Never trust her at any time when the calm sea shows her false alluring smile.

The life of a sailor is very unhealthy.

He that commands the sea is at great liberty and may take as much and as little of the war as he will.

The most advanced nations are always those who navigate the most.

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.

We are tied to the ocean. And when we go back to the sea—whether it is to sail or to watch it—we are going back whence we came.

He who travels by sea is nothing but a worm on a piece of wood, a trifle in the midst of a powerful creation. The waters play about with him at will, and no one but God can help him.

The sea hath no king but God alone.

Ships at a distance have every man’s wish on board.

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

I am ill every time it blows hard, and nothing but my enthusiastic love for the profession keeps me one hour at sea.

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

But look, our seas are what we make of them, full of fish or not, opaque or transparent, red or black, high or smooth, narrow or bankless—and we are ourselves sea, sand, coral, seaweed, beaches, tides, swimmers, children, waves.