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.
Just start scrolling to find the perfect quote.
Our Favorite Short Sailing Quotes for Instagram
“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
“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
If you like these, you might also want to check out our other lists of Boat Quotes, Yacht Captions, Boat Captions and Boat Puns.
Inspirational Quotes About Sailing
“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
“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
“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
“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
- 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 quote.
Now get out there and spend some time on the water!
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About the Author
Laynni Locke
I am Laynni Locke, a Canadian writer, reader and traveller with a passion for sharing life’s moments on social media. Keeping friends and family in the loop of our lives though photos and videos has become an essential activity for most.
And it doesn’t matter if you are travelling, celebrating a special occasion or just appreciating day-to-day life, when you take that perfect photo you are going to need the perfect caption or quote before you share it. Which is why we started Routinely Shares, providing comprehensive lists of quotes and captions to cover every occasion, adventure or loved one.
With extensive experience as a travel writer, social media specialist and grant writer, I have made it my mission to curate the best and easiest to use lists for your next post.