The sea receives us in a proper way only when we are without clothes.

Ocean. A body of water occupying about two-thirds of a world made for man—who has no gills.

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.

We are as near to heaven by sea as by land!

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

All streams run to the sea, but the sea is not full.

The sea hath no king but God alone.

He who commands the sea has command of everything.

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.

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.

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

Seamen are the nearest to death and the furthest from God.

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