36 Inspiring Sailing Quotes

Embarking on a journey across the open sea is a venture that has captivated the human spirit for centuries. Whether you're an avid sailor or simply drawn to the allure of the ocean, there's something undeniably inspiring about the rhythm of the waves and the vast horizon. In this collection, we've gathered 36 of the most inspiring sailing quotes to awaken the adventurer within. These quotes capture the essence of courage, exploration, and the profound connection between sailors and the sea, offering a fresh breeze of motivation and reflection. As you navigate through these words of wisdom, let them stir your imagination and set sail on the wings of inspiration.

1. “With this idea, being a man with long experience of the sea (and they certainly have a great advantage over other men in any sort of task)...” - GarciLaso De la Vega

2. “Hark, now hear the sailors cry, Smell the sea, and feel the sky,Let your soul & spirit fly, into the mystic.- Into the Mystic” - Van Morrison

3. “And I shall watch the ferry boats, and they'll get high, On a bluer ocean against tomorrow's sky,And I will never grow so old again,And I will walk and talk, in gardens all wet with rain.- Sweet Thing” - Van Morrison

4. “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.[Remarks at the Dinner for the America's Cup Crews, September 14 1962]” - John F. Kennedy

5. “Keep your hand on the helm.” - Matthew Goldman

6. “Be patient with your boaters and let them rant. Most of them will get over it come December.” - Matthew Goldman

7. “One takes what the river offers, both good and bad. The joy of living by running water far outweighs the sorrow.” - Matthew Goldman

8. “What is time to a water rat? What is time to the river? Only we humans obsess over days and minutes, hours and seasons.” - Matthew Goldman

9. “A war of ideas can no more be won without books than a naval war can be won without ships. Books, like ships, have the toughest armor, the longest cruising range, and mount the most powerful guns.” - Franklin Delano Roosevelt

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

11. “What she really loved was to hang over the edge and watch the bow of the ship slice through the waves. She loved it especially when the waves were high and the ship rose and fell, or when it was snowing and the flakes stung her face.” - Kristin Cashore

12. “I love to sail forbidden seas, and land on barbarous coasts.” - Herman Melville

13. “Go small, go simple, go now” - larry pardey

14. “...this beginning motion, this first time when a sail truly filled and the boat took life and knifed across the lake under perfect control, this was so beautiful it stopped my breath...” - Gary Paulsen

15. “I grew to judge every purchase by how many bronze screws I could buy for the boat if I didn't spend on this or made do without that.” - Lin Pardey

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

17. “Back on the ferry, I sip some vodka on the rocks and have a chat with God.Me: (desperately) What the *&%$# am I going to do?God:Me: (surprised) Really? After all those Sundays of being a back up singer for Jesus, you got nothing to say?God:Me: (humbly) Help me out here.” - Lexis De Rothschild

18. “She watched the gap between ship and shore grow to a huge gulf. Perhaps this was a little like dying, the departed no longer visible to the others, yet both still existed, only in different worlds.” - Susan Wiggs

19. “You can’t believe how bleeding scary the sea is! There’s, like, whales and storms and shit! They don’t bloody tell you that!” - Libba Bray

20. “The men nodded vigorously at me. When they took hold of me and lifted me in their strong arms, I thought nothing of it. I thought they were helping me. I was so full of trust in them that I felt grateful as they carried me in the air. Only when they threw me overboard did I begin to have doubts.” - Yann Martel

21. “One of the reasons there are so many terms for conditions of ice is that the mariners observing it were often trapped in it, and had nothing to do except look at it.” - Alec Wilkinson

22. “She found out that having something to do prevented you from feeling seasick, and that even a job like scrubbing a deck could be satisfying, if it was done in a seamanlike way. She was very taken with this notion, and later on she folded the blankets on her bunk in a seamanlike way, and put her possessions in the closet in a seamanlike way, and used 'stow' instead of 'tidy' for the process of doing so. After two days at sea, Lyra decided that this was the life for her.” - Philip Pullman

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

24. “Just about a month from now I'm set adrift, with a diploma for a sail and lots of nerve for oars.” - Richard Halliburton

25. “Just because I am paranoid does not mean that someone is not out to get me” - Don Darkes

26. “Listen, Miss, boats are supposed to float. Even if they break up, they usually still float and show up on a shore somewhere. There have been no reports of wreckage or abandoned boats. At this point, no news is still good news. Don't worry. It's too early to worry.” - Cathy Ostlere

27. “Flying might not be all plain sailing, but the fun of it is worth the price.” - Amelia Earhart

28. “Maybe you're getting into the rhythm of sailing life," says James. He looks out at the waves that are rolling in to lap against the dock. "You know, the tides going in and then out, the wind blowing east and then west, the high of a perfect day out on the water, the low of a thunderstorm or a wind that won't go your way.” - Melissa C. Walker

29. “They that go down to the sea in ships' see strange things, but what they tell is oft-times stranger still. A faculty for romancing is imparted by a seafaring life as readily and surely as a rolling gait and a weather-beaten countenance. A fine imagination is one of the gifts of the ocean-witness the surprising and unlimited power of expression and epithet possessed by the sailor. And a fine imagination will frequently manifest itself in other ways besides swear words. ("The Gorgon's Head")” - Gertrude Bacon

30. “...now and then a giggling trail of mermaids appeared in our wake. We fed them oatmeal.” - Tove Jansson

31. “The first glance at the pillow showed me a repulsive sentinel perched upon each end of it--cockroaches as large as peach leaves--fellows with long, quivering antennae and fiery, malignant eyes. They were grating their teeth like tobacco worms, and appeared to be dissatisfied about something. I had often heard that these reptiles were in the habit of eating off sleeping sailors' toe nails down to the quick, and I would not get in the bunk any more. I lay down on the floor. But a rat came and bothered me, and shortly afterward a procession of cockroaches arrived and camped in my hair. In a few moments the rooster was crowing with uncommon spirit and a party of fleas were throwing double somersaults about my person in the wildest disorder, and taking a bite every time they stuck. I was beginning to feel really annoyed. I got up and put my clothes on and went on deck.The above is not overdrawn; it is a truthful sketch of inter-island schooner life.” - Mark Twain

32. “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

33. “They loved the sea. They taught themselves to sail, to navigate and read the weather. Without their mother's knowledge and long before she thought them old enough to sail outside the harbor, they were piloting their catboat all the way to the Isles of Shoals. They were on the return leg of one such excursion when the fickle weather of early spring took an abrupt turn and the sky darkened and the sun vanished and the wind came squalling off the open sea. They were a half mile from the harbor when the storm overtook them. The rain struck in a slashing torrent and the swells hove them so high they felt they might be sent flying--then dropped them into troughs so deep they could see nothing but walls of water the color of iron. They feared the sail would be ripped away. Samuel Thomas wrestled the tiller and John Roger bailed in a frenzy and both were wide-eyed with euphoric terror as time and again they were nearly capsized before at last making the harbor. When they got home and Mary Margaret saw their sodden state she scolded them for dunces and wondered aloud how they could do so well in their schooling when they didn't have sense enough to get out of the rain.” - James Carlos Blake

34. “There, in the shimmering distance, was a sail. I stared in momentary disbelief, but there it was, one of the most beautiful sights the Pacific can ever offer — a ship in full sail edging her way through the blue waters.” - Tom Neale

35. “My wife and I said good-bye the next morning in a little sheltered place among the lumber on the wharf; she was one of your women who never like to do their crying before folks.She climbed on the pile of lumber and sat down, a little flushed and quivery, to watch us off. I remember seeing her there with the baby till we were well down the channel. I remember noticing the bay as it grew cleaner, and thinking that I would break off swearing; and I remember cursing Bob Smart like a pirate within an hour.("Kentucky's Ghost")” - Elizabeth Stuart Phelps

36. “don't just sit theresail something!” - chery fee