~ Down to the Sea ~
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,
The wheel's kick, the wind's song and the white sail's gentle shaking,
And a grey mist on the sea's face, and a chill grey dawn abreaking.

I must go down to the sea again, for the call of the running tide
Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied;
And all I ask is a windy day with the soft and white clouds flying,
And the flung spray and the blown spume, and the seagulls lonely crying.

I must go down to the sea again, to the vagrant gypsy life,
To the gull's way and the whale's way where the wind's like a whetted knife;
And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow rover
And quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long sojourn is over.

-- John Masefield
Ships that pass in the night and speak to each other in passing, only a signal shown, and a
distant voice in the darkness; so, on the ocean of life, we pass and speak to one another, only
a look and a voice, then darkness again, and a silence.  -- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
The pessimist never discovered the secret of the stars or sailed to an uncharted
land or opened a new doorway for the human spirit.  -- Helen Keller
A ship in port is safe, but that's not what ships are built for.  -- Grace Hopper
We should not moor a ship with only one anchor,
or our life with only one hope.  -- Epictetus
As absurd as it may sound, it sometimes seems to
me that a ship has a soul.  -- John Rhodes Sturdy
I long for the solitude of a sunset at sea, for the motion of my boat
and the beauty of the stars in the evening's last glow.  -- R. C. Gibbons
The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects
it to change; the realist adjusts the sails.  -- William Arthur Ward
Patience.  Patience is what the sea teaches.
Patience and faith.  -- Ann Morrow Lindbergh
Pay no attention to the naysayers, doomsday-predictors and critics of the
world.  No statue has ever been erected to a critic.  -- Jean Sibelius
It's skill, not strength, that governs a ship.  -- Thomas Fuller
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