Some ten years ago, William Galvani started to collect nautical quotes, old and new, from the world over. He has since put them into print for the rest of us to read. So, you say, who wants to read a book full of nothing but quotes? Well, once you start reading this book, you're hooked. I've read my copy cover to cover, page by page, and quote for quote.
Arts Fuse
Mainsail to the Wind is a collection of sailing quotations that is both a valuable resource and fun to browse. Topics include everything from the America's Cup to waterspouts; those quoted range from the Roman emperor Caligula to John Paul Jones. Some of the quotations are familiar to just about everybody: Red sky at night, sailors' delight and English playwright John Poole's observation about the efficacy of any port in a storm are known to even the most land-bound farmer. But others are both obscure and particularly insightful, like the Bahamian sailors' adage that if you haven't run aground you haven't really been cruising, and Dr. Ruth Westheimer's observation that sailing is the second sexiest sport.
Sailing