Sailing is full of quotes to help you stay motivated, and that’s a good thing because there will be times when you’re feeling discouraged.
Whether you’re new to sailing or a seasoned veteran of the sea, the following sailing quotes will hopefully give you some inspiration the next time you’re out on your boat.
Quotes for Sailing
“There are many old sailors and there are many brave sailors. But there are few old brave sailors.” – Unknown
“At sea, I learned how little a person needs, not how much.” – Robin Lee Graham, American Sailor
“Hoist the sails of choice to harness the winds of joy.” – Jonathan Lockwood Huie
“The greatest thing in this world is not so much where we stand as in what direction we are moving.” – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
“A bad day sailing is 100 times better than a good day at work.” – Unknown
“Without goals, and plans to reach them, you are like a ship that has set sail with no destination.” – Fitzhugh Dodson
Sailing Quotes about Life
“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
“The sea finds out everything you did wrong.” – Francis Stokes
“Not all treasure is silver and gold, mate.” – Captain Jack Sparrow, Pirates of the Caribbean
“Live in the sunshine, swim the sea, drink the wild air.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson, American Philosopher“The sea finds out everything you did wrong.” ― Francis Stokes
Inspiring Sailing Quotes
“The goal is not to sail the boat, but rather to help the boat sail herself.” – John Rousmaniere, American Author
“Now and then we had a hope that if we lived and were good, God would permit us to be Pirates” – Mark Twain
“Land was created to provide a place for boats to visit.” – Brooks Atkinson
“I wanted freedom, open air and adventure. I found it on the sea.” – Alaine Gerbault
“We must free ourselves of the hope that the sea will ever rest. We must learn to sail in high winds.” – Aristotle Onassis
“Less judgement than wit is more sail than ballast.” – Unknown
“Don’t make any waves! The world is a big ocean, and you’re floating in the smallest canoe.” – Unknown
Funny Sailing Quotes
“There are some things you learn best in calm, and some in storm.” ― Willa Cather
“You there, are you a sailor?” – “Ja’ think I’m a cowboy?”― Popeye
“The art of the sailor is to leave nothing to chance.” ― Annie Van De Wiele
Life is simple if you just eat, sleep, and sail.” ― Unknown
“A sailor’s joys are as simple as a child’s.” ― Bernard Moitessier
Quotes on Sailing Away
“Smell the sea and feel the sky. Let your soul and spirit fly.” — Van Morrison, Irish Singer-Songwriter
“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
“Dance with the waves, move with the sea, let the rhythm of the water set your soul free.” – Christy Ann Martine, Canadian Poet
“The goal is not to sail the boat, but rather to help the boat sail herself.” – John Rousmaniere
Emotional Sailing Quotes
“Home is where the anchor drops.” — Unknown
“No pessimist ever discovered the secret of the stars or sailed to an uncharted land or opened a new heaven to the human spirit.” – Helen Keller
“A man who is not afraid of the sea will soon be drowned.” – Old fisherman from the Blasket Islands
Sailing Quotes about Love
“Drifting, On a sea of forgotten teardrops, On a lifeboat, Sailing for Your love.” – Jimi Hendrix
“Venture too far for love … and you renounce citizenship in the country you’ve made for yourself. You end up just sailing from port to port.” – Michael Cunningham
“Sailing is a big outlet for me. It’s one of the key things I’ve been able to do by commingling science with sailing and my love of the sea. Also, I have several motorcycles, and I like to go on motorcycle trips.” – Craig Venter
Motivational Sailing Quotes
“You can never cross the ocean unless you have the courage to lose sight of the shore.” – Christopher Columbus, Italian Explorer
“If one does not know to which port one is sailing, no wind is favorable.” – Seneca, Roman Philosopher
“Work like a captain and play like a pirate.” – Unknown
“The wind and the waves are always on the side of the ablest navigator.” – Edmund Gibbon
“Smooth seas do not make skillful sailors.” – African quote
Good Sailing Quotes
A man is never lost at sea.” ― Ernest Hemingway
“The sea is a desert of waves, a wilderness of water.” – Langston Hughes, American Poet
“The wind and the waves are always on the side of the ablest navigator.” -Edmund Gibbon