Maritime Quotes

“[T]hen all collapsed, and the great shroud of the sea rolled on as it rolled five thousand years ago.”
― Herman Melville, Moby-Dick or, The Whale

“The soul, they say, is divine and the flesh is iniquity. But I am a musician and I ask this - without the wood and the strings of the violin, where would the sonata find form?”
― Kathleen Valentine, The Old Mermaid's Tale: A Novel of the Great Lakes

“With this idea, being a man with long experience of the sea (and they certainly have a great advantage over other men in any sort of task)...”
― GarciLaso De la Vega, Royal Commentaries of the Incas and General History of Peru, Part One

“Many of those who elected to remain might have escaped. 'Chivalry' is a mild appellation for their conduct. Some of the vaunted knights of old were desperate cowards by comparison. A fight in the open field, or jousting in the tournament, did not call out the manhood in a man as did the waiting till the great ship took the final plunge, in the knowledge that the seas round about were covered with loving and yearning witnesses whose own salvation was not assured.”
― The Sinking of the Titanic and Great Sea Disasters

“The dangers of the sea should always take precedence
over the violence of the enemy’

Rear-Admiral Ben Bryant CB, DSO and two bars, DSC”
― Ben Bryant

“I phoned the Admiral back.
'It's no use, Admiral, the French speak nothing but French.'
There was a short pause on the end of the line then his voice rattled into life like a sabre.
'They're lying, Tim!'
'What?'
'The French Navy must by law speak English, as English is the international maritime language of the sea.'
'Has anyone told the French that?'
The line went dead for a moment before he thundered, 'Yes Nelson. At the battle of Trafalgar.'
I tried to stifle an irresistibly British giggle not knowing if the Admiral was making a joke or not. I got it right. He was serious.”
― Tim Fitzhigham, In the Bath: Conquering the Channel in a Piece of Plumbing

“It was a symposium of horror and heroism, the like of which has not been known in the civilized world since man established his dominion over the sea.”
― The Sinking of the Titanic and Great Sea Disasters

“Any port in a storm.”
― Michael J. Tougias, Ten Hours Until Dawn: The True Story of Heroism and Tragedy Aboard the Can Do

“Boating is a wonderful and relaxing pastime, however it is not without its hazards.”
― Captain Hank Bracker

“All sailors of all sorts are more or less capricious and unreliable- they live in the varying outer weather and they inhale it's fickleness”
― Herman Melville , Moby Dick

“The deep sea will never run out of things for us to dream about. Places will remain unseen and unvisited, fleeting moments will be missed, and nimble creatures, whose existence nobody can guess, will keep slipping out of sigh. We need to do all we can to keep it that way.”
― Helen Scales, The Brilliant Abyss

“Hercol was simply unwilling to kill. Tholjassans revere life, he had told Ott years ago, possibly the last time they had spoken. So do we, Ott had answered. But sometimes a knife in the dark is the only way to prove it.”
― Robert V.S. Redick, The Red Wolf Conspiracy

“The U.S. Treasury Department has issued at least four licenses to companies that want to establish ferry service to Cuba from Key West, Miami, Fort Lauderdale and Tampa. Baleària, a Spanish company, presently owns the Baleària Bahamas Express ferry service from Fort Lauderdale to Freeport, Grand Bahamas, and is now considering a ferry to operate between Florida and Cuba. United Caribbean and Havana Partners have expressed an interest in a service from Tampa to Havana and Mexico. Baja Ferries USA wants to open routes between the Port of Miami and Port Everglades to Cuba. Some of the ferries will offer duty-free shopping, restaurants, bars and even swimming pools.
The details regarding feasibility depends on government restrictions and tariffs placed on them by the countries, as well as the ports involved. Tampa would be a straight run 331 miles due south, but some of the other ports would be closer. In the end it will come down to money, availability of cargo and logistics. As of the summer of 2016, perspective ferry operators are awaiting final approval and licensing from the Cuban government. Because of this the ferry companies are on hold and are still waiting to begin operations.
Tampa and The Port of Tampa have expressed their enthusiasm to become fully involved in these new ventures. Bob Rohrlack, President of the Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce, has been to Cuba several times, taking corporate delegates in preparation for improved, open relations with Cuba.”
― Captain Hank Bracker, The Exciting Story of Cuba

“There are no rogue ships; there are only rogue shipowners.”
― Barista Uno, Maritime Double Shots

“Freedom of navigation is an indispensable part of Law of the Sea.
It is the foundation stone of law of the sea. One of the purposes of law of the sea is to ensure peaceful navigation.”
― Henrietta Newton Martin, International Law of the Sea-A Primer

“There are no compelling reasons for exploiting the deep, just industry and politics vying to push into that last frontier.”
― Helen Scales, The Brilliant Abyss

“The deep sea will never run out of things for us to dream about. Places will remain unseen and unvisited, fleeting moments will be missed, and nimble creatures, whose existence nobody can guess, will keep slipping out of sight. We need to do all we can to keep it that way.”
― Helen Scales, The Brilliant Abyss