Across the mighty seas they sailed, in tiny wooden ships, pushed along by the currents in the water and the currents in the air . . . Are we there yet? How much longer is this going to take? Is that what a sea monster is supposed to look like?
Iron Men and Wooden Ships
Said a salty old skipper from Wales,
“Number One, it’s all right to chew nails.
It impresses the crew,
It impresses me, too.
But stop spitting holes in the sails!”
by John Ciardi (John Anthony Ciardi (1916 - 1986))
“Land was created to provide a place for boats to visit.” -Brooks Atkinson (Justin Brooks ‘Brooks’ Atkinson (1894 - 1984))
Never a ship sails out of the bay
But carries my heart as a stowaway.
-Roselle Mercier Montgomery (1874 - 1933): “Ulysses Returns, and Other Poems” (1925), ‘The Stowaway’
“Sailors, with their built in sense of order, service, and discipline, should really be running the world.” -Nicholas Monsarrat (Nicholas John Turney Monsarrat (1910 - 1979))
“It is not the ship so much as the skillful sailing that assures the prosperous voyage.” -George William Curtis (1824 - 1892)
“If your ship doesn’t come in, swim out to it!” -Jonathan Winters (Jonathan Harshman Winters III (1925 - 2013))
Math Problem: A ship has a ladder with twelve rungs, and each rung is a foot apart. The bottom rung is one foot from the water’s surface. The tide rises at 12 inches every 15 minutes. High tide peaks in one hour. When the tide is at its highest, how many rungs will be under water?
Solution: None; as the tide rises, the ship and the ladder attached to it will rise with the tide.
“When a man comes to like a sea life, he is not fit to live on land.” -Samuel Johnson (1709 - 1784)
Ships
Little ships
Must keep to the shore;
Larger ships
May venture more.
by Author Unknown
“Out of sight of land the sailor feels safe. It is the beach that worries him.” -Charles G. Davis (Charles Gerard Davis (1870 - 1959))
“Anyone can hold the helm when the sea is calm.” [translation to English]
“In tranquillo esse quisque gubernator potest.” [original Latin]
-Publilius Syrus (85 B.C.E. - 43 B.C.E.): “Sententiae,” Maxim 358
“Sailing ships: Mast transit.” -Frank Tyger (1929 - 2011)
“A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are for.” -John A. Shedd (John Augustus Shedd (1859 - 1928)): “Salt from My Attic” (1928), page 20 (similar quotation attributed to William G. T. Shedd)
“These tall and handsome ships, swaying imperceptibly on tranquil waters, these sturdy ships, with their inactive, nostalgic appearance, don’t they say to us in a speechless tongue: When do we cast off for happiness?” -Charles Baudelaire (1821 - 1867)
“Two captains will sink the ship.” -Author Unknown: Turkish proverb
“Too many captains run the ship aground.” -Author Unknown: Greek proverb
(Similar to: “Too many cooks spoil the broth.” -Author Unknown)
“You can’t cross the sea merely by standing and staring at the water. Don’t let yourself indulge in vain wishes.” -Rabindranath Tagore (1861 - 1941)
“Sea captains don’t like crew cuts.” -Author Unknown
“However bad the storm you are in, there is still Sun somewhere over your horizon.” -Ken Nutt (Ken Eric Nutt (born 1951))
“When in danger or in doubt, port your helm and come about.” -Author Unknown
“All the water in the world, however hard it tries, can never sink the smallest ship unless it gets inside, and all the evil in the world, the blackest kind of sin, can never hurt you in the least, unless you let it in.” -Author Unknown
“In a calm sea every man is a pilot.” -Author Unknown: Spanish proverb
A shipwrecked sailor spent nearly three years on a desert island. One morning he was overjoyed to see a ship in the bay and a boat pulling onto shore. As the boat grounded on the beach, an officer jumped out and threw the sailor a pile of newspapers. “The captain’s compliments,” said the officer, “and will you please read through these and let him know whether you still wish to be rescued?”
A fully loaded supertanker traveling at normal speed takes a least 20 minutes to come to a full stop.
Danny: Why couldn’t the sailors play cards?
Tammy: Because the captain was standing on the deck.
“Men in a ship are always looking up, and men ashore are usually looking down.” -John Masefield (1878 - 1967)
The right side of a ship is called the starboard side because astronavigators would stand out on the plank (which was on the right side) to get an unobstructed view of the stars. The left side is called the port side because that is the side put in on at ports. Fore refers to the front or forward part of a ship, and aft refers to the back, or after part of a ship.
“A man should learn to sail in all winds.” -Author Unknown: Italian proverb
“I don’t know who named them swells. There’s nothing swell about them. They should have named them awfuls.” -Hugo Vihlen (born 1931)
“Ships are the nearest things to dreams that hands have ever made.” -Robert N. Rose
Iron Men and Wooden Ships
Said a salty old skipper from Wales,
“Number One, it’s all right to chew nails.
It impresses the crew,
It impresses me, too.
But stop spitting holes in the sails!”
by John Ciardi (John Anthony Ciardi (1916 - 1986))
“Land was created to provide a place for boats to visit.” -Brooks Atkinson (Justin Brooks ‘Brooks’ Atkinson (1894 - 1984))
Never a ship sails out of the bay
But carries my heart as a stowaway.
-Roselle Mercier Montgomery (1874 - 1933): “Ulysses Returns, and Other Poems” (1925), ‘The Stowaway’
“Sailors, with their built in sense of order, service, and discipline, should really be running the world.” -Nicholas Monsarrat (Nicholas John Turney Monsarrat (1910 - 1979))
“It is not the ship so much as the skillful sailing that assures the prosperous voyage.” -George William Curtis (1824 - 1892)
“If your ship doesn’t come in, swim out to it!” -Jonathan Winters (Jonathan Harshman Winters III (1925 - 2013))
Math Problem: A ship has a ladder with twelve rungs, and each rung is a foot apart. The bottom rung is one foot from the water’s surface. The tide rises at 12 inches every 15 minutes. High tide peaks in one hour. When the tide is at its highest, how many rungs will be under water?
Solution: None; as the tide rises, the ship and the ladder attached to it will rise with the tide.
“When a man comes to like a sea life, he is not fit to live on land.” -Samuel Johnson (1709 - 1784)
Ships
Little ships
Must keep to the shore;
Larger ships
May venture more.
by Author Unknown
“Out of sight of land the sailor feels safe. It is the beach that worries him.” -Charles G. Davis (Charles Gerard Davis (1870 - 1959))
“Anyone can hold the helm when the sea is calm.” [translation to English]
“In tranquillo esse quisque gubernator potest.” [original Latin]
-Publilius Syrus (85 B.C.E. - 43 B.C.E.): “Sententiae,” Maxim 358
“Sailing ships: Mast transit.” -Frank Tyger (1929 - 2011)
“A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are for.” -John A. Shedd (John Augustus Shedd (1859 - 1928)): “Salt from My Attic” (1928), page 20 (similar quotation attributed to William G. T. Shedd)
“These tall and handsome ships, swaying imperceptibly on tranquil waters, these sturdy ships, with their inactive, nostalgic appearance, don’t they say to us in a speechless tongue: When do we cast off for happiness?” -Charles Baudelaire (1821 - 1867)
“Two captains will sink the ship.” -Author Unknown: Turkish proverb
“Too many captains run the ship aground.” -Author Unknown: Greek proverb
(Similar to: “Too many cooks spoil the broth.” -Author Unknown)
“You can’t cross the sea merely by standing and staring at the water. Don’t let yourself indulge in vain wishes.” -Rabindranath Tagore (1861 - 1941)
“Sea captains don’t like crew cuts.” -Author Unknown
“However bad the storm you are in, there is still Sun somewhere over your horizon.” -Ken Nutt (Ken Eric Nutt (born 1951))
“When in danger or in doubt, port your helm and come about.” -Author Unknown
“All the water in the world, however hard it tries, can never sink the smallest ship unless it gets inside, and all the evil in the world, the blackest kind of sin, can never hurt you in the least, unless you let it in.” -Author Unknown
“In a calm sea every man is a pilot.” -Author Unknown: Spanish proverb
A shipwrecked sailor spent nearly three years on a desert island. One morning he was overjoyed to see a ship in the bay and a boat pulling onto shore. As the boat grounded on the beach, an officer jumped out and threw the sailor a pile of newspapers. “The captain’s compliments,” said the officer, “and will you please read through these and let him know whether you still wish to be rescued?”
A fully loaded supertanker traveling at normal speed takes a least 20 minutes to come to a full stop.
Danny: Why couldn’t the sailors play cards?
Tammy: Because the captain was standing on the deck.
“Men in a ship are always looking up, and men ashore are usually looking down.” -John Masefield (1878 - 1967)
The right side of a ship is called the starboard side because astronavigators would stand out on the plank (which was on the right side) to get an unobstructed view of the stars. The left side is called the port side because that is the side put in on at ports. Fore refers to the front or forward part of a ship, and aft refers to the back, or after part of a ship.
“A man should learn to sail in all winds.” -Author Unknown: Italian proverb
“I don’t know who named them swells. There’s nothing swell about them. They should have named them awfuls.” -Hugo Vihlen (born 1931)
“Ships are the nearest things to dreams that hands have ever made.” -Robert N. Rose
The first sailing boats were built in ancient Egypt.
“A smooth sea never made a skilled sailor.” -John George Hermanson (1866 - 1944)
“Ships don’t sink because of the water around them. Ships sink because of the water that gets in them. Don’t let what’s happening around you get inside you and weigh you down.” -Author Unknown
Friendship: A ship full of friends.
Mary: What kind of ship doesn’t sink?
Gary: A friendship.
“There are big ships and small ships. But the best ship of all is friendship.” -Author Unknown
“To sail is necessary.” [translation to English]
“Navigare necesse est.” [original Latin]
-Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (5th century C.E.)
“The winds and waves are always on the side of the ablest navigators.” -Edward Gibbon (1737 - 1794): “The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire” (1776 - 1789), Volume 1 (1776), Chapter 68
Jen: Why do sailors have trouble learning the alphabet?
Ben: Because ships sail from A to B with sea between.
“The goal is not to sail the boat, but rather to help the boat sail herself.”
-John Rousmaniere (born 1944)
Sally: What sits on the bottom of the ocean and shakes?
Salvador: A nervous wreck.
“The sea is the same as it has been since before men ever went on it in boats.” -Ernest Hemingway (Ernest Miller Hemingway (1899 - 1961))
“A small hole can sink a big ship.” -Author Unknown: Russian proverb
Mackerel skies and mares tails,
Soon will be time to shorten sails.
-Author Unknown
“To reach a port, we must sail - sail, not lie at anchor - sail, not drift.” -Franklin D. Roosevelt (Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1882 - 1945))
Riddle:
I fly to any foreign parts,
Assisted by my spreading wings:
My body holds an hundred hearts,
Nay, I will tell you stranger things:
When I am not in haste I ride,
And then I mend my pace anon;
I issue fire from my side:
You witty youths, this riddle answer.
Solution:
I am a sailing ship.
“Don’t let the fear of a storm keep you from sailing the ship.” -Calyn Whitley
“If my ship sails from sight, it doesn’t mean my journey ends, it simply means the river bends.” -J. Enoch Powell (John Enoch ‘Enoch’ Powell (1912 - 1998))
“The good seaman is known in bad weather.” -Author Unknown
“Until you have the courage to lose sight of the shore, you will not know the terror of being forever lost at sea.” -Charles Cook
“A sailor without a destination cannot hope for a favorable wind.” -Leon Tec (1919 - 2013)
“‘A man who is not afraid of the sea will soon be drownded,’ he said, ‘for he will be going out on a day he shouldn’t. But we do be afraid of the sea, and we do only be drownded now and again.’” -John Millington Synge (1871 - 1909): “The Aran Islands” (1907)
Two ships were loaded with cargoes of paint. One had red paint, and the other had blue paint. The ships collided. At last report, the survivors were marooned.
“I keep sailing on in this middle passage. I am sailing into the wind and the dark. But I am doing my best to keep my boat steady and my sails full.” -Arthur Ashe (1943 - 1993)
Horatio Nelson, one of England’s most illustrious admirals, was throughout his lifetime never able to find a cure for his seasickness.
“No wind is a good wind if you don’t know where the harbor is.” -Author Unknown: proverb
“Life is a shipwreck but we must not forget to sing in the lifeboats.” -Voltaire (pseudonym of François-Marie Arouet (1694 - 1778))
“Make not your sail too big for your ballast.” -Author Unknown: English proverb
The Titanic was built in Belfast, Ireland. However, it was not the place where it was built that led to its sinking, or the quality of the work, but the design of the ship that resulted in its sinking.
Red sky by morning, sailor take warning.
Red sky at night, sailor’s delight.
-Author Unknown
“No man can say he has been to sea until he has lost sight of land.” -Author Unknown
1 nautical knot equals 1.852 kilometers, or 1.150 miles, per hour. It does not refer to the knots a sailor ties in a rope.
“At sea, I learned how little a person needs, not how much.” -Robin Lee Graham (born 1949)
“A sailor’s joys are as simple as a child’s.” -Bernard Moitessier (1925 - 1994)
“A small Leak will sink a great Ship.” -Thomas Fuller (1654 - 1734): “Gnomologia” (1732), number 407
“No man will be a sailor who has contrivance enough to get himself into a jail; for being in a ship is being in a jail, with the chance of being drowned.” -Samuel Johnson (1709 - 1784)
“He that will not sail till all dangers are over must never put to sea.” -Thomas Fuller (1608 - 1661)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
l i v e ☆ l a u g h ツ www.MakeFunOfLife.net ♥ l o v e ☼ g r o w
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A Pleasant Ship
I saw a ship a-sailing,
A-sailing on the sea,
And oh! it was all laden
With pretty things for thee!
There were comfits in the cabin,
And apples in the hold;
The sails were made of silk,
And the masts were made of gold.
The four-and-twenty sailors
That stood between the decks
Were four-and-twenty white mice,
With chains about their necks.
The captain was a duck,
With a packet on his back,
And when the ship began to move,
The captain said, “Quack! Quack!”
by Emilie Poulsson (Anne Emilie Poulsson (1853 - 1939))
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
l i v e ☆ l a u g h ツ www.MakeFunOfLife.net ♥ l o v e ☼ g r o w
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“We cannot direct the wind but we can adjust the sails.” -Author Unknown
“There are parts of a ship which taken by themselves would sink. The engine would sink. The propeller would sink. But when the parts of a ship are built together, they float. So with the events of my life. Some have been tragic. Some have been happy. But when they are built together, they form a craft that floats and is going places. And I am comforted.” -Ralph W. Sockman (Ralph Washington Sockman (1889 - 1970))
“We must free ourselves from the hope that the sea will ever rest. We must learn to sail in high winds.” -Hanmer Parsons Grant
“Life isn’t about waiting for the winds to change, it’s about learning to adjust your sails.” -Author Unknown
“Some years ago - never mind how long precisely - having little or no money in my purse, and nothing particular to interest me on shore, I thought I would sail about a little and see the watery part of the world.” -H. Melville (Herman Melville (1819 - 1891)): “Moby Dick” (1851), opening line
“I wanted freedom, open air, and adventure. I found it on the sea.” -Alaine Gerbault (Alain Jacques Georges Marie Gerbault (1893 - 1941))
In the days of yore, ships sailed over the endless seas, carrying exotic cargoes and sailors who regaled landlubbers with stories of fantastic faraway places, much like the humor, inspiration, and learning that follows this article in the days of now . . . on MFOL!
“A smooth sea never made a skilled sailor.” -John George Hermanson (1866 - 1944)
“Ships don’t sink because of the water around them. Ships sink because of the water that gets in them. Don’t let what’s happening around you get inside you and weigh you down.” -Author Unknown
Friendship: A ship full of friends.
Mary: What kind of ship doesn’t sink?
Gary: A friendship.
“There are big ships and small ships. But the best ship of all is friendship.” -Author Unknown
“To sail is necessary.” [translation to English]
“Navigare necesse est.” [original Latin]
-Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (5th century C.E.)
“The winds and waves are always on the side of the ablest navigators.” -Edward Gibbon (1737 - 1794): “The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire” (1776 - 1789), Volume 1 (1776), Chapter 68
Jen: Why do sailors have trouble learning the alphabet?
Ben: Because ships sail from A to B with sea between.
“The goal is not to sail the boat, but rather to help the boat sail herself.”
-John Rousmaniere (born 1944)
Sally: What sits on the bottom of the ocean and shakes?
Salvador: A nervous wreck.
“The sea is the same as it has been since before men ever went on it in boats.” -Ernest Hemingway (Ernest Miller Hemingway (1899 - 1961))
“A small hole can sink a big ship.” -Author Unknown: Russian proverb
Mackerel skies and mares tails,
Soon will be time to shorten sails.
-Author Unknown
“To reach a port, we must sail - sail, not lie at anchor - sail, not drift.” -Franklin D. Roosevelt (Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1882 - 1945))
Riddle:
I fly to any foreign parts,
Assisted by my spreading wings:
My body holds an hundred hearts,
Nay, I will tell you stranger things:
When I am not in haste I ride,
And then I mend my pace anon;
I issue fire from my side:
You witty youths, this riddle answer.
Solution:
I am a sailing ship.
“Don’t let the fear of a storm keep you from sailing the ship.” -Calyn Whitley
“If my ship sails from sight, it doesn’t mean my journey ends, it simply means the river bends.” -J. Enoch Powell (John Enoch ‘Enoch’ Powell (1912 - 1998))
“The good seaman is known in bad weather.” -Author Unknown
“Until you have the courage to lose sight of the shore, you will not know the terror of being forever lost at sea.” -Charles Cook
“A sailor without a destination cannot hope for a favorable wind.” -Leon Tec (1919 - 2013)
“‘A man who is not afraid of the sea will soon be drownded,’ he said, ‘for he will be going out on a day he shouldn’t. But we do be afraid of the sea, and we do only be drownded now and again.’” -John Millington Synge (1871 - 1909): “The Aran Islands” (1907)
Two ships were loaded with cargoes of paint. One had red paint, and the other had blue paint. The ships collided. At last report, the survivors were marooned.
“I keep sailing on in this middle passage. I am sailing into the wind and the dark. But I am doing my best to keep my boat steady and my sails full.” -Arthur Ashe (1943 - 1993)
Horatio Nelson, one of England’s most illustrious admirals, was throughout his lifetime never able to find a cure for his seasickness.
“No wind is a good wind if you don’t know where the harbor is.” -Author Unknown: proverb
“Life is a shipwreck but we must not forget to sing in the lifeboats.” -Voltaire (pseudonym of François-Marie Arouet (1694 - 1778))
“Make not your sail too big for your ballast.” -Author Unknown: English proverb
The Titanic was built in Belfast, Ireland. However, it was not the place where it was built that led to its sinking, or the quality of the work, but the design of the ship that resulted in its sinking.
Red sky by morning, sailor take warning.
Red sky at night, sailor’s delight.
-Author Unknown
“No man can say he has been to sea until he has lost sight of land.” -Author Unknown
1 nautical knot equals 1.852 kilometers, or 1.150 miles, per hour. It does not refer to the knots a sailor ties in a rope.
“At sea, I learned how little a person needs, not how much.” -Robin Lee Graham (born 1949)
“A sailor’s joys are as simple as a child’s.” -Bernard Moitessier (1925 - 1994)
“A small Leak will sink a great Ship.” -Thomas Fuller (1654 - 1734): “Gnomologia” (1732), number 407
“No man will be a sailor who has contrivance enough to get himself into a jail; for being in a ship is being in a jail, with the chance of being drowned.” -Samuel Johnson (1709 - 1784)
“He that will not sail till all dangers are over must never put to sea.” -Thomas Fuller (1608 - 1661)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
l i v e ☆ l a u g h ツ www.MakeFunOfLife.net ♥ l o v e ☼ g r o w
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A Pleasant Ship
I saw a ship a-sailing,
A-sailing on the sea,
And oh! it was all laden
With pretty things for thee!
There were comfits in the cabin,
And apples in the hold;
The sails were made of silk,
And the masts were made of gold.
The four-and-twenty sailors
That stood between the decks
Were four-and-twenty white mice,
With chains about their necks.
The captain was a duck,
With a packet on his back,
And when the ship began to move,
The captain said, “Quack! Quack!”
by Emilie Poulsson (Anne Emilie Poulsson (1853 - 1939))
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
l i v e ☆ l a u g h ツ www.MakeFunOfLife.net ♥ l o v e ☼ g r o w
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“We cannot direct the wind but we can adjust the sails.” -Author Unknown
“There are parts of a ship which taken by themselves would sink. The engine would sink. The propeller would sink. But when the parts of a ship are built together, they float. So with the events of my life. Some have been tragic. Some have been happy. But when they are built together, they form a craft that floats and is going places. And I am comforted.” -Ralph W. Sockman (Ralph Washington Sockman (1889 - 1970))
“We must free ourselves from the hope that the sea will ever rest. We must learn to sail in high winds.” -Hanmer Parsons Grant
“Life isn’t about waiting for the winds to change, it’s about learning to adjust your sails.” -Author Unknown
“Some years ago - never mind how long precisely - having little or no money in my purse, and nothing particular to interest me on shore, I thought I would sail about a little and see the watery part of the world.” -H. Melville (Herman Melville (1819 - 1891)): “Moby Dick” (1851), opening line
“I wanted freedom, open air, and adventure. I found it on the sea.” -Alaine Gerbault (Alain Jacques Georges Marie Gerbault (1893 - 1941))
In the days of yore, ships sailed over the endless seas, carrying exotic cargoes and sailors who regaled landlubbers with stories of fantastic faraway places, much like the humor, inspiration, and learning that follows this article in the days of now . . . on MFOL!
