Our site includes affiliate links to products we recommend. If you use one to make a purchase, we earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thanks for your support!
Time spent sailing is like time in another world. If you are looking for sailing quotes this is the place for you. We have gathered all the best ones here, including sailboat quotes, inspirational quotes about sailing, and sailing sayings.
We have also paired our favorite quotes about sailing, quotes about sailboats and quotes on sailors with some great sailing photos.
Jump ahead to your favorite category or just start scrolling to find the perfect sailing quote, quote about sailing and sailboat quote for you.
Our Favorite Sailboat Quotes
Here are a few of our favorite sailboat quotes.
“To desire nothing beyond what you have is surely happiness. Aboard a boat, it is frequently possible to achieve just that. That is why sailing is a way of life, one of the finest of lives.” ― Carleton Mitchell
“The sea is the same as it has been since before men ever went on it in boats.” ― Ernest Hemingway
“Land was created to provide a place for boats to visit.” ― Brooks Atkinson
“The goal is not to sail the boat, but rather to help the boat sail herself.” ― John Rousmaniere
“The boat is safer anchored at the port, but that is not the aim of boats.” ― Paulo Coelho
“Even if it is made up of gold, the sailing boat can go nowhere without the humble wind!” ― Mehmet Murat ildan
“If one doesn’t know to which port one is sailing, no port is favorable.” ― Lucius Annaneus Seneca
“To meditate is to sail a course, to navigate, among problems many of which we are in the process of clearing up.” ― Jose Ortega y Gasset
“Sail through the good days, and on bad days pick a spot of blue sky to steer toward.” ― Richelle E. Goodrich
“I can’t change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination.” ― Jimmy Dean
“We must free ourselves of the hope that the sea will ever rest. We must learn to sail in high winds.” ― Aristotle Onassis
“To reach a port we must set sail – Sail, not tie at anchor; Sail, not drift.” ― Franklin D. Roosevelt
“I wanted freedom, open air and adventure. I found it on the sea.” — Alain Gerbault
“At sea, I learned how little a person needs, not how much.” ― Robin Lee Graham
“The sea will grant each man new hope, and sleep will bring dreams of home…” – Christopher Columbus
“At night, when the sky is full of stars and the sea is still you get the wonderful sensation that you are floating in space.” – Natalie Wood
“A smooth sea never made a skilled sailor.” – Franklin D. Roosevelt
“My course is set for an uncharted sea.” – Dante
“The sea! the sea! the open sea! The blue, the fresh, the ever free!” – Bryan W. Procter
“I’m sailing! I’m sailing! I’m sailing!… I’m sailing! I’m sailing! I sail! I’m sailiiiiiing!” — Bob Wiley on What About Bob
“Any damn fool can navigate the world sober. It takes a really good sailor to do it drunk.” ― Sir Francis Chichester
“The lovely thing about cruising is that planning usually turns out to be of little use.” ― Dom Degnon
Only two sailors, in my experience, never ran aground. One never left port, and the other was an atrocious liar.” ― Don Bamford
“There is no unhappiness like the misery of sighting land again after a cheerful, careless voyage.” ― Mark Twain
“A sailing ship is no democracy; you don’t caucus a crew as to where you’ll go anymore than you inquire when they’d like to shorten sail.” ― Sterling Hayden
Inspirational Quotes About Sailing
We love these inspirational sailing quotes. You should also check out our full list of Short Inspirational Quotes.
“The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails.” ― William Arthur Ward
“One doesn’t discover new lands without consenting to lose sight, for a very long time, of the shore.” ― Andre Gide
“It’s remarkable how quickly a good and favorable wind can sweep away the maddening frustrations of shore living.” — Ernest K. Gann
“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.” ― Mark Twain
“It is not the ship so much as the skillful sailing that assures the prosperous voyage.” ― George William Curtis
“Men in a ship are always looking up, and men ashore are usually looking down.” ― John Masefield
“On a day when the wind is perfect, the sail just needs to open and the world is full of beauty.” — Rumi
“The charm of singlehanded cruising is not solitude, but independence.” ― Claud Worth
“I am not afraid of storms, for I am learning how to sail my ship.” — Louisa May Alcott
“You haven’t lived until you’ve sailed.” ― David Sedaris
“We cannot direct the wind, but we can adjust the sails.” ― Dolly Parton
“Following the light of the sun, we left the Old World.” ― Christopher Columbus
“The sooner we learn to be jointly responsible, the easier the sailing will be.” ― Ella Maillart
“The days pass happily with me wherever my ship sails.” ― Joshua Slocum
“Hoist up sail while gale doth last, Tide and wind stay no man’s pleasure.” ― Robert Southwell
“When I’m out sailing, I don’t wonder what heaven is like because I know.” ― Anthony T. Hincks
“Have an anchor so that life doesn’t toss you around.” ― Debby Ryan
“On life’s vast ocean diversely we sail. Reasons the card, but passion the gale.” ― Alexander Pope
“It isn’t that life ashore is distasteful to me. But life at sea is better.” ― Francis Drake
“There is nothing more enticing, disenchanting, and enslaving than the life at sea.” ― Joseph Conrad
“It’s out there at sea that you are really yourself.” ― Vito Dumas
“Life is as inexorable as the sea.” – Thomas Wentworth Higginson
“Don’t sit and wait. Get out there, feel life. Touch the sun, and immerse in the sea.” – Rumi
“The only way to get a good crew is to marry one.” ― Eric Hiscock
“Ships are safe in harbor, but that’s not what ships are for. So set sail on the stormy sea of love. You’re going to get soaked at times, but at least you’ll know you’re alive.” – Dan Millman
“The voice of the sea speaks to the soul. The touch of the sea is sensuous, enfolding the body in its soft, close embrace.” – Kate Chopin
“Let the waves carry you where the light cannot.” – Mohit Kaushik
“The ceaseless twinkling of laughter of the waves of the sea.” – Aeschylus
“But where, after all, would be the poetry of the sea were there no wild waves?” – Joshua Slocum
“I love the sea’s sounds and the way it reflects the sky.” – John Dyer
“The sea is a desert of waves, A wilderness of water.” – Langston Hughes
“The sea lives in every one of us.” – Robert Wyland
“The sea is as near as we come to another world.” – Anne Stevenson
Sailor Quotes
This is maybe the most famous sailor quote and we thought it deserved its own section even though it is only one quote.
“Red sky at night, sailor’s delight. Red sky at morning, sailors take warning.” – Traditional Proverb
“Ships are but boards, sailors but men.” – William Shakespeare
“If it wasn’t for seasickness, all the world would be sailors.” ― Charles Darwin
“There is but a plank between a sailor and eternity.” ― Thomas Gibbons
“Sailors, with their built in sense of order, service and discipline, should really be running the world.” ― Nicholas Monsarrat
“Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” ― Mark Twain
“Every sea to scare the sailor, I have sailed.” – Patrick Stump.
“A smooth sea never made a skilled sailor.” – Franklin D. Roosevelt
“Out of sight of land the sailor feels safe. It is the beach that worries him.” ― Charles C. Davis
“I have the mouth of a sailor.” – Kristen Bell
“Vexed sailors cursed the rain, for which poor shepherds prayed in vain.” – Edmund Waller
“Any fool can carry on, but a wise man knows how to shorten sail in time.” ― Joseph Conrad
“The art of the sailor is to leave nothing to chance.” ― Annie Van De Wiele
“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
“Out of sight of land, the sailor feels safe. It is the beach that worries him.” – Charles Davis
“He who loves practice without theory is like the sailor who boards ship without a rudder and compass and never knows where he may cast.” – Leonardo da Vinci
“The wonder is always new that any sane man can be a sailor.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
“A ship in harbor is safe, but that’s not why ships were built.” ― John A. Shedd
“If the highest aim of a captain were to preserve his ship, he would keep it in port forever.” – Thomas Aquinas
Some people could look at a mud puddle and see an ocean with ships.” – Zora Neale Hurston
“Neither should a ship rely on one small anchor, nor should life rest on a single hope.” – Epictetus
“I wish to have no connection with any ship that does not sail fast; for I intend to go in harm’s way.” ― John Paul Jones
“If your ship doesn’t come in, swim out and meet it.” ― Jonathan Winters
Sailing Sayings and Proverbs
You’ll love these sailing sayings and proverbs.
“A great ship asks for deep waters.” – Romanian Proverbs
“It is good sailing with wind and tide.” – Dutch Proverbs
“Two captains sink a ship.” – Turkish Proverbs
“If you are in a boat you are more afraid of fire than you are of water.” – Japanese Proverb
“Don’t buy a boat that is under water.” – Congolese Proverbs
“After the ship has sunk, everyone knows how she might have been saved.” – Italian Proverb
“Loose lips sink ships.” – American Proverb
“One foot cannot stand on two boats.” – Chinese Proverb
“Don’t sail out further than you can row back.” – Danish Proverbs
“One should learn to sail in all winds.” – Italian Proverbs
“Better lose the anchor than the whole ship.” – Dutch Proverb
“A boat stands firmer with two anchors.” – Russian Proverb
“Sailors have a port in every storm.” – Traditional Proverb
“You are not a fully fledged sailor unless you have sailed under full sail.” – Irish Proverbs
“Sailors get to know each other better when there is a storm.” – French Proverb
“There is no wind that blows right for the sailor who doesn’t know where the harbor is.” – Norwegian Proverbs
Sailing Captions
If you like these sailing captions you might also like our lists of Boat Captions, Boat Puns, Yacht Captions and Sea Captions.
- Good vibes happen on the tides
- Life is better on a boat
- Home is where the anchor drops
- Come sail away with me
- Let the sea set you free
- Whatever floats your boat
- Let your dreams set sail
- It’s always a beautiful day for sailing
- I’m always in a sailing mood
- Setting sail
- Sailboat life is the best life
Well, that’s our list! We hope you found the perfect sailing quote.
Now get out there and spend some time on the water!
Let us know in the comments below if we missed a quote on sailing that should be added.
Pin it for Later!
About the Author
Laynni Locke
Laynni has been sharing her travel adventures and day-to-day life on Routinely Nomadic social media for over 15 years and appreciates the importance of finding the perfect quote or caption to showcase those experiences. Putting her extensive writing and education background to good use, Laynni has become passionate about researching and curating comprehensive lists of all the best quotes and captions for every occasion.
Other Posts About Quotes You May be Interested in: