Mark Twain on sailing - great quote

dylanwinter

dylanwinter

Well-Known Member
Joined
28 Mar 2005
Messages
12,954
Location
Buckingham
www.keepturningleft.co.uk
"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." - Mark Twain



brilliant I reckon - which I spotted on the blog

http://messingaboutinboats.typepad.com/

so my advice - although I also suggest that you ignore it - is

keep the boat afloat this coming winter

you never know what you might learn about yourself

 
You are so right!

Thanks D,

I used to watch telly for the Discovery, National Geographic and Wildlife channels…… but I’ve just realised that we have it all when we go sailing….. so YES! you are so right! :)

OGITD's
 
Someone - possibly on here, has the first sentence of that as their tag line. I always try to factor the concept into my decision making. It is better to have tried & failed, than never to have tried at all (sorry, I know it's a miss-quote)

BTW I keep SR afloat most winters. A little dose of sailing (well OK, the sails are in store so I only motor) now & again goes a long way to maintaining sanity(?) in the long dark winter months.
 
Easy for him to say & who would'nt if you are rich but do these little philosophical quotes work or even really mean anything?Of course "fortune favours the brave" but how do you get brave?
I reckon that's about your loveliest video Dylan & even your choice in music is growing on me,lovely stuff.(but I still don't think I'm quite as mad as you to go sailing in those conditions).That said I'm starting to think of ways to heat my boat & insulate it better so madness might be catching;)
 
another vote for winter sailing - wait for the atlantic storm season to pass and get back on the water. there is nothing like a winter sail under clear blue sky to lift the spirits in winter.
 
go for it

kristifercolumnbus said:
Easy for him to say & who would'nt if you are rich but do these little philosophical quotes work or even really mean anything?Of course "fortune favours the brave" but how do you get brave?
I reckon that's about your loveliest video Dylan & even your choice in music is growing on me,lovely stuff.(but I still don't think I'm quite as mad as you to go sailing in those conditions).That said I'm starting to think of ways to heat my boat & insulate it better so madness might be catching;)
Click to expand...

you should try at least one winter

the secret is to have the boat some-where you can sail - or at least motor back - whatever the weather

the Alde system was perfect

if I got one good day and it turned horrible I could always get back to the mooring.

In the slug I can put the tiller pilot on and stand in the companionway if I have to grit my teeth and motor somewhere.

I am amazed that people do not move their boats around to new places

some of the marinas will offer special winter rates

and if you can plug into the mains -

I have used a cheap electric single ring for cooking and heating

warm as toast

although I have discovered that I am a good bit harder than I thought I was

I am a celt

cold tolerant

this winter I will be on the north norfolk coast - the boat will be aground for at least half of each tide - so I have no idea how that will work out

but if you look at wells on Google earth you could not ask for a cinklier place to sail



Dylan



 
dylanwinter said:
you should try at least one winter

the secret is to have the boat some-where you can sail - or at least motor back - whatever the weather




Dylan



Click to expand...

I am in such a place Dylan & I shall check out little Butane heaters there must be such a thing(I used to have that sort of device in a caravan).Though if I remember rightly condensation was a problem.
Another lovely video.....you do atmosphere wonderfully & the charm of your wildlife video's really comes across.Good luck in Norfolk.
 
dylanwinter said:
"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." - Mark Twain
Click to expand...

Lovely. I also like the pithy Irish version:

You're a long time looking at the lid.​
 
Of course, if it's true then in 20 years time you'll be more disappointed that you didn't do all the things that you gave up to go sailing....
 
kristifercolumnbus said:
"Tis all a checker board of nights & days where destiny with men for pieces plays,hither & thither moves & mates & slays & one by one back in the closet lays"......Do we ever really have a say in it?
Click to expand...

the Rubiat of Omar Kyam, but not a translation I am familiar with.

The moving finger writes, & having writ,
Not all your piety & wit
can cancel but a line of it.

(sorry from a feeble memory only - but I love that pome)

And yes, for winter sailing - lots of clothing layers, double sleeping bags, cuppa soups, curries & fish & chips. I "sail" the Staits so weather is not a problem plenty of vacant moorings & sheltered anchorages. Even F6/7 wind over tide is only a bouncy wet ride & I can hide behind the sprayhood with a hot cup of coffee or soup while steering with the wheel pilot remote.

If using a camping heater or plant pots on the cooker, remember the amount of condensation produced - make sure you have adequate ventilation.
 
Searush said:
The moving finger writes, & having writ,
Not all your piety & wit
can cancel but a line of it.

(sorry from a feeble memory only - but I love that pome)
Click to expand...

Google is your friend:

The Moving Finger writes; and, having writ,
Moves on: nor all thy Piety nor Wit
Shall lure it back to cancel half a Line,
Nor all thy Tears wash out a Word of it.​
 
And much as Wine has play'd the Infidel,
And robb'd me of my Robe of Honour - Well,
I often wonder what the Vintners buy
One half so precious as the ware they sell.

I just had to get my copy out again. :D
 
Here's one about forums;

Myself when young did eagerly frequent
Doctor and Saint, and heard great argument
About it and about: but evernore
Came out by the same door wherein I went

Doncha just love it!:)
 
And one for the lounge....

"Tiger got to hunt, bird got to fly; Man got to sit and wonder, 'Why, why, why?' Tiger got to sleep, bird got to land; Man got to tell himself he understand."

Kurt Vonnegut :)
 
Winter on Winter

That has to be one of your best vids Dylan.

It has inspired me to keep sailing my wee boat this winter as I have spent many summer days working on the bloomin thing. Can't be any worse than snowholing at 60 deg N...

Current favourite quote (prose I'm afraid):

"... happening to spy a swell on board a yacht close by, with a gold band on his cap and a great many gilt buttons on his coat, I was greenhorn enough to think he knew something, so modestly asked his advice, and followed it to our grief and confusion.

Since then I have grown older, and have learnt...when you hear a man talking so loudly that you are in doubt how many yachts he owns, be sure his nearest approach to ownership is knowing a friend, who is or was an owner. Therefore be careful not to ask the name of his yacht."

R. T. McMullen, 1869
 
Searush said:
the Rubiat of Omar Kyam, but not a translation I am familiar with.
Click to expand...

Twas "FitzGeralds."Scott I presume.

I like."AH,Love!could thou and I with Fate conspire
To grasp this sorry Scheme of Things entire,
Would not we shatter it to bits-
and then
Re-mould it nearer to the Heart's Desire!"Along with the other verses that people have quoted here.
Has kinda got me feeling nostalgic towards Arab culture.....escaping the coming British winter & sitting around a camp fire under the stars.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Top