Ships Quotes

“There are ships sailing to many ports, but not a single one goes where life is not painful.”
― Fernando Pessoa, The Book of Disquiet

“Only the ship is made of books, its sails thousands of overlapping pages, and the sea it floats upon is dark black ink.”
― Erin Morgenstern, The Night Circus

“Coach Hedge yelled,“Thar she blows! Kansas, ahoy!”
“Holy Hephaestus,” Leo muttered. “He really needs to work on his shipspeak.”
― Rick Riordan, The Mark of Athena

“Fiction has been maligned for centuries as being "false," "untrue," yet good fiction provides more truth about the world, about life, and even about the reader, than can be found in non-fiction.”
― Clark Zlotchew

“Get rid of their mast, knock holes in the hull, then get back on board."
"You want us to sink her?" Gundar asked, and Halt shook his head.
"No. I want her badly damaged but capable of making it back to port. I want the word to go out that the strange ship with the red falcon ensign"—he gestured to Evanlyn's ensign, flying from the mast top—"is manned by dangerous, hairy maniacs with axes and is to be avoided at all costs."
"That sounds like us," Gundar said cheerfully.”
― John Flanagan, The Emperor of Nihon-Ja

“All is as if the world did cease to exist. The city's monuments go unseen, its past unheard, and its culture slowly fading in the dismal sea.”
― Nathan Reese Maher

“Ships are my arrows, the sea my bow, the world my target.”
― Robert Thier, Storm and Silence

“A war of ideas can no more be won without books than a naval war can be won without ships. Books, like ships, have the toughest armor, the longest cruising range, and mount the most powerful guns.”
― Franklin Delano Roosevelt

“We clear the harbor and the wind catches her sails and my beautiful ship leans over ever so gracefully, and her elegant bow cuts cleanly into the increasing chop of the waves. I take a deep breath and my chest expands and my heart starts thumping so strongly I fear the others might see it beat through the cloth of my jacket. I face the wind and my lips peel back from my teeth in a grin of pure joy.”
― L.A. Meyer, Under the Jolly Roger: Being an Account of the Further Nautical Adventures of Jacky Faber

“Keefe?' Amy repeated, her lips curling into a grin. 'He's the supercute blonde guy you picked up cookies for, right? The one who keeps staring at you all intense when I met him, like you were the only person that mattered to him in the entire universe?'
Someone coughed near the doorway.
It was probably Grady, maybe Edaline too, but Sophie decided she would rather not know who was eavesdropping.
'He doesn't stare at me like that,' she said, hoping her cheeks weren't blushing too badly.
It didn't help that Ro kept cackling beside her.
...
'I swear, you have no idea how lucky you are, getting to be around so many gorgeous boys all the time. I don't know how you haven't dated any of them--or have you?'
'She tried with Fitzy,' Ro answered for her. 'But then she realized he was too boring, so they broke up.'
'That's not what happened!' Sophie argued--over lots more coughing from the doorway. 'We didn't really date. We just sort of... liked each other... openly. But then it got super complicated, so we decided to focus on being friends.
...
Why are we talking about this?' Sophie asked
...
'Because it's fun watching you get all red and fidgety!' Amy told her.
'Plus, there's a chance our boy is somewhere nearby, listening to this conversation,' Ro added before she raised her voice to a shout. 'Hear that, Hunkyhair? Get your overdramatic butt back here! Your girl is single--and the great Foster Oblivion is over! This is what you've been waiting for!'
'Hunkyhair?' Amy asked, raising one eyebrow as Sophie contemplated smothering herself with her blankets. 'Great Foster Oblivion?'
'Never mind,' Sophie mumbled, sinking deeper into her blankets.”
― Shannon Messenger, Stellarlune

“When they reached their ship, Ed gazed out at the bay. It was black. The sky was black, but the bay was even blacker. It was a slick, oily blackness that glowed and reflected the moonlight like a black jewel. Ed saw the tiny specks of light around the edges of the bay where he knew ships must be docked, and at different points within the bay where vessels would be anchored. The lights were pale and sickly yellow when compared with the bright blue-white sparkle of the stars overhead, but the stars glinted hard as diamonds, cold as ice. Pg. 26.”
― Clark Zlotchew, Once upon a Decade: Tales of the Fifties

“Waves crack with wicked fury against me ship's hull while ocean currents rage as the full moon rises o're the sea."
(Cutthroat's Omen: A Crimson Dawn)”
― Capt. John Phillips circa 1723

“The ground trembled. “Okay, so you’ve blown something. “If you’ve killed Felicity, you’d better brace yourself for the hellscape I’m going to rain down on your nasty little heads.”
He checked the data gathered by the spider droid in the one remaining exit. He had to hand it to these daemons—he was now certain Bast wasn’t here—they were damned good at concealment. There were at least two in this tunnel, possibly more, and he couldn’t be sure he’d trapped, injured or killed those covering the exits he’d just destroyed. No worries, he still had a couple of toys in his arsenal.”
― Patrick G Cox, First into the Fray

“A shout and the sound of plasma fire distracted the security team for a fraction of a second. Bast tensed, wondering if she could take out all three Security officers. Before she could act, however, all three were giving their attention to her again. Under her breath she cursed again, but managed to play the role she’d set herself. “Oh! What was that about?”
― Patrick G Cox, First into the Fray

“Neither Felicity nor James Heron paid much attention to the reports. They had other things on their minds. All too soon they would have to part, each to their own roles and duties. Both were aware of this, and both needed to enjoy their last few hours together. Who knew what the future might throw at them?
Felicity reached out and shut down the holo display of the broadcast, then she surrendered to his attentions. In a few hours they must part, but now they could live in the moment, and in each other’s arms.”
― Patrick G Cox, First into the Fray

“Hey. What's your ship's name, anyway?'

'Blip-A.'

'No, I mean. What do you call it?'

'Ship.'

'Your ship has no name?'

'Why would ship have name, question?'

'I shrugged. 'Ships have names.'

He points to my pilot's seat. 'What is name of you chair, question?'

'It doesn't have a name.'

'Why does ship have name but chair no have name, question?'

'Never mind. Your ship is the Blip-A.'

'That is what I said. Flash in ten seconds.'

'Copy.”
― Andy Weir, Project Hail Mary

“It’s a general rule – a law of space, as it was a law of the sea in the old days, that ships had to respond to distress calls. Unless of course it places their own lives in danger. Bearing this thought in mind, as you can probably tell by my writing, my fingers are beginning to tremble slightly.”
― Christina Engela, Space Vacation

“Anchors aren’t meant to ground ships forever.
Ships pick up anchors, sail the seas, go where they want and the settle down again.
Temporarily.
Ironically, anchors help you travel better.
Your anchor helps you move safely between seas.”
― Richie Norton

“You're a hero and I'm a monster. There's only one way that story ever ends.”
― Vanessa Len, Only a Monster

“The port is just a cemetery for ships who love adventure, storms and waves!”
― Mehmet Murat ildan

“A light was flashing on the desktop display when Kira entered. Another message. With a sense of trepidation, she pulled it up.

I am the spark in the center of the void. I am the widdershin scream that cleaves the night. I am your eschatological nightmare. I am the one and the word and the fullness of the light.
Would you like to play a game? Y/N
-Gregorovitch

As a rule, ship minds tended to be eccentric, and the larger they were, the more eccentricities they displayed. Gregorovich was on the outer tail of that bell curve, though. She couldn’t tell if it was just his personality or if his behavior was the result of too much isolation.
Surely, Falconi isn’t crazy enough to fly around with an unstable ship mind… Right?

Either way, best to play it safe:

No. -Kira

An instant later, a reply popped up:

☹️ -Gregorovich”
― Christopher Paolini, To Sleep in a Sea of Stars

“May every morning for us carefree be,
may every morning make us feel free,
our dreams with us to be for life,
like fleets of ships, in skies to sail, running rife…

Our smiles to bring to others joy,
hearts with sweetness filling every ploy,
our life - lifelike, like on ancient tapes,
to live in the moment, from youth to not escape…”
― Will Advise, На чист Български...: Pristine Bulgarian sayings...

“There is enough steam still in the pipes to feed its piston, but it has no real power. The wheel is nothing more than a spinning flower decorating a grave.”
― Shawn P. McCarthy

“be a lover like the sun
sunlit hands stretching over oceans
and i will be the flower that comes alive under your touch
i will be the ship that follows you across the very world”
― Natalie York, a year in the life

“Anchor yourself, flows aren't always visible.”
― Goitsemang Mvula

“What does it say?"
"What do you want it to say?" she asked. "You haven't bothered to tell me what you're after."
"I want to buy a battleship, of course. Who has one for sale?"
Barbara shot him a dour expression and studied the blue papers. "I'm afraid you're out of luck. The Soviet Union has one left, which is used to train naval cadets. France has long since scrapped hers. Same with Great Britain, even though she still keeps one on the rolls for the sake of tradition."
"The United States?"
"Five of them have been preserved as memorials."
"What are their present locations?"
"They're enshrined in the states they were named after: North Carolina, Texas, Alabama, and Massachusetts."
"You said five."
"The Missouri is maintained by the Navy in Bremerton, Washington. Oh, I almost forgot: the Arizona is still sentimentally kept on naval rolls as a commissioned ship."
Jarvis put his hands behind his head and stared at the ceiling. "I seem to recall the battlewagons Wisconsin and Iowa were tied up at the Philadelphia Navy Yard a few years back."
"Good memory," said Barbara. "According to the report, the Wisconsin went to the ship-breakers in 1984."
"And the Iowa?"
"Sold for scrap.”
― Clive Cussler, Vixen 03

“When your heart, from chills, is stiff,
feint memories, of remembrance will come like a whiff,
warm your heart will, they will melt the ice,
and again you will feel nice,
memories like that a pier constitute,
where your ship can rest, where again life is cute,
there you can go in all times of need,
when it’s hope you need, on your hope you can feed…”
― Will Advise, На чист Български...: Pristine Bulgarian sayings...

“If you cease to make any other foolish quips, I may tell you of bloody struggles against the Turks, Swedes, or the English, and the great storms which raptured our ship as if we were pests in the face of Poseidon’s wrath.”
― V.H. Witt, Strife and Sublimity: Tales of Germanics and Slavs

“So you will take me to die with you?” he said. He had seen little that made him believe they had any sort of friendship, but this seemed little thanks for it.”
― RJ Barker, The Bone Ships

“Captains sink ships, not storms, because a good captain smells the storm and sails to safe waters!”
― Mehmet Murat ildan