Sailing Quotes

There are countless sailing quotes from writers, sailors, and adventurers across the centuries. Some inspire, some amuse, and others capture the magic of life at sea. Here are just a few of our favourites.

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor, catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.
– Often attributed to Mark Twain, but has never been verified

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

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

All loose things seem to drift down to the sea, and so did I.
– Louis L’Amour

Duty is the great business of a sea officer; all private considerations must give way to it, however painful it may be.
– Horatio Nelson

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

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

There is but a plank between a sailor and eternity.
– Thomas Gibbons

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

Mackerel skies and mares’ tails, soon will be time to shorten sails.
– Unknown

It isn’t that life ashore is distasteful to me. But life at sea is better.
– Sir Francis Drake

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

There is nothing more enticing, enchanting and enslaving than the life at sea.
– Joseph Conrad

If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up the men to gather wood, divide the work and give orders. Instead, teach them to yearn for the vast and endless sea.
– Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

If you enjoyed these sailing quotes, you may also like: Sea Quotes, Beach Quotes, and Ocean Quotes.

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