carry on, but a wise man knows how to shorten sail in time.” ―  Joseph Conrad,   Polish-British Writer

30. “There are some things you learn best in calm, and some in storm.” — Willa Cather, American Writer

Cruising Quotes

These quotes are for the full-time cruisers living a life on the water. These are some of our favorite sayings about modern-day life on a sailboat.

31. “To be successful at sea, we must keep things simple.” ―   Pete Culler, Author & Renowned Wooden Boat Builder

32. “Go small, go simple, go now.” ―  Larry Pardey, Sailor & Writer

33. “At sea, I learned how little a person needs, not how much.” —  Robin Lee Graham, American Sailor

34. “The single commandment of anchoring is ‘thou shall create scope.'” ― Reese Palley, Art Dealer & Circumnavigator

35. “The charm of singlehanded cruising is not solitude, but independence.” — Claud Worth, Master Mariner & Writer

36. “The lovely thing about cruising is that planning usually turns out to be of little use.” —  Dom Degnon, Yacht Broker & Freelance Writer

37. “Cruising is fixing your boat in exotic locations.” —  Unknown

38. “Home is where the anchor drops.” —  Unknown

39. “If you are going to do something, do it now. Tomorrow is too late.”   —  Pete Goss, British Sailor

40. “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.” —  Jimmy Cornell, British Sailor & Author

41. “It’s remarkable how quickly a good and favorable wind can sweep away the maddening frustrations of shore living.” —  Ernest K. Gann, American Sailor & Author

Sailing and Adventure Quotes from Novels

These quotes are from some of our favorite novels. They encapsulate life on the water, the sailing lifestyle, and seeking adventure!

42. “Now and then we had a hope that if we lived and were good, God would permit us to be pirates.” —  Mark Twain, Life on the Mississippi

43. “To move, to breathe, to fly, to float, to gain all while you give, to roam the roads of lands remote, to travel is to live.” ―  Hans Christian Andersen, The Fairy Tale of My Life: An Autobiography

44. “The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun.” ―  Christopher McCandless, Into the Wild

45. “The truths of the sea, like the truths of the soul, cannot be reduced to numbers.” ― Webb Chiles, The Ocean Waits

46. “There is nothing — absolutely nothing — half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats. In or out of ’em, it doesn’t matter. Nothing seems really to matter, that’s the charm of it. Whether you get away, or whether you don’t; whether you arrive at your destination or whether you reach somewhere else, or whether you never get anywhere at all, you’re always busy, and you never do anything in particular; and when you’ve done it there’s always something else to do, and you can do it if you like, but you’d much better not.” —  Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows

Quotes About Ships

Whether as vessels of exploration, symbols of resilience, or metaphors for life’s journey, ships have long captured the essence of the adventurer’s spirit.

47. “A ship in the harbor is safe, but that’s not what ships are built for.” ―  John A. Shedd, American Author

48. “The goal is not to sail the boat, but rather to help the boat sail herself.” — John Rousmaniere, American Author

49. “It’s not just a keel and a hull and a deck and sails, that’s what a ship needs but what a ship is…what the Black Pearl really is…is freedom.” —  Captain Jack Sparrow, Pirates of the Caribbean

50. “A sailing vessel is alive in a way that no ship with mechanical power ever be.” ― Aubrey de Selincourt, English Writer

51. “Ships are the nearest things to dreams that hands have ever made, for somewhere deep in their oaken hearts the soul of a song is laid.” — Robert N. Rose, Poet

Ocean Quotes

These quotes are specifically about the ocean or the sea. If you are a sailor or beach lover, I’m sure you love to romanticize the sea, and these quotes will resonate with you.

52. “The sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever.” ―  Jacques Yves Cousteau, French Naval Officer

53. “We are tied to the ocean. And when we go back to the sea, whether it is to sail or to watch – we are going back from whence we came.” ―  John F. Kennedy, 35th U.S. President

54. “Dance with the waves, move with the sea, let the rhythm of the water set your soul free.” ―  Christy Ann Martine, Canadian Poet

55. “At the beach, life is different. Time doesn’t move hour to hour but mood to moment. We live by currents, plan by the tides, and follow the sun.” ―  Sandy Gingras, Writer & Illustrator

56. “Every time I slip into the ocean, it’s like going home.” ―  Sylvia Earle, American Marine Biologist

57. “If there’s a heaven for me, I’m sure it has a beach attached to it.” ―  Jimmy Buffett, American Singer-Songwriter

58. “The sea is a desert of waves, a wilderness of water.” —  Langston Hughes, American Poet

Funny Sailing Quotes

This selection features funny sailing quotes from poets, writers, and modern-day cruisers, that explore the lighter side of life at sea.

59. “Sailing – The fine art of slowly going nowhere at great expense while being cold, wet, and miserable.” — Irv Heller

60. “The sea speaks a language polite people never repeat. It is a colossal scavenger slang and has no respect.” — Carl Sandburg, American Poet

61. “Any damn fool can navigate the world sober. It takes a really good sailor to do it drunk.” —  Sir Francis Chichester, Sailor & Author (First Man to Single-Hand Circumnavigate Non-Stop)

62. “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.” — Jimmy Buffett, American Singer-Songwriter (A Pirate Looks at Fifty)

63. “Only two sailors, in my experience, never ran aground. One never left port, and the other was an atrocious liar.” —  Don Bamford, Sailor & Author

64. “The chance for mistakes is about equal to the number of crew squared.” — Ted Turner, Entrepreneur & America’s Cup Winner

65. “Land was created to provide a place for boats to visit.” ‍‍— Brooks Atkinson, American Theatre Critic

66. “When the draught of your vessel exceeds the depth of the water, you are most assuredly, aground.” — Ian Walsh

67. “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 , Writer & Sailor

68. “Being hove to in a long gale is the most boring way of being terrified, I know.” — Donald Hamilton, American Writer

69. “If we get lost, we’ll just pull in somewhere and ask directions.” — Captain Ron Rico (Captain Ron)

70. “The only way to get a good crew is to marry one.” — Eric Hiscock, British Sailor & Author

Sailing Quotes from Movies

These unforgettable sailing quotes are all from the silver screen, where the sea has played a starring role in captivating audiences for decades.

71. “A diesel loves her oil same as a sailor loves rum.” — Captain Ron Rico (Captain Ron)

72. “It’s not just sails and knots, it’s seeing where you’re going in your mind. Knowing where you are by knowing where you’ve been.” — Maui (Moana)

73. “You know, there have been more people in space than have sailed around the world. I didn’t even know it was something you can do, but you can, and I want to. ‘Cause I’m an adventurer.” — Jessica Watson (True Spirit)

74. “You can’t run from the wind. You trim your sails, face the music, and keep going.”  — Captain Christopher “Skipper” Sheldon (White Squall)

75. “Now…bring me that horizon.” —  Captain Jack Sparrow (Pirates of the Caribbean)

76. “But it ain’t all buttons and charts, little albatross. You know what the first rule of flying is? Love. You can learn all the math in the ‘Verse, but you take a boat in the air that you don’t love, she’ll shake you off just as sure as the turning of the worlds. Love keeps her in the air when she oughta fall down, tells you she’s hurtin’ ‘fore she keens. Makes her a home.” — Captain Malcolm Reynolds (Serenity)

READ NEXT: Check out many of the movies that feature these quotes on our list of sailing movies and documentaries .

Share your favorite sailing quotes.

I hope you were inspired or even nodded along in agreement with some of the sailor sayings on this list.

I’m sure I’m missing some other famous sailing quotes, so feel free to leave your favorite nautical saying in the comments below or even a personal quote that resonates with you!

RELATED ARTICLES

If you liked this list of sailing quotes, you will find many of these authors, songwriters, and actors on our other lists below.

• 25 Epic Sailing Songs for Sailors & Modern-Day Pirates
• 35 Inspiring Books for Sailors
• 17 Best Sailing Movies & Documentaries
• 51 Inspiring Camping Quotes & Captions

Hungry for more sailing inspiration?

Check out our lists of sailing movies, songs, books, and more to inspire this lifestyle.

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Morgan, the founder of The Home That Roams, has been living nomadically for over five years. She began her journey traveling across the U.S. in a motorhome and cruising on a liveaboard sailing catamaran. Currently, she lives full-time in a travel trailer, sharing resources on RV living and boat life to help others downsize their lives and thrive in an alternative lifestyle.

Id rather be lost at sea then found at work…..Anon.

I can definitely relate to this one!

The cost of good navigation is constant vigilance.

All sailors of all sorts are more or less capricious and unreliable. They live in the varying outer weather and inhale its fickleness – and when retained for any object remote and blank in the pursuit, however promissory of life and passion in the end, it is above all things requisite that temporary interests and employments should intervene to hold them healthily suspended for the final dash. – Herman Melville, Moby Dick

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The 74 Best Sailing Quotes

Ever since its inception, sailing has been linked to a sense of freedom and drive for adventure out on the sea. For many centuries, sailors were considered to be bold and courageous people willing to risk their lives for fortune and honor.

Many people have tried to express the freedom and enjoyment of sailing through words and quotes.

Many great men and women have fallen in love with sailing over the years, giving birth to a practically endless series of funny, happy and inspirational quotes.

Below you will find a comprehensive list of our personal favorites.

Inspirational Sailing Quotes

Our favorite inspirational sailing quotes to get you inspired and motivated are below.

“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

“You can never cross the ocean unless you have the courage to lose sight of the shore” ‍ ‍-Christopher Columbus

“Sailors, with their built-in sense of order, service and discipline, should really be running the world.” ‍ ‍-Nicholas Monsarrat

“The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails.” ‍ ‍-William Arthur Ward

“A bad day sailing is 100 times better than a good day at work.” ‍ ‍-An Unknown Sailor

“Who is staring at the sea is already sailing a little” ‍ ‍-Paul Carvel

“There are some things you learn best in calm, and some in storm.” ‍ ‍-Willa Cather

“I must go down to the sea again, to the lonely sea and the sky. And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by.” ‍ ‍-John Masefield

“To be successful at sea we must keep things simple.” ‍ ‍-Pete Culler

“The sea is the same as it has been since before men ever went on it in boats.” ‍ ‍-Ernest Hemingway

“Nothing comes sailing by itself” ‍ ‍-Alexander Dale Oen

“The goal is not to sail the boat, but rather to help the boat sail herself” ‍ ‍-John Rousmaniere

“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

“A ship in the harbor is safe, but that's not what ships are built for.” ‍ ‍-William Sheed

“To young men contemplating a voyage I would say go” ‍ ‍-Joshua Slocum

“To desire nothing beyond what you have is surely happiness. Aboard a boat, it is frequently possible to achieve just that. That is why sailing is a way of life, one of the finest of lives.” ‍ ‍-Carleton Mitchell

“What can we gain by sailing to the moon if we are not able to cross the abyss that separates us from ourselves? This is the most important of all voyages of discovery, and without it, all the rest are not only useless, but disastrous.” ‍ ‍-Thomas Merton

“I wanted freedom, open air and adventure. I found it on the sea.” ‍ ‍-Alain Gerbault

“There is nothing more enticing, disenchanting, and enslaving than the life at sea.” ‍ ‍-Joseph Conrad

“To reach a port we must set sail - Sail, not tie at anchor - Sail, not drift.” ‍ ‍-Franklin D. Roosevelt

“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

“If one does not know to which port one is sailing, no wind is favorable.” ‍ ‍-Lucius Annaeus Seneca

“Without goals, and plans to reach them, you are like a ship that has set sail with no destination.” ‍ ‍-Fitzhugh Dodson

“Anyone can hold the helm when the sea is calm.” ‍ ‍-Syrus Publilius

“Smooth seas do not make skillful sailors.” ‍ ‍-African proverb

“Can't control the wind but I can adjust the sail.” ‍ ‍-Ricky Skaggs

“We must free ourselves of the hope that the sea will ever rest. We must learn topsail in high winds.” ‍ ‍-Aristotle Onassis

“He who lets the sea lull him into a sense of security is in very grave danger.” ‍ ‍-Hammond Ines

“Sailing is just the bottom line, like adding up the score in bridge. My real interest is in the tremendous game of life.” ‍ ‍-Dennis Conner

“Thought is the wind, knowledge the sail, and mankind the vessel.” ‍ ‍-Augustus Hare

“No literature is richer than that of the sea. No story is more enthralling, no tradition is more secure.” ‍ ‍-Felix Riesenberg

“The man who has experienced shipwreck shudders even at a calm sea.” ‍ ‍-Ovid

“There is but a plank between a sailor and eternity.” ‍ ‍-Thomas Gibbons

“At sea, I learned how little a person needs, not how much.” ‍ ‍-Robin Graham

“The lovely thing about cruising is that planning usually turns out to be of little use.” ‍ ‍-Dom Degnon

“I cannot not sail” ‍ ‍-E. B. White

“The art of the sailor is to leave nothing to chance” ‍ ‍-Annie Van De Wiele

“When all seems to be against you, remember, a ship sometimes has to sail against the current, not with it.” ‍ ‍-Matshona Dhliwayo

“In a calm sea, every man is a pilot.” ‍ ‍-John Ray

Happy Sailing Quotes

Below are our favorite sailing quotes that will make you happy.

“Never in my life before have I experienced such beauty, and fear at the same time.” ‍ ‍-Ellen MacArthur

“The days pass happily with me wherever my ship sails.” ‍ ‍-Joshua Slocum

“Mackerel skies and mares tails, soon will be time to shorten sails” ‍ ‍-Sailors Proverb

“Sailing a boat calls for quick action, a blending of feeling with the wind and water as well as with the very heart and soul of the boat itself. Sailing teaches alertness and courage, and gives in return a joyousness and peace that but few sports afford.” ‍ ‍-George Matthew Adams

“Success soon palls. The joyous time is when the breeze first strikes your sails, and the waters rustle under your bows.” ‍ ‍-Charles Buxton

“Instead of sailing off into the sunset, he hopes to sail into the next century.” ‍ ‍-Dave Anderson

“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.” ‍ ‍-Bernard Moitessier

“You haven't lived until you've sailed.” ‍ ‍-David Sedaris

“It is not that life ashore is distasteful to me. But life at sea is better.” ‍ ‍-Sir Francis Drake

“The sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever.” ‍ ‍-Jacques Yves Cousteau

“The wind and the waves are always on the side of the ablest navigator.” ‍ ‍-Edmund Gibbon

“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

“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.” ‍ ‍-Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.

“It is not the ship so much as the skillful sailing that assures the prosperous voyage.” ‍ ‍-George William Curtis

“For the most part, a sailboat navigates through its world of wind and water not leaving a single trace of its passage. Nothing is consumed. Nothing is altered. The winds and the water are left in exactly the same condition for the next user. Sailing is forever.” ‍ ‍-Michael B. McPhee

“Wonders are many, and none is more wonderful than the power that crosses the white sea, driven by the stormy wind, making a path under surges that threaten to engulf him.” ‍ ‍-Sophocles

“The planning stage of a cruise is often just as enjoyable as the voyage itself, letting ones imagination loose on all kinds of possibilities. Yet translating dreams into reality means a lot of practical questions have to be answered.” ‍ ‍-Jimmy Cornell

“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

“And after two days in civilization we realized we could never stay for long and started to plan our next adventure.” ‍ ‍-Bob Bitchin

“Sail Now, Work Later” ‍ ‍-An Unknown Sailor

Funny Sailing Quotes

Below are our favorite funny sailing quotes that will make you laugh.

“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.” ‍ ‍-Alex Blackwell

“Any damn fool can navigate the world sober. It takes a really good sailor to do it drunk.” ‍ ‍-Sir Francis Chichester

“When a man comes to like a sea life, he is not fit to live on land.” ‍ ‍-Dr. Samuel Johnson

“The cure for anything is saltwater - sweat, tears, or the sea.” ‍ ‍-Isak Dinesen

“Out of sight of land the sailor feels safe. It is the beach that worries him.” ‍ ‍-Charles Davis

“Sailing – The fine art of slowly going nowhere at great expense while being cold, wet and miserable.” ‍ ‍-Irv Heller

“The only way to get a good crew is to marry one.” ‍ ‍-Eric Hiscock

“Only two sailors, in my experience, never ran aground. One never left port and the other was an atrocious liar.” ‍ ‍-Don Bamford

“Land was created to provide a place for boats to visit.” ‍ ‍-Brooks Atkinson

“Thing about boats is, you can always sell them if you don't like them. Can't sell kids.” ‍ ‍-Lin Pardey

Sad Sailing Quotes

Below are our favorite sad sailing quotes that are deeply thoughtful.

“As we sail through life, don't avoid rough waters, sail on because calm waters won't make a skillful sailor.” ‍ ‍-Unknown

“The ocean has taken everything from me and yet I still love her.” ‍ ‍-Unknown

“Only the guy who isn't rowing has time to rock the boat.” ‍ ‍-Jean-Paul Sartre

These are our favorite sailing quotes to get you inspired, motivated and happy.

Some of these quotes are deeply thoughtful whilst others are more light- hearted and funny.

What's your favorite quote?

Motivational Yacht Quotes On Sailing, Life, Love

These yacht quotes will inspire you. A yacht is a medium-sized sailing boat equipped for cruising or racing.

A collection of motivating, happy, and encouraging yacht quotes, yacht sayings, and yacht proverbs.

Best Yacht Quotes

• “The ocean has always been a salve to my soul.” ~ Jimmy Buffett
• “And the winds and the waves are always on the side of the ablest navigators.” ~ Edward Gibbon
• “Land was created to provide a place for boats to visit.” ~ Brooks Atkinson

“The greatest thing in this world is not so much where we stand as in what direction we are moving.” ~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

• “As soon as you set foot on a yacht you belong to some man, not to yourself, and you die of boredom.” ~ Coco Chanel
• “It isn’t that life ashore is distasteful to me. But life at sea is better.” ~ Francis Drake
• “The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails.” ~ William Arthur Ward

“Having a yacht is a reason for being more cheerful than most.” ~ Kurt Vonnegut

• “There never was a great man yet who spent all his life inland.” ~ Herman Melville
• “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.” ~ Lewis Francis Herreshoff
• “Money can’t buy you happiness, but it can buy you a yacht big enough to pull up right alongside it.” ~ David Lee Roth

“Anyone who has to ask about the annual upkeep of a yacht can’t afford one.” ~ J. P. Morgan

• “At sea, I learned how little a person needs, not how much.” ~ Robin Lee Graham
• “I always say that a girl never really looks as well as she does on board a steamship or even a yacht.” ~ Anita Loos
• “There is nothing more enticing, disenchanting, and enslaving than the life at sea.” ~ Joseph Conrad

“A ship is always referred to as ‘she’ because it costs so much to keep one in paint and powder.” ~ Chester W. Nimitz

• “Of all the things that man has made, no is so full of interest and charm, none possesses so distinct a life and character of its own, as a ship.” ~ Henry Van Dyke
• “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.” ~ Jimmy Buffett
• “Seagulls . . . slim yachts of the element.” ~ Robinson Jeffers

“The greatest pleasure when I started making money was not buying cars or yachts but finding myself able to have as many freshly typed drafts as possible.” ~ Gore Vidal

• “At Christmas, you can get real bargains. I saw one item marked down ten dollars. It was a yacht.” ~ Milton Berle
• “I haven’t bought a yacht or an island or even a palm tree.” ~ David A. Siegel
• “[on buying a private island] Money doesn’t buy you happiness, but it buys you a big enough yacht to sail right up to it.” ~ Johnny Depp

“Any damn fool can navigate the world sober. It takes a really good sailor to do it drunk.” ~ Francis Chichester

• “All I ask is a tall ship and a star to sail her by.” ~ John Masefield
• “I am not a yachting person, by nature, but I have just enough experience on the sea under sail to feel a certain nostalgia for it when I see a big white racing yacht heeled over at cruising speed on the ocean, and I can still tie a mean bowline knot on just about anything in less than 10 seconds.” ~ Hunter S. Thompson , Sailing the yacht quotes
• “My first job was in sixth grade, sweeping the clay tennis courts at the yacht club near my house, which I was not a member of. Always had to pay my own rent. But I don’t really have any concept of how money works. I don’t know how much things cost. Like a BMW. Or a quart of milk. It’s embarrassing.” ~ Chloe Sevigny

“I must go down to the sea again, to the lonely sea and the sky; and all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by.” ~ John Masefield

• “From the sea came a boat with some Israeli commando soldiers who took me by the commando boat to the yacht and put me on the yacht. In the yacht, I asked people, who are you. And they said we are Israelis, French and British.” ~ Mordechai Vanunu
• “I never had the high-paying job or the company car. It took me over a decade to pay off my student loans. I never had to worry about where to dock my yacht to reduce my taxes.” ~ Christine O’Donnell
• “There is nothing – absolutely nothing – half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats.” ~ Kenneth Grahame

“To young men contemplating a voyage I would say go.” ~ Joshua Slocum

• “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
• “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.” ~ Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.
• “I grew up in the 1920s and 1930s in a nouveau riche world, where money was spent wildly, and I’m still living in one!… The private schools are all jammed with long waiting lists; the clubs — all the old clubs — are jammed with long waiting lists today; the harbors are clogged with yachts; there has never been a more material society than the one we live in today…. Where is this ‘vanished world’ they talk about? I don’t think the critics have looked out the window!” ~ Louis Auchincloss

“Until you have the courage to lose sight of the shore, you will not know the terror of being forever lost at sea.” ~ Charlie Cook

• “Men in a ship are always looking up, and men ashore are usually looking down.” ~ John Masefield
• “Greek shipowners like to boast, ‘I bought ships at the bottom of the market, and now they’re worth ten times as much.’ It goes back to the days of Onassis and Niarchos competing with each other over who had the biggest fleet, the biggest yacht, and the most famous girlfriend.” ~ Stelios Haji-Ioannou
• “Another car is not going to help me out, a nicer car, I’ve already got it. A bigger house ain’t gonna do anything for me, and you know, a yacht, it’s not going to do anything for me anymore. So how can I find happiness?” ~ Vanilla Ice

“I haven’t got the yacht anymore. The cost of running it was crazy. But it was so much fun while I had it. I don’t regret it.” ~ Jenson Button

• “There’s nothing – I’ve bought everything I want. I don’t like yachts or anything; you know, I’m not a yacht person, and I’ve got pretty much the nicest plane I’d want to have.” ~ Elon Musk
• “I’ve given parties that have made Indian rajahs green with envy. I’ve had prima donnas break $10,000 engagements to come to my smallest dinners. When you were still playing button back in Ohio, I entertained on a cruising trip that was so much fun that I had to sink my yacht to make my guests go home.” ~ F. Scott Fitzgerald
• “After the success of ‘August,’ there were people saying I should change my life. And maybe I should have bought a yacht and traveled the world instead of returning to Steppenwolf to act in and write plays. But I’m from the Midwest, and that’s what we do: We go back to work.” ~ Tracy Letts , Yacht quotes travel

“I have high-tech tastes. If I had $100 million, I would spend it on research equipment rather than a yacht.” ~ Stephen LaBerge

• “Whenever I’m hired to do appearances I always get to take one or two friends with me. I’m away so much I’d get lonely if I didn’t. My BBF would get to go jet-setting with me to amazing parties too, like the ones on P Diddy’s yacht. Apart from me, he throws the best parties – they’re so A-list.” ~ Paris Hilton
• “Money can’t buy you happiness but it can pay for the plastic surgery.” ~ Joan Rivers
• “Ridiculous yachts and private planes and big limousines won’t make people enjoy life more, and it sends out terrible messages to the people who work for them. It would be so much better if that money was spent in Africa – and it’s about getting a balance.” ~ Richard Branson

“A small craft in an ocean is, or should be, a benevolent dictatorship.” ~ Tristan Jones

• “Put your mouthful of words away and come with me to watch the lilies open in such a field, growing there like yachts, slowly steering their petals without nurses or clocks.” ~ Anne Sexton
• “I still live in an apartment in Paris with my wife. No, we don’t have a yacht, but we do have a house in Spain; that is my luxury.” ~ Pierre Dukan
• “As long as I can buy records and books and maybe some clothes, I’m pretty stoked. I don’t need a yacht or anything.” ~ Conor Oberst

“You don’t have to even see the common man anymore if you don’t want to! Only through the telescope on your yacht.” ~ Chad Harbach

• “The idea behind Reaganomics is this: a rising tide lifts all yachts.” ~ Walter F. Mondale
• “Poverty is not an accident of, sort of, an economic spreadsheet. Poverty is a crime. There are criminals involved. And those criminals walk the streets as free men. What my music is about, and what – this from the riots in the streets of Greece and Spain to the people’s uprisings in Egypt and Libya and Madison is about is holding those people accountable, those who are responsible for subverting the entire global economy and causing so much misery and then laughing about it with their, you know, clinking their champagne glasses on their yachts.” ~ Tom Morello
• “People say that life is a cesspool of darkness and despair. Well, we of Van Halen are sailing through it in a yacht!” ~ David Lee Roth

“I am not a multimillionaire. I don’t own a yacht or a Ferrari. I live in a 60-square- meter flat. My needs are simple.” ~ Ferran Adria

• “For many years I enjoyed the pleasure of cruising on my yacht all summer long and these were my best holidays. In mid-May, we’d start in St Tropez. I’d collect my bikinis from my home there and then we’d go up to Cannes for the Film Festival, on to Monte Carlo for the Grand Prix and then to Italy.” ~ Ivana Trump
• “The problem with the alphabet is that it bears no relation to anything at all, and when words are arranged alphabetically they are uselessly separated. In the OED, for example, aardvarks are 19 volumes away from the zoo, yachts are 18 volumes from the beach, and wine is 17 volumes from the nearest corkscrew.” ~ Mark Forsyth
• “The thing about all these charities is that who sees where the money goes? I don’t and you don’t. For all I know, the president of Make a Wish just used all the money to buy himself a mansion and a yacht. That’s why I keep all of my money for myself, at least then I know I’m doing good for at least one person for sure.” ~ Zach Braff

“I was born in the breezes, and I had studied the sea as perhaps few men have studied it, neglecting all else.” ~ Joshua Slocum

• “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” ~ H. Jackson Brown, Jr.
• “Whenever your preparations for the sea are poor; the sea worms its way in and finds the problems.” ~ Francis Stokes

“He who lets the sea lull him into a sense of security is in very grave danger.” ~ Hammond Innes

• “The label’s going great because we’re not idiots. We’re not trying to sue everyone that downloads everything. We try to give the fans a bunch of free stuff, and then have them buy the record. Without buying the record, it doesn’t support your artist. These idiots like Radiohead and Sharon Osbourne that are like, “Free Ozzfest!”, “Pay what you can for a record!” – Radiohead’s already got their yachts and mansions. Sharon Osbourne already has her empire.” ~ Al Jourgensen
• “I’m writing about the things I see all around me. Growing up in Mississippi, I’ve seen how these backward ideas about class and race and healthcare and education and housing and racism impact everyday lives. For example, my mother wouldn’t let me go to my homecoming dance because the yacht club where they were having the dance threw a fundraiser for David Duke, an ex-Klan member when he was running for governor of Louisiana. So I grew up seeing how personal politics could be.” ~ Jesmyn Ward

Yacht is a large and usually expensive boat, used for racing or for traveling around for pleasure.

Comment Your Favorite Yacht Quotes Below!

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Sailor Sayings and Sailing Quotes – Inspirational Quotes for Sailors

Are you a sailor and needs some more inspiration? Here’s my list of Quotes about the sea and sailing on a boat.

Table of Contents

Two years ago, when Jonathan and I were still broke backpackers, he told me about how he dreams of sailing the open seas – that someday, he would buy himself a boat. Live in it. And travel around the world with it. And you guessed right; he sure did buy us a sailboat.

Here is the list of some popular sailor sayings and sailing quotes that will have you set before your sailing rendezvous:

actually, every sailor deserves a sailing challenge coin to record sailing life, the point is that you can use these popular sayings and aphorisms to customize an exclusive sailor challenge coin at GS-JJ.com, which is very important for every sailor because they all have unique meanings. You can create a nautical commemorative coin by clicking the navy challenge coins of GS-JJ.com , which is not only for the navy but also for seafarers.

1. Sailors, with their built-in sense of order, service, and discipline, should really be running the world. – Nicholas Monsarrat

2. the wind and the waves are always on the side of the ablest navigator. – edmund gibbon, 3. the pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails. – william arthur ward.

4. Mackerel skies and mares tails, soon will be time to shorten sails . – sailors proverb

5. 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. – l. francis herreshoff.

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6. I find the great thing in this world is not so much where we stand, as in what direction we are moving – we must sail sometimes with the wind and sometimes against it – but we must sail, and not drift, nor lie at anchor. – Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.

7. A ship in the harbor is safe, but that’s not what ships are built for. – William Shedd

8. You can never cross the ocean unless you have the courage to lose sight of the shore. – Christopher Columbus

9. He who loves practice without theory is like the sailor who boards ship without a rudder and compass and never knows where he may cast. – Leonardo da Vinci

10. He is the best sailor who can steer within fewest points of the wind, and exact a motive power out of the greatest obstacles. – Walter Scott

11. I must go down to the sea again, to the lonely sea and the sky. And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by. – John Masefield

12. That’s what a ship is, you know – it’s not just a keel and a hull and a deck and sails, that’s what a ship needs. But what a ship is, really is, is freedom. – Capt. Jack Sparrow

13. A tourist remains an outsider throughout his visit, but a sailor is part of the local scene from the moment he arrives. – Anne Davison

14. The perfection of a yacht’s beauty is that nothing should be there for only beauty’s sake.  – John MacGregor

15. A sailing vessel is alive in a way that no ship with mechanical power ever be. – Aubrey de Selincourt

16. Ships are the nearest things to dreams that hands have ever made, for somewhere deep in their oaken hearts the soul of a song is laid . – Robert N. Rose

17. He that will not sail till all dangers are over must never put to sea. – Thomas Fuller

18. 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

19. 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

20. The wind and the waves are always on the side of the ablest navigator. – Edmund Gibbon, Historian

21. I wanted freedom, open-air, and adventure. I found it on the sea. – Alaine Gerbault, Sailor

22. It is not the ship so much as the skilful sailing that assures the prosperous voyage. – George William Curtis

23. A ship on the port always waits for you to sail to the oceans!  – Mehmet Murat ildan

24. The only ship you can truly steer in this ocean is the one you’re sailing. Quit trying to alter the winds; harness them . – Richelle E. Goodrich, Making Wishes

25. That’s what sailing is, a dance, and your partner is the sea. And with the sea you never take liberties. You ask her, you don’t tell her. You have to remember always that she’s the leader, not you. You and your boat are dancing to her tune. – Michael Morpurgo, Alone on a Wide Wide Sea

26. The sea hates a coward. – Eugene O’Neill

27. I was born in the breezes, and I had studied the sea as perhaps few men have studied it, neglecting all else. – Joshua Slocum

28. If my ship sails from sight, it doesn’t mean my journey ends, it simply means the river bends . – Enoch Powell

29. I keep sailing on in this middle passage. I am sailing into the wind and the dark. But I am doing my best to keep my boat steady and my sails full. – Arthur Ashe

30. There is nothing – absolutely nothing – half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats. – Kenneth Grahame

31. I was born in the breezes, and I had studied the sea as perhaps few men have studied it, neglecting all else. – Joshua Slocum

32. I keep sailing on in this middle passage. I am sailing into the wind and the dark. But I am doing my best to keep my boat steady and my sails full. – Arthur Ashe

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Pearls of wisdom: 20 most inspiring sailing quotes ever

• Katy Stickland

We all need some inspiration from time to time. These quotes by sailing legends and enthusiasts have inspired us all at YBW since we launched 20 years ago

Credit: Gamma-Keystone via Getty Images

“Any damn fool can navigate the world sober. It takes a really good sailor to do it drunk.”  Sir Francis Chichester  

“Every single day since I heard that tap-tapping and knew I had survived, I have told myself I am lucky to be alive. Why go back? Because I’m a racing sailor; that’s what I do. I love the sea, and I love competition. You don’t give up on life just because you once had a narrow shave from death.”  Tony Bullimore

“My mother, when asked for her opinion of the voyage before I sailed, had replied that she considered it ‘totally irresponsible’ and on this Christmas Day I began to think she was right. I was sailing round the world simply because I bloody well wanted to – and, I realised, I was thoroughly enjoying myself.”  Robin Knox-Johnston

“The day passes happily with me wherever my ship sails.”  Joshua Slocum

“The art of the sailor is to leave nothing to chance.”  Annie Van De Wiele

Credit: ABACA/PA Images

“I really don’t know why it is that all of us are so committed to the sea, except I think it’s because in addition to the fact that the sea changes, and the light changes, and ships change, it’s because we all came from the sea. And it is an interesting biological fact that all of us have in our veins the exact same percentage of salt in our blood that exists in the ocean, and, therefore, we have salt in our blood, in our sweat, in our tears. We are tied to the ocean. And when we go back to the sea – whether it is to sail or to watch it – we are going back from whence we came. ”  John F. Kennedy

“There have been times on this trip I’ve been convinced that GPS was wrong.”   Chris Robb

“Calm sailing doesn’t come from calm waters, it comes from having a good navigator; a good crew and a good vessel.”  Anthony T. Hincks

“It’s out there at sea that you are really yourself.”   Vito Dumas

“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.”  L. Francis Herreshoff

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“The charm of singlehanded cruising is not solitude, but independence.”  Claud Worth

“When you are in a huge storm, and you’ve set the boat up for the winds, and the autopilot is steering the boat, there’s nothing to do apart from stand there and watch the walls of water breaking around you; it’s an awesome sight.”  Emma Richards

“In splicing, practice makes perfect, and in the doing you will learn more than from reading any ten books on the subject.”  Hervey Garrett Smith

“The only way to get a good crew is to marry one.”  Eric Hiscock

“To win, you have to believe you can do it. You have to be passionate about it. You have to really ‘want’ the result – even if this means years of work. The hardest part of any big project is to begin.”  Sir Peter Blake

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“When you spend so much time pushing, caring for, cajoling and maintaining a beautiful racing machine like this, you get very close. She’s looked after me well, and I look after her. I haven’t been lonely at all.”  Ellen MacArthur

“The chance of mistakes are about equal to the number of crew squared.”   Ted Turner

“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.”  Arthur Ransome

“I want a boat that drinks six, eats four, and sleeps two.”  Ernest K. Gann

“A sailing ship is no democracy; you don’t caucus a crew as to where you’ll go anymore than you inquire when they’d like to shorten sail.”  Sterling Hayden