172 Quotes About Sailing

For those of you who wish to get a feel for it, get in the car and bring it up to fifty miles an hour and then stick your head and arms outside and, while driving, try to fold up a simple bath towel in the wind

The wind does not change, the wind only blows and gusts, and it swells and swirls, and it whispers.

On board, it's either you meet a gentleman or a seaman.

The wind tousled his hair, and Dain’s chest loosed a little as his gaze broke from the wooden maid to follow a breeze-blown gull toward the horizon. The distant salmon skies dipped over the rim of the sea, and for the first time since boarding, he wondered where the waves might take him.

I there before thee, in the country that well thou knowest, Already arrived am inhaling the odorous air:I watch thee enter unerringly where thou goest, And anchor queen of the strange shipping there, Thy sails for awnings spread, thy masts bare:Nor is aught from the foaming reef to the snow-capp'd grandest Peak, that is over the feathery palms, more fairThan thou, so upright, so stately and still thou standest.(A Passer-by)

Quale nell’ arzana de Viniziani bolle l’inverno la tenace pece a rimpalmar li lor legni non sani,che navicar non ponno, e in quella vece chi fa suo legno nuovo, e chi ristoppa le coste a quel che piu viaggi fece;che ribatti da proda, e chi da poppa; altri fa remi, ed altri volge sarti; chi terzeruolo ed artimon rintoppa...(Inferno XXI 7-15)

Je prends le globe du Damien et regarde longuement l’immense boucle tracée depuis le départ. Plymouth si près, dix mille milles à peine vers le nord… mais partir de Plymouth pour rentrer à Plymouth, c’est devenu au fil du temps comme partir de nulle part pour aller nulle part. C’est formidable, ce petit globe que je tiens dans mes mains !Et nous sommes seuls, mon bateau et moi. Seuls avec la mer immense pour nous tout seuls.

Sometimes life throws big challenges, every next move seems to be hard. In such times we have to hold tight and keep sailing. Right things will happen. Keep faith.

But that's how it is on a sailing ship, and in this respect its journey parallels that of life: simply knowing where you want to go isn't enough, because life is a windblown voyage, consisting mainly of the detours imposed by alternating calm and storm.