111 Scintillating Nautical Inspirational Quotes (Ahoy)
Discover a sea of wisdom and inspiration with our collection of nautical-themed quotes that will set your sails for success and adventure.
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- Inspirational Quotes for Nautical Enthusiasts
- Setting Sail with Motivation: Nautical Quotes to Live By
- Finding Strength in the Sea: Inspiring Nautical Sayings
- Anchoring Hope: Uplifting Nautical Quotes
- Maritime Motivation: Inspiring Quotes from the Sea
Inspirational Quotes for Nautical Enthusiasts
It’s remarkable how quickly a good and favorable wind can sweep away the maddening frustrations of shore living. Ernest K. Gann
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
Life is like sailing. You can use any wind to go in any direction. Robert Brault
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
It is not the ship so much as the skillful sailing that assures the prosperous voyage. George William Curtis
As we sail through life, don’t avoid rough waters, sail on because calm waters won’t make a skillful sailor.
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
Mackerel skies and mare’s tails, soon will be time to shorten sails. Old sailor’s proverb Nautical Inspirational Quotes
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.
Never in my life before have I experienced such beauty, and fear at the same time. Ellen MacArthur
The ocean is everything I want to be: beautiful, mysterious, wild, and free.
It’s scary to have a 30-foot wave chasing you. If you are steering, you don’t look back. The crew looks back for you, and you watch their faces. When they look straight up, then get ready! Magnus Olsson Nautical Inspirational Quotes
The art of the sailor is to leave nothing to chance. Annie Van De Wiele
I’m telling you that India is that way, now set my course. Christopher Columbus
To be successful at sea we must keep things simple. Pete Culler
However bad the storm you are in, there is still sun somewhere over your horizon. Ken Nutt
Ships are the nearest things to dreams that hands have ever made. Robert N. Rose
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
There is but a plank between a sailor and eternity. Thomas Gibbons
The sound of the ocean waves is the ultimate lullaby.
Setting Sail with Motivation: Nautical Quotes to Live By
I loved cruising the coast of Maine. For one thing, it helped me conquer my fear of fog. Not that I have learned to feel secure in the fog, but at least I have learned how to grope without panic. Herb Payson
He who lets the sea lull him into a sense of security is in very grave danger. Hammond Ines
The sea drives truth into a man like salt. Hilaire Belloc
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
Salt in the air, wind in my hair-life is better on a boat.
Men in a ship are always looking up, and men ashore are usually looking down. John Masefield
Every day is a journey, and the journey itself is home. Matsuo Basho
Without patience, a sailor I would never be. Lee Allred
Success soon palls. The joyous time is when the breeze first strikes your sails, and the waters rustle under your bows. Charles Buxton
I start from the premise that no object created by man is as satisfying to his body and soul as a proper sailing yacht. Arthur Beiser
When all seems to be against you, remember, a ship sometimes has to sail against the current, not with it. Matshona Dhliwayo
And after two days in civilization we realized we could never stay for long and started to plan our next adventure. Bob Bitchin
The ocean has taken everything from me and yet I still love her.
The wind and the waves are always on the side of the ablest navigator. Edmund Gibbon
The lovely thing about cruising is that planning usually turns out to be of little use. Dom Degnon
Sail into the sunset and let your worries drift away.
Pull that thing. Pull that other thing. Sail faster. The Princess Bride
It is not the ship so much as the skillful sailing that assures the prosperous voyage. George William Curtis
Thought is the wind, knowledge the sail, and mankind the vessel. Augustus Hare
If one does not know to which port one is sailing, no wind is favorable. Lucius Annaeus Seneca
If you’re not getting close to capsize, you’re probably not pushing hard enough. James Spithill Nautical Inspirational Quotes
When I forget how talented God is, I look to the sea. Whoopi Goldberg
It’s out there at sea that you are really yourself. Vito Dumas
Finding Strength in the Sea: Inspiring Nautical Sayings
Sail through the good days, and on bad days pick a spot of blue sky to steer toward. Richelle E. Goodrich
I don’t know who named them swells. There’s nothing swell about them. They should have named them awfuls. Hugo Vihlen
Nautical life: Where every day is a new adventure.
Sailing: The fine art of slowly going nowhere at great expense while being cold, wet and miserable. Irv Heller
One of the best temporary cures for pride and affection is seasickness. Henry Wheeler Show
Instead of sailing off into the sunset, he hopes to sail into the next century. Dave Anderson
I wanted freedom, open air and adventure. I found it on the sea. Alain Gerbault
Embrace the tides of life and navigate your own course.
There are more sharks on the land than in the sea. Neil Wheatley
Anyone can hold the helm when the sea is calm. Syrus Publilius
Cruising has two pleasures. One is to go out in wider waters from a sheltered place. The other is to go into a sheltered place from wider waters. Howard Bloomfield
There are some things you learn best in calm, and some in storm. Willa Cather
Without goals, and plans to reach them, you are like a ship that has set sail with no destination. Fitzhugh Dodson
You haven’t lived until you’ve sailed. David Sedaris
Only the guy who isn’t rowing has time to rock the boat. Jean-Paul Sartre
Nothing comes sailing by itself. Alexander Dale Oen
The cure for anything is saltwater sweat, tears, or the sea. Isak Dinesen
Anchor as though you plan to stay for weeks, even if you intend to leave in an hour. Tommy Moran
The sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever. Jacques Cousteau Nautical Inspirational Quotes
Sail Now, Work Later.
Out of sight of land the sailor feels safe. It is the beach that worries him. Charles Davis
To young men contemplating a voyage I would say go. Joshua Slocum
Anchoring Hope: Uplifting Nautical Quotes
To sail is human… to power divine! Preben Sejer Kristensen
He is the best sailor who can steer within the fewest points of the wind and extract a motive power out of the greatest obstacles. Walter Scott
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
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
Sailors, with their built-in sense of order, service, and discipline, should really be running the world. Nicholas Monsarrat
You can never cross the ocean unless you have the courage to lose sight of the shore. Christopher Columbus
He that will not sail till all dangers are over must never put to sea. Thomas Fuller
Don’t wait for the wind; set sail and find it.
The thing I realized this last few days is that the earth is a big place. Paul Cayard
The sea is the same as it has been since before men ever went on it in boats. Ernest Hemingway
Mackerel skies and mares’ tails, soon will be time to shorten sails. Sailor’s Proverb
Time and Tide wait for no man. St. Marher
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
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. John F. Kennedy
Everyone must row with the oars he has. Dutch Proverb
We must free ourselves of the hope that the sea will ever rest. We must learn to sail in high winds. Aristotle Onassis
I need the Sea because it teaches me. Pablo Neruda
Waves are not measured in feet or inches, they are measured in increments of fear. Buzzy Trent Nautical Inspirational Quotes
Let your dreams set sail.
The sea hates a coward. Eugene O’Neill
Maritime Motivation: Inspiring Quotes from the Sea
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
If a man is to be obsessed by something, I suppose a boat is as good as anything, perhaps a bit better than most. E. B. White
I was born in the breezes, and I had studied the sea as perhaps few men have studied it, neglecting all else. Joshua Slocum
At sea, I learned how little a person needs, not how much. Robin Graham
Sailing is not just a sport; it’s a way of life.
In a calm sea, every man is a pilot. John Ray
The man who has experienced shipwreck shudders even at a calm sea. Ovid
A sailor’s joys are as simple as a child’s. Bernard Moitessier
Some years ago never mind how long precisely having little or no money in my purse, and nothing particular to interest me on shore, I thought I would sail about a little and see the watery part of the world. H. Melville, Opening Line from Moby Dick
Who is staring at the sea is already sailing a little. Paul Carvel
Adventure awaits beyond the horizon.
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
Man marks the earth with ruin his control stops with the shore. George Gordon Byron Nautical Inspirational Quotes
The right of way goes to the vessel with the least competent crew. Mike Baiocchi
The only way to get a good crew is to marry one. Eric Hiscock.
Sailing takes me away to where I’ve always heard it could be. Christopher Cross
The difference between a fairy tale and a sea tale? A fairy tale starts with ‘Once upon a time.’ A sea tale starts with ‘This ain’t no $hit!’ Edith Widder
No literature is richer than that of the sea. No story is more enthralling, no tradition is more secure. Felix Riesenberg
Never a ship sails out of a bay, but carries my heart as a stowaway. Roselle Mercier Montgomery
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
The sea is a friend to all who seek her.
Sailing unties the knots in my mind. Al Noble
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
When a man comes to like a sea life, he is not fit to live on land. Dr. Samuel Johnson
The wind and the waves are always on the side of the ablest navigator. Edmund Gibbon, Historian
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
Navigating Life’s Storms: Lessons from the Sea
Life often mirrors the unpredictable nature of the sea, with its calm days and sudden storms. Just as sailors prepare their ships to weather the tempests, we, too, can equip ourselves to navigate life’s challenges. The lessons from the sea are not just confined to maritime endeavors but can be applied universally to help us steer through life’s storms with resilience and grace.
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- Embrace Change Like the Tides: The sea is ever-changing, just like life. Embrace change as an opportunity for growth, much like sailors adjust their course to the changing tides. It’s in adapting to life’s fluctuations that we find strength.
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- Set a Clear Course: Sailors chart their course before setting off, and so should we. Define your goals and dreams clearly, and let them guide you through the uncertainties. Just like a well-planned voyage, a well-defined path helps us stay on track.
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- Trust Your Inner Compass: Sailors rely on their compasses for direction. Similarly, trust your instincts and values as your inner compass. It will help you navigate moral dilemmas and make the right decisions.
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- Prepare for Storms: Life throws storms our way – setbacks, failures, and hardships. Sailors prepare their vessels; we can prepare ourselves through resilience, a support network, and a positive mindset. Storms don’t last forever.
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- Celebrate Small Victories: Sailors celebrate reaching waypoints on long journeys. Similarly, celebrate your achievements, no matter how small. These moments of joy keep you motivated.
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- Keep Learning: The sea is a vast teacher. Sailors continuously learn about navigation, weather, and more. In life, keep learning, adapting, and improving. New knowledge and skills can be your lifebuoy.
- Respect Nature’s Power: Sailors respect the sea’s immense power. Similarly, respect the forces of nature and circumstances you can’t control. Understanding your limitations is a sign of wisdom.
- Teamwork Matters: On a ship, teamwork is essential for survival. In life, nurture meaningful relationships. Having a reliable crew of friends and family can help you weather life’s storms.
- Find Beauty in the Journey: Sailors find beauty in sunsets at sea. Likewise, find beauty in your life’s journey. Sometimes, the most memorable moments happen during challenging times.
Navigating life’s storms is an art that, like sailing, requires practice and patience. By applying these lessons from the sea, you can transform adversity into an opportunity for growth, set your course with confidence, and, ultimately, reach the shores of a fulfilling and purposeful life. Just as sailors emerge from storms wiser and stronger, you too can emerge from life’s challenges more resilient and ready to embrace the next adventure.
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