Friday, June 19, 2009

mariner's quotes

Heavy rain and occasional thunder this morning, and Loshue tried to demolish the bathroom door while I showered.  Just the excuse I need to stay home and rest.

Meant to do this for a long time.  Here goes:

the sea has no patience for the unprepared -anon (?)

the more your sweat in training, the less you bleed in battle - (navy seal motto)

The length of a man's boat should equal his age - anon

All boats are compromises.  A good boat makes good compromises; a bad one does not. - Fred Brooks

Just as beauty in woman creates allure and inspires affection, so it does in a boat. - William Snaith

A small sailing craft is not only beautiful, it is seductive and full of strange promise and the hint of trouble.  - E.B. White

A sloppy, ill-kept ship is ever the mark of a poor sailor and an indication of indifference or ignorance or both. - Harvey Garrett Smith

Only fools and passengers drink at sea - Alan Villiers

A fool at sea judges his position by what he conceives to be his nearness to a given object, but the prudent man insists on two bearings. - anon

The first rule of coastal cruising: start early, finish early.  - anon

Though a large vessel is usually more comfortable than a small one, size has little to do with safety in open water.  A little vessel yields to every movement of the sea - herein lies her safety.  The huge unyielding bulk of a great ship exposes her to the full force of every blow.

It's always time to reef when you think it is. -- Thomas Fleming Day

We all like to see people sea-sick when we are not ourselves.  -  Mark Twain

It is best for the mariner, if he can manage it, not to think too deeply during times of stress.  - Ralph Stock

When the porpoise jumps, look out for your pumps -- old weather saying

When all about are losing their heads, the captain must keep his. - anon

The one real crime at sea is the crime of indecision -- John Irving

No man is fit to command another that cannot command himself -- William Penn

A man may be tolerated in a racing yacht in spite of his moral delinquencies and faults of temper, because he is a very smart seaman, but a sloven should be given a very wide berth, as he will not only be offensive to the rest of the crew, but in all probability not a good seaman. -- Dixon Kemp

When a [yacht] fails to make her port to windward, in nine cases out of ten it is the crew that fails rather than the vessel.  -  Claud Worth

It was midnight and our captain was fast asleep.  But Capt. Kennedy jumping upon deck, and seeing the danger, ordered the ship to wear round, all sails standing.  An operation dangerous to the masts, but in carried us clear, and we escaped shipwreck, for we were running right upon the rocks on which the lighthouse was erected.  This deliverance impressed me strongly with the utility of lighthouses, and made me resolve to encourage the building of more of them in America, if I should live to return there -- Benjamin Franklin, on escaping shipwreck on the Scilly Isles.

A caution, always work the tides.  - Frank Cowper

Never go into strange places on a falling tide without a pilot -- Thomas Gibson Bowles

Out of sight of land the sailor feels safe.  It is the beach that worries him.  - Charles G. Davis

Vessels are sometimes retarded, and sometimes forwarded in their voyages, by currents at sea, which are not often perceived.  -  Benjamin Franklin

Some day the history of the sea will be divided into two great periods.  The Age of SImplicity and the Age of Complication.  -  Felix Riesenberg

The poetry of the sea is written on shore.  -  Laura Alexandrine Smith

In a rowing craft you find that you are closer to the water than you ever were before, no matter how much boating you have done in other craft.  You are much more aware of sea and weather conditions, and see more of your surroundings than you ever did before.  You get into places, holes, and creeks you never really knew existed.  --  R.D. "Pete" Culler

In a rowboat you are propelled without any noise or expense of fuel; you can explore shallow water regions without damaging your propeller.  If it becomes a little cool you can keep yourself warm quite easily.  In fact, rowing in temperatures down to freezing is very comfortable.  While it is true that rowing races are apt to shorten one's life, still rowing for pleasure will greatly lengthen the life span.  But best of all, it will greatly reduce the waistline.  --  L. Francis Herreshoff

Rowing is life life.  We don't know where we're going, but we have a clear view of where we have been.  -- anon

Rowers leave nothing behind them but the swirls from their oar blades.  - Mac McCarthy

On the water no one can hear you scream.  -  T-shirt slogan seen at a rowing regatta

From first to last the seaman's thoughts are very much concerned with his anchors.  It is not so much that the anchor is a symbol of hope as it is the heaviest object that he has to handle on board his ship at san in the usual routine if his duties.  The beginning and the end of every passage are marked distinctly by work about the ship's anchors.  --  Joseph Conrad

A harbor, even if it is a little harbor, is a good thing.  -  Sarah Orne Jewett


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