Of all objects that I have ever seen, there is none which affects my imagination so much as the sea or ocean. A troubled ocean, to a man who sails upon it, is, I think, the biggest object that he can see in motion, and consequently gives his imagination one of the highest kinds of pleasure that can arise from greatness.

I wish to have no connection with any ship that does not sail fast, for I intend to go in harm’s way.

Tomorrow we take to the mighty sea.

The winds and the waves are always on the side of the ablest navigators.

Be not the slave of your own past. Plunge into the sublime seas, dive deep, and swim far, so shall you come back with self-respect, with new power, with an advanced experience that shall explain and overlook the old.

The sole business of a seaman onshore who has to go to sea again is to take as much pleasure as he can.

The power which the sea requires in the sailor makes a man of him very fast, and the change of shores and population clears his head of much nonsense of his wigwam.

I never even saw the use of the sea. Many a sad heart has it caused, and many a sick stomach has it occasioned! The boldest sailor climbs on board with a heavy soul and leaps on land with a light spirit.

The wonderful sea charmed me from the first.

The breaking of a wave cannot explain the whole sea.

A fair complexion is unbecoming to a sailor: he ought to be swarthy from the waters of the sea and the rays of the sun.

The sea hath no king but God alone.

Seaward ho! Hang the treasure! It’s the glory of the sea that has turned my head.