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“Of course you had a choice, Riden. You just had a hard one. And you chose the easy option, which was to do nothing.”
― Tricia Levenseller, Daughter of the Pirate King

“The last captain called to sea again
Sails intrepid forward
The waves they rock
But he cares not
He need only follow the stars

Looking down at that compass
Would just lead him astray
His great old vessel
Done in by monsters, maelstroms,
Tidal waves
Foundering toward lost Atlantis

But by ancient stars
Burning oh so bright
And sails high and strong
He’ll catch the gale
That will take him there
Out where he belongs

Not a distant shore
But heaven’s door
One with the sublime
Another bright light
In the starry night
Shining with
True greatness”
― A.D. Aliwat, In Limbo

“Mr. Bird flung his food away and leaped to his feet, glaring around at no one in particular. 'I am not a dog!' he shouted agrily, his gold earrings flashing in the firelight.”
― Tim Powers, On Stranger Tides

“Shandy looked ahead. Blackbeard, apparently willing to get the explanation later, had picked up his oars and was rowing again.
'May I presume to suggest,' yelled Shandy giddily to Davies,
'that we preoceed the hell out of here with all due haste.'
Davies pushed a stray lock of hair back from his forehead and sat down on the rower's thwart. 'My dear fellow consider it done.”
― Tim Powers, On Stranger Tides

“Lila had an idea. It was a very stupid idea. But a stupid idea was better than no idea, at least in theory. So she dragged the words into shape and delivered them with her sharpest smile. “Nas,�� she said, slowly. “An to eran gast.��
No. I am your best thief.
She held the captain’s gaze when she said it, her chin high and proud. The others grumbled and growled, but to her they didn’t matter, didn’t exist. The world narrowed to Lila and the captain of the ship.
His smile was almost imperceptible. The barest quirk of his lips.”
― V.E. Schwab, A Gathering of Shadows

“Be your own anchor, and sail along the shore of Life with a bunch of smiles.

In a whirlwind of a thousand journeys, we flow through Life, as if crossing through an Ocean of an endless voyage. Sometimes we marvel at the ports we glide along, sometimes we chase the waves with our heart and soul, while sometimes we lose our way only to find a lighthouse guiding us along, always catching our breath at the majestic sunrises and sunsets.

Our happy moments and connections are like those ports that cross our path while the moments of pain direct our steps to the lighthouse within our soul, as we keep growing ourselves through so many births and deaths of our soul just as the sunrises and sunsets.

I want some of you to know and acknowledge the fact that it's absolutely okay to let go, to let the ship of your Life cross the port, because however beautiful that port might be, your journey shouldn't stop, it is not meant to stop. Well, the most brutal yet beautiful truth is, initially everyone stays but eventually no one does. It is brutal because it hurts, it sometimes makes you wonder why it has to end and it's beautiful because everything that ends often ends up gifting you with an invaluable experience filled with beautiful lessons and memories. Understand that it doesn't have to be chaotic, it can be a peaceful goodbye. And even when sometimes it might end in a turmoil, your soul would finally find the grace to give it a closure it demands. Understand that the pain that wrenches your heart in this, gradually tunes your soul to find an anchor, a flicker of Light that is forever guiding you Home. Understand that all of these arrivals and departures, detours and halts are Time's decision to make and we must embrace that with dignity and grace.

The essential thing is to keep sailing, by letting go, by simply carrying on with the journey. Halt if you must, but while you halt, don't forget to gaze at how you have grown through each of those very experiences, just as how wonderful the journey gets along the path while you keep passing the ports one after another, steering nearer to the ultimate destination. So wave them a goodbye with a smile of gratitude for helping you in finding a piece of your soul back through a mad jest of pain, to gift you with another step closer to your destination, and sail along the shore of Life with a bunch of smiles.”
― Debatrayee Banerjee

“I don’t know if someone pushed me off, or whether I fell overboard on my own. Either way, the ship sails on and I’m in the dark, freezing water, watching the lights on deck fade into the distance. None of the passengers or crew know I’ve fallen overboard. There’s nothing to cling to. I still have that fear, even now—that suddenly my very existence will be denied and, through no fault of my own, I’ll be hurled into the night sea once more. Maybe that’s why I haven’t been able to form deep relationships with people. I always keep a distance between me and others.”
― Haruki Murakami, Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage

“Sometimes the sea picks up a ship and throws it ashore in a rage! And the ship seems to resent it, makes it a matter of pride, and never returns to the sea!”
― Mehmet Murat ildan

“Don’t think that you didn’t launch the torpedo that sunk your ship.”
― Craig D. Lounsbrough

“How perfect to be aboard a ship with maybe a hundred years still in my pocket, but it's late for all of us. And in truth, the only ship there is, is the ship we are all on, burning the world as we go.”
― Mary Oliver, Dog Songs: Poems

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

“Leadership is not child's play; it's a great responsibility like steering a ship and leading sheeps to the right destination.”
― Ifeanyi Enoch Onuoha

“Between the five of us there was the strong bond of the sea, and also the fellowship of the craft, which no amount of enthusiasm for yatching, cruising, and so on can give, since one is only the amusement of life and the other is life itself.”
― Joseph Conrad, Youth, a Narrative

“Most people don't know that Titanic is a true story about a massive ship that sank. That ship was called The Olympic.”
― Jarod Kintz, Powdered Saxophone Music

“If I demand that I be the captain of my own ship, I’ll probably be spending most of my time in a lifeboat. And if I then demand to be the captain of the lifeboat, I’ll probably be spending all of my time being the lunch of something that doesn’t care that I’m a captain.”
― Craig D. Lounsbrough

“When they look at our banner, all they see is a tall black ship flying on the wind. They close their eyes to the onion.”
― George R.R. Martin, A Clash of Kings

“Worries never helped a sinking ship
- but they changed
how the ship has been built.
�� B”
― Laura Chouette

“A ship that does not miss any of the ports it has left means that it only loved the sea!”
― Mehmet Murat ildan

“What use is rowing - for a captain without a ship?”
― Moniastw

“Buoyant is very much honesty, deception heavy.

Beauty, in contrasts.”
― Komilaeristw

“I don’t think that I want to sail in a ship built by someone who has no idea of what water is. Yet, our culture is deluged with just such shipbuilders.”
― Craig D. Lounsbrough

“What are you doing here?�� he mumbled.
“Um, you asked me to follow you?�� Marrill said. The wizard chuckled. “Not you,�� he said, continuing downward. “I meant the Promenade Deck.�� He waved his hand over his shoulder at the floor they’d just passed. “You’ll have to watch out for that one—it likes to walk off. Best to stay away from it. Never know where it’ll end up; sometimes it up and heads to another ship.��
“Um…�� Her words faltered. “How do I know which one’s the Promenade Deck?�� He glanced up at her, forehead furrowed. “It’s the one that moves.”
― Carrie Ryan, The Map to Everywhere

“There is only one thing to know. The manat is *you.* A little skin and bone to keep the sea out—but you are its weight, its balance. You and I.”
― Betsy James, Listening at the Gate

“A sleeping sailor makes no gains but a heavy weight upon the ship.”
― Aegelis, X Captain Ruik's Adventure

“If God built the ship, lifeboats are unnecessary. However, if men built the ship lifeboats are also unnecessary simply because none of them will float any better than the ship.”
― Craig D. Lounsbrough

“We're building a rocket ship, why not add wings for extra flair! ”
― Dipti Dhakul

“Finite Navigation by Stewart Stafford

Happiness is but a harbour in a storm;
Greater tempests lash far-off docks,
Gauntlets to run to the last port of call,
Never a permanent plateau of nirvana.

Life's weather patterns pivot and feint,
Everything beyond our fingertip reach,
If we go off course with coins on our eyes,
The rocks of avarice pace in ocean spray.

We set sail or get driven from our sanctuary,
Shelter granted at the behest of strangers,
Captains of our ship, La Mirage, wave dancing,
Mates and blood as crew, fish and fowl companions.

© Stewart Stafford, 2023. All rights reserved.”
― Stewart Stafford

“Of all the things I love about Nick, this is what I love most. I love his calmness. I love the way my brain spirals out of control while next to it his moves in a straight and steady path. As if I'm a little tugboat in a storm, being thrown about by the waves and the currents, and he's the big ship I'm anchored to for safety.”
― Holly Smale, Picture Perfect

“Life and women are like an ocean; men are like a ship. Women's shit-testing you is the storm; you have to remain steadfast.”
― Sam Hyde

“To craft my own morals is to build a rudderless ship in a sea of rocky shoals buffeted by a contrary wind.”
― Craig D. Lounsbrough