The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails.
- William A. Ward

"The ocean has always been a salve to my soul...the best thing for a cut or abrasion was to go swimming in salt water. Later down the road of life, I made the discovery that salt water was also good for the mental abrasions one inevitably acquires on land."
- Jimmy Buffett

I must go down to the sea again, to the lonely sea and the sky.
And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by.
- John Masefield

When I was a young man of 19, I enrolled in Nautical College and became a professional mariner. I traded my small nimble vessel for 35,000 tonne deadweight, ocean going bulk carrier.

There is nothing like lying flat on your back on the deck, alone except for the helmsman aft at the wheel, silence except for the lapping of the sea against the side of the ship. At that time you can be equal to Ulysses and brother to him.
- Errol Flynn