Sailing quotations, checked at the source

The enduring pull of sail.

Words from sailors and sea writers, each checked against the original work, with its speaker, source and edition on record.

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A good sailing story leaves the salt on the page and the explanation within reach.

Today’s words from the water

Believe me, my young friend, there is nothing—absolute nothing—half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats.

Water Rat · The Wind in the Willows · Source record

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In or out of 'em, it doesn't matter. Nothing seems really to matter, that's the charm of it.

Water Rat · The Wind in the Willows

The ultimate word is I LIKE. It lies beneath philosophy, and is twined about the heart of life.

Jack London · The Cruise of the Snark

As idle as a painted ship / Upon a painted ocean.

The Ancient Mariner · The Rime of the Ancient Mariner

I remember my youth and the feeling that will never come back any more—the feeling that I could last for ever, outlast the sea, the earth, and all men…

Marlow · Youth: A Narrative

Water, water, every where, / Nor any drop to drink.

The Ancient Mariner · The Rime of the Ancient Mariner

There is a witchery in the sea, its songs and stories, and in the mere sight of a ship, and the sailor's dress, especially to a young mind, which has done more to man navies, and fill merchantmen, than all the press-gangs of Europe.

Richard Henry Dana Jr. · Two Years Before the Mast

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