Nautical Expertise Quotes

... the best pilots have need of mariners, besides sails, anchor and other tackle.

Ships are to little purpose without skillful Sea Men.

The best that science can devise and that naval organization can provide must be regarded only as an aid, and never as a substitute for good seamanship.

It is not the ship so much as the skillful sailing that assures the prosperous voyage.

A great mind is a good sailor, as a great heart is.

'Tis skill, not strength, that governs a ship.

Columbus real achievement was managing to cross the ocean successfully in both directions. Though an accomplished enough mariner, he was not terribly good at a great deal else, especially geography, the skill that would seem most vital in an explorer.

The most advanced nations are always those who navigate the most. The power which the sea requires in the sailor makes a man of him very fast, and the change of shores and population clears his head of much nonsense of his wigwam.

The U.S. Coast Guard is a shining example of how well a Federal agency can perform with its flexibility, speed, and expertise.