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"That's how you succeed doing crazy stuff, right? You gotta be conservative in your day-to-day, even though the overall plan is not conservative, it's kind of crazy. But stay in the middle, man."

"I live by a couple of rules concerning reefing when on long voyages. The first is that if the thought crosses my mind that I should reef, then I do it without debate. It's a great way for me not to push the boat too hard. The second is my 'cup of tea' rule. Wind, by its very nature, is unpredictable, so if the winds have eased to the point that I could easily sail with one less reef in the mainsail, I wait the time it takes me to make and drink a cup of tea before doing anything. The process normally takes around thirty minutes, so if the winds are still light when I'm done then I will shake out the reef and hoist more sail. More often than not, a gust will have come through that means I need to keep the reef in place to ensure I'm not overpowered in the gusts."

"A lot of risk comes from trying to speed things up. A lack of patience changes the outcome."

"Sail training continues to become more valuable because it is an opportunity to help people unplug from society and experience nature, the environment, and each other in a way that is irreplaceable."

"To me, seamanship is what we do. It's like breathing... It's not just a checklist of knowing how to tie a bowline... it's an attitude."

"If you're going to build anything that endures, it's got to have a really clear purpose, a really great sense of belonging, and a sense of belief as well."

"To be truly challenging, a voyage, like a life, must rest on a firm foundation of financial unrest. Otherwise, you are doomed to a routine traverse, the kind known to yachtsmen who play with their boats at sea… 'cruising' it is called. Voyaging belongs to seamen, and to the wanderers of the world who cannot, or will not, fit in. If you are contemplating a voyage and you have the means, abandon the venture until your fortunes change. Only then will you know what the sea is all about. I've always wanted to sail to the south seas, but I can't afford it." What these men can't afford is not to go. They are enmeshed in the cancerous discipline of "security." And in the worship of security we fling our lives beneath the wheels of routine – and before we know it our lives are gone. What does a man need – really need? A few pounds of food each day, heat and shelter, six feet to lie down in – and some form of working activity that will yield a sense of accomplishment. That's all – in the material sense, and we know it. But we are brainwashed by our economic system until we end up in a tomb beneath a pyramid of time payments, mortgages, preposterous gadgetry, playthings that divert our attention for the sheer idiocy of the charade. The years thunder by, The dreams of youth grow dim where they lie caked in dust on the shelves of patience. Before we know it, the tomb is sealed. Where, then, lies the answer? In choice. Which shall it be: bankruptcy of purse or bankruptcy of life?"

"The single most important thing you can do, by far and bar none, to become a safe and happy offshore cruiser is to go to sea as crew with an experienced skipper on a good boat. No amount of inshore sailing or reading replaces this vital step on the road to becoming a competent offshore sailor."

"You'll be bothered from time to time by storms, fog, snow. When you are, think of those who went through it before you, and say to yourself, 'What they can do, I can do.'"

"Success is a dangerous element in any endeavor. Embrace the struggle. Beware the achievement. For it steals your caution even as it leads you down the next unknown pathway."

"Cause without the bitter, baby, the sweet ain't as sweet."

"True riches cannot be bought...There is no buying the night flight with its hundred thousand stars, it's serenity, it's few hours of sovereignty."

"People really don't truly understand what real life is until you experience being that far offshore away from land. And it is unbelievably the best feeling on the planet. And I would do anything to be back every day."

"Decision is the hardest part — execution is easy." Robin's consistent philosophy across every venture, from the Golden Globe to the Clipper Race, is that once the decision is made, the obstacles largely dissolve. He doesn't agonize; he acts. "The thinking about it is the hard part. It's much easier to make the decision and get on with it."

"You've got it in you, alright, everyone's got it in them, it isn't a special dispensation from a selective Providence. It is just a question of whether you have the guts to apply it. It struck me that I must be pretty dumb, for most people come by it naturally, but I had to sail across thousands of miles of ocean to find out that courage is the key to living."

"I rarely remember my dreams ashore but almost always do at sea. Something about sleeping in a washing machine allows better access to the subconscious."

"What did we do all the time on this uneventful passage? Nothing, absolutely nothing, except live in communion with our boat, which was sailing happily towards the Marquesas, the Tuamotus, Tahiti, with plenty of wind, wind, wind. One must have sailed far away from any land to know how full and rewarding a day at sea can be without anything happening. It is so different from coastal sailing where one is always a little apprehensive, tense, prepared for anything. Out there, in the open sea, we were prepared simply to live."

"There was no hurry now, Joshua was to spend the winter in Casablanca, where the local yacht club had provided us with a safe mooring in extremely pleasant and gay company. The club members are really keen sailors who go out every weekend even if a howling gale whistles through the rigging, and many of them perform quite admirable feats of seamanship in leaving their moorings under sail alone, without a hitch and as though it were the most natural thing in the world. A real pleasure to watch."

"The word 'experienced' often refers to someone who's gotten away with doing the wrong thing more frequently than you have."

"I knew that weather can turn concrete plans into vague abstractions, but that's no reason to forgo the pleasure of laying them."