12 Sailing Quotes and Their Origin!

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Over 230 years since the invention of the steamship, sailing by wind power is still as popular as ever. Though largely reduced to a hobby and means of adventure, commercial wind sailing may make a comeback as shipping companies seek to reduce their environmental impact. Like any widespread human activity, we have had a lot to say about sailing.

Here are 12 sailing-related quotes and common nautical phrases and their backgrounds:

“To reach port, we must sail. Sail, not tie at anchor. Sail, not drift.” – President Franklin Delano Rosevelt, April 14th, 1938
“Your servant still doth have twelve warships under his command and he is still alive, that the enemy shall never be safe in the West Sea.” – Admiral Yi Sun-Sin, October 1597
“And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by.” – John Masefield, 1878

“Damn the torpedoes! Full speed ahead!” – Admiral David Glasgow Farragut, June 16th, 1862
“Batten down the hatches.” – Nautical saying
“Now, bring me that horizon.” – Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow, Pirates of the Caribbean (2003)
“The man who has experienced shipwreck shudders even at a calm sea.” – Ovid, First Century CE

“Keelhaul” – Nautical term, circa the mid-1600s
“I resolved to abandon trade and to fix my aim on something more praiseworthy and stable; whence it was that I made preparation for going to see part of the world and its wonders.” – Amerigo Vespucci, 1497
“Something seems to be wrong with our bloody ships today.” – Admiral of the Fleet David Beatty, 1st Earl Beatty, May 31st, 1916
“Big ships often sail on big debts.” – Chinese Proverb.

“How inappropriate it is to call this planet Earth, when clearly it is Sea.” – Arthur C. Clarke, circa 1963

This article will explore the meaning and origin of these quotes and phrases. Let’s set sail!

1. “To Reach Port, We Must Sail. Sail, Not Tie at Anchor. Sail, Not Drift.” – President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, April 14th, 1938

In his twelfth Fireside Chat 一which aired on April 14th, 1938一, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt spoke about the recent economic improvements due to New Deal spending programs and the need to keep government spending high or even increase it.

He understood that government funding was the heart of the private sector economy, and cutting it would cause the economy to fall into recession 一as it had the previous year.

Roosevelt was an avid sailor before he was crippled by polio and used nautical references on multiple occasions. His point in this Fireside Chat was that the only way to keep the economy recovering from the Great Depression was to keep government funding up until the recovery was complete.

Ultimately, the New Deal and the onset of the Second World War in 1939 would not only repair the damage caused by the Great Depression, but also lead to the greatest period of economic growth in human history.

2. “Your Servant Still Doth Have Twelve Warships Under His Command and He Is Still Alive, That the Enemy Shall Never Be Safe in the West Sea.” – Admiral Yi Sun-Sin, October 1597

Though little known outside of Korea, Admiral Yi Sun-Sin was arguably the best fighting admiral in human history. While combating the Japanese invasions between 1592 and 1598, he won at least 23 naval victories against a vastly superior enemy.

Yi Sun-Sin also invented the armored warship by fitting spiked iron plates to the hulls of existing warships. These “turtle ships” predated European armored warships by nearly a century.

Unfortunately, Admiral Yi’s competence was not reflected by his government. He was demoted and relieved from duty on four separate occasions during his career.

After his last demotion, he was briefly replaced by a career bureaucrat who sailed into an obvious Japanese trap, losing most of Admiral Yi’s fleet. The replacement commander then shuttled the remainder of the Korean fleet.

Admiral Yi was reinstated, but the Korean government considered surrendering to the Japanese. In a letter to the Joseon court, Admiral Yi coined the above quote, which can be paraphrased as, “this servant still has twelve ships with which to fight.” The Admiral went on to win a massive victory at the Battle of Myeongnyang.

Like the other claimant to the title of “Best Fighting-Admiral” (i.e., Admiral Horatio Nelson, First Viscount Nelson), Admiral Yi Sun-Sin was killed in action.

3. “And All I Ask Is a Tall Ship and a Star To Steer Her By.” – John Masefield, “Sea-Fever,” 1902

British poet John Masefield started his career as a merchant sailor before moving to America and pursuing a career as a poet. His poem “Sea-Fever” speaks of the desire of “men of the sea” to roam the open ocean. It has become associated with the general desire to explore the world and universe.

Due to its association with exploration, “Sea-Fever” has been quoted by popular media dealing with exploration. It has been quoted in multiple episodes and films in the “Star Trek” franchise.

4. “Damn the Torpedoes! Full Speed Ahead!” – Paraphrased From Admiral David Glasgow Farragut, August 5th, 1864

On August 5th, 1864, Admiral David Glasgow Farragut led his American naval squadron against the last open port held by the Confederacy on the Gulf Coast at the Battle of Mobile Bay.

Farragut had tied himself to the upper rigging of his flagship, the USS Hartford. He was also known for using a speaking trumpet (an archaic precursor to the modern megaphone) to shout orders at his crew and nearby ships.

Shortly after Admiral Farragut issued the order to charge into the bay, the monitor USS Tecumseh struck a mine laid by the navy and sank. At the time, sea mines were called “torpedoes.” The next ship in line, the USS Brooklyn, slowed its advance to wait for change orders.

In response to Hartford’s commander’s (Captain Dayton) request for orders, Admiral Farragut yelled, “Damn the torpedoes! Four bells! Captain Dayton, go ahead! Joule full speed!” “Joulett” refers to Captain James Edward Jouett, the commanding officer of the USS Metacomet, which was lashed side-by-side to Farragut’s flagship, the USS Hartford.

The American squadron won the Battle of Mobile. Admiral Farragut became the first American naval officer promoted to full Admiral and remained on active duty until he died in 1870. Both Captains Dayton and Joulett would eventually be promoted to Admiral as well.

The more concise and memorable version of this quote, “damn the torpedoes and full speed ahead,” has come to signify the drive to complete a goal despite the possibility of negative consequences.

5. “Batten Down the Hatches.” – Nautical Saying

While this phrase has come to mean to prepare for an (imminent) crisis, it has a nautical origin. It was originally meant to secure the deck hatches on a ship during rough seas.

The first version of this saying appeared in “An Universal Dictionary of the Marine,” written by William Falconer in 1769. The first explicit use of the modern phrase first appeared in the 1883 edition of the Chambers’s Edinburgh Journal.

6. “Now, Bring Me That Horizon.” – Johnny Depp As Captain Jack Sparrow, Pirates of the Caribbean (2003)

The surprise mega-hit and cultural phenomenon, Disney’s “Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl” ends with the antihero pirate Captain Jack Sparrow (played by Johnny Depp) escaping his execution and reclaiming command of his ship, the titular Black Pearl.

After issuing orders for his crew to go about the normal business of sailing, Sparrow says to no one in particular in a moment of reverie, “now, bring me that horizon” before singing a poorly remembered verse of the Disney song “Yo-Ho (A Pirate’s Life For Me)”

Disney made the film a placeholder in their production schedule and did not expect it to be a “smash hit.” Had the film been received as they expected or been released as a direct-to-video film, the last audiences would have seen of Captain Jack Sparrow would have been the captain slamming his “compass-that-doesn’t-point-north” shut before the credits rolled.

7. “The Man Who Has Experienced Shipwreck Shudders Even at a Calm Sea.” – Ovid, First Century CE

The Roman poet Ovid (43 BCE to 17/18 CE) is most famous for his epic meter poem “Metamorphoses,” published in 8 CE. The above quote speaks of how a person who experiences a traumatic event may become suspicious of similar circumstances that led to the trauma.

For example, people anticipate a major economic recession after car dealerships start selling “subprime auto loans” to unsuspecting customers.

8. “Keelhaul” – Nautical Term, Circa Mid-1600s

The term “keelhaul” first appeared in Dutch naval sources in the mid-1600s. It originally referred to a rather brutal punishment practiced by ship captains during the Golden Age of Sail. A sailor who committed a serious infraction like mutiny or being drunk on-duty would be tied to a rope and pulled under the ship against its hull.

Wooden sailing ships’ hulls were colonized by barnacles and other invertebrates with sharp shells. Thus, the punished sailor would suffer from severe lacerations and risk drowning. These lacerations would be extremely painful and often become infected.

Luckily, the meaning of “keelhaul” in modern times isn’t as extreme. The term means “to receive a severe rebuke.”

9. “I Resolved To Abandon Trade and To Fix My Aim on Something More Praiseworthy and Stable; Whence It Was That I Made Preparation for Going To See Part of the World and Its Wonders.” – Amerigo Vespucci, 1497

Christopher Columbus never actually made it to the North American mainland, didn’t set sail in 1492 to prove the Earth was round, and went to his grave believing the islands he “discovered” were part of India or Japan.

The Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci was the first European explorer to set foot on the North American mainland. That is, if you ignore the Norsemen who did it almost 500 years earlier. Vespucci was also the first European explorer to realize that the landmasses that would later be named after him, the “Americas,” were not part of Asia.

In a 1497 letter Pier Soderini, a statesman from the Republic of Florence, Vespucci described how he decided to leave a successful career in international trade for exploration’s much more honorable vocation. History attests that he made the right decision.

10. “Something Seems To Be Wrong With Our Bloody Ships Today.” – Admiral of the Fleet David Beatty, 1st Earl Beatty, May 31, 1916

Between May 31st and June 1st, 1916, the British Royal Naval and the High Seas Fleet of the German Empire engaged in the only large-scale naval battle of the First World War: the Battle of Jutland. Fought off the west coast of the Jutland Peninsula of Denmark, the two-day battle was ultimately anticlimactic and indecisive.

Both fleets suffered heavy losses in men and materiel and ultimately claimed tactical victories. The German fleet would never attempt to break through to the open ocean again, so the Royal Navy arguably won a strategic victory.

The British commanding officer, Admiral of the Fleet David Beatty, 1st Earl Beatty, was considered “past his prime” and out of touch by many of his subordinates. He did not do his reputation any favors after commenting on the explosion of two of his warships.

11. “Big Ships Often Sail on Big Debts.” – Chinese Proverb

Chinese culture is one of the oldest on Earth, and they have many great proverbs. For example, a warning about beginning a large and ambitious undertaking. The origin of this Proverb is not clear.

Go small and go now! That is, instead of getting a huge boat with big debts and leaving in 10 years. Buy a small debt-free boat and leave today!

12. “How Inappropriate It Is To Call This Planet Earth, When Clearly It Is Sea.” – Arthur C. Clarke, Circa 1963

One of the greatest science fiction authors of all time, Arthur C. Clarke was also an avid scuba diver and sailor. In the opening paragraph of the sixth chapter of James E. Lovelock’s book “Gaia: A New Look At Life On Earth,” Clarke discusses how the Earth is clearly more water than land as you see it from space.

The veracity of this quote is not clear. It first appeared in Lovelock’s writings, though Clarke made similar statements in his own works and media appearances..

Clarke lived in Colombo, Sri Lanka, to pursue scuba diving for most of his life. He died in 2008 at the age of 90.