--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Always sailing, sailing, sailing...never…" description: "\"Always sailing, sailing, sailing...never quite reaching.\" — Cressida Cowell" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aa5/cressida-cowell-7158_reaching_always-sailing-sailing-sailing-never-qui_2003199.jpg" --- # Always sailing, sailing, sailing...never quite reaching. ![“Always sailing, sailing, sailing...never quite reaching.” quote by Cressida Cowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aa5/cressida-cowell-7158_reaching_always-sailing-sailing-sailing-never-qui_2003199.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aa5/cressida-cowell-7158_reaching_always-sailing-sailing-sailing-never-qui_2003199.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aa5/cressida-cowell-7158_reaching_always-sailing-sailing-sailing-never-qui_2003199.jpg) > “Always sailing, sailing, sailing...never quite reaching.” [Cressida Cowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cressida-cowell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Endless pursuit without a destination leads to perpetual dissatisfaction and fatigue. **In simple terms:** Always moving without arriving. Key Takeaway Set clear goals and stop wandering. Themes journey aimlessness perseverance Mood contemplative inspirational Type literary motivational When to use this quote - career planning - creative projects - travel - long‑term ambitions Key Concepts purpose direction motivation Questions to Reflect On - What are you chasing without a clear endpoint? - How can you define a meaningful destination? A Different Perspective Constant motion can mask lack of progress. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Quite Reaching](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quite-reaching-3536886/) [Reaching](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reaching/) [Sailing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sailing/) [Sailing Quite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sailing-quite-3536885/) [Sailing Sailing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sailing-sailing-3536884/) ## Related quotes > [But the 3% who have taken the time and exercised the discipline to decide on a destination and to chart a course sail straight…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/but-the-3-who-have-taken-the-time-and-exercised-the-discipline-to/) [Earl Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/) > [I am driven out of fatherlands and motherlands. Thus I now love only my children's land, yet undiscovered, in the farthest sea; for this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/i-am-driven-out-of-fatherlands-and-motherlands-thus-i-now-love-only/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [O friend, never strike sail to a fear! Come into port greatly, or sail with God the seas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/o-friend-never-strike-sail-to-a-fear-come-into-port-greatly-or-sail/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [An order given in battle, an instruction issued by the master of a sailing ship, a cry for help, are as powerful in modifying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bronislaw-malinowski/an-order-given-in-battle-an-instruction-issued-by-the-master-of-a/) [Bronislaw Malinowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bronislaw-malinowski/) > [Up anchor! Up anchor! Set sail and away! The ventures of dreamland Are thine for a day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/silas-weir-mitchell/up-anchor-up-anchor-set-sail-and-away-the-ventures-of-dreamland-are/) [Silas Weir Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/silas-weir-mitchell/) > [Much can they praise the trees so straight and high, The sailing pine,the cedar proud and tall, The vine-prop elm, the poplar never dry,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-spenser/much-can-they-praise-the-trees-so-straight-and-high-the-sailing-pine/) [Edmund Spenser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-spenser/) > [I thought I would try my hand at sailing. It was too small and kept sinking, so I decided to try a boat instead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-m-jolly/i-thought-i-would-try-my-hand-at-sailing-it-was-too-small-and-kept/) [Arthur M. Jolly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-m-jolly/) > [And he misses her Like a wind starved sail He sits knowing what direction to go But the current keeps pulling him Down river.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/and-he-misses-her-like-a-wind-starved-sail-he-sits-knowing-what/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [We wanted a musical number that would capture the exhilaration of being out on a boat as they were and sailing with the stars…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-musker/we-wanted-a-musical-number-that-would-capture-the-exhilaration-of/) [John Musker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-musker/) > [It is quite right what they say: the three most beautiful sights in the world are a ship in full sail, a galloping horse,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/it-is-quite-right-what-they-say-the-three-most-beautiful-sights-in/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [“Go small, go simple, go now”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-pardey/go-small-go-simple-go-now/) [Larry Pardey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-pardey/) > [“I loved to steer the ship, and in a short time became an expert helmsman. What glorious weather one experiences within the limits of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-d-whidden/i-loved-to-steer-the-ship-and-in-a-short-time-became-an-expert/) [John D. Whidden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-whidden/) > [“Sometimes driven aground by the photon storms, by the swirling of the galaxies, clockwise and counterclockwise, ticking with light down the dark sea-corridors lined…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/sometimes-driven-aground-by-the-photon-storms-by-the-swirling-of-the/) [Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/) > [It was just the sort of yatch you'd expect a rock promoter to have. Mirrored ceilings, marble, Jacuzzis and leopard-skin everything, it made the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pamela-anderson/it-was-just-the-sort-of-yatch-you-d-expect-a-rock-promoter-to-have/) [Pamela Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pamela-anderson/) > [Be in a state of gratitude for everything that shows up in your life. Be thankful for the storms as well as the smooth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-dyer/be-in-a-state-of-gratitude-for-everything-that-shows-up-in-your-life/) [Wayne Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-dyer/) ## More by Cressida Cowell > [Most of us are lucky not to be Kings and Heroes, because we do not have to make the choices that Kings and Heroes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cressida-cowell/most-of-us-are-lucky-not-to-be-kings-and-heroes-because-we-do-not/) [Cressida Cowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cressida-cowell/) > [“WARNING Any Relationship to any historical fact WHATSOEVER is entirely coincidental. You have been WARNED”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cressida-cowell/warning-any-relationship-to-any-historical-fact-whatsoever-is/) [Cressida Cowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cressida-cowell/) > [“Come on, Fishlegs,” whispered Camicazi, whistling happily. “You know we have to do this. Besides, I feel like a bit of exercise. We’ve been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cressida-cowell/come-on-fishlegs-whispered-camicazi-whistling-happily-you-know-we/) [Cressida Cowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cressida-cowell/) > [For a Hero cannot triumph all the time. Sometimes he will be defeated, and how he faces that defeat is a test of his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cressida-cowell/for-a-hero-cannot-triumph-all-the-time-sometimes-he-will-be-defeated/) [Cressida Cowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cressida-cowell/) > [The thing about grown ups is that they're always wanting you to be this Great Hero and Leader. What's wrong with being NORMAL, for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cressida-cowell/the-thing-about-grown-ups-is-that-they-re-always-wanting-you-to-be/) [Cressida Cowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cressida-cowell/) > [“The thing is, we are all, in a sense, supper. Walking, talking, breathing suppers, that's what we are. Take you, for instance. YOU are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cressida-cowell/the-thing-is-we-are-all-in-a-sense-supper-walking-talking-breathing/) [Cressida Cowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cressida-cowell/) > [“And this was the surprising thing about life on Berk. It was a bit like the sea itself. One minute it was all storms,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cressida-cowell/and-this-was-the-surprising-thing-about-life-on-berk-it-was-a-bit/) [Cressida Cowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cressida-cowell/) > [“The dragon bracelet that Humongous created, out of misplaced love and gratitude, in the hellish nightmare of the Lava-Lout Jail-Forges is exquisitely made, for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cressida-cowell/the-dragon-bracelet-that-humongous-created-out-of-misplaced-love-and/) [Cressida Cowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cressida-cowell/) > [The Hero cares not for a wild winter's storm. For it carries him swift on the back of the storm. All may be lost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cressida-cowell/the-hero-cares-not-for-a-wild-winter-s-storm-for-it-carries-him-swift/) [Cressida Cowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cressida-cowell/) > [“However bad things seem to be, they can always get worse!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cressida-cowell/however-bad-things-seem-to-be-they-can-always-get-worse/) [Cressida Cowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cressida-cowell/) > [I was not a natural. . . . This is the story of becoming . . . the Hard Way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cressida-cowell/i-was-not-a-natural-this-is-the-story-of-becoming-the-hard-way/) [Cressida Cowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cressida-cowell/) > [GO FOR HIS EYES! OR BITE HIM ON THE NOSE! DRAGON NOSES ARE VERY SENSITIVE!" Oh, very helpful, Camicazi, very helpful...thought Hiccup. What if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cressida-cowell/go-for-his-eyes-or-bite-him-on-the-nose-dragon-noses-are-very/) [Cressida Cowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cressida-cowell/) > [Sometimes a King has to do terrible things in order to protect those he has sworn to look after. When the stakes are so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cressida-cowell/sometimes-a-king-has-to-do-terrible-things-in-order-to-protect-those/) [Cressida Cowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cressida-cowell/) > [“Norbert the Nutjob may have been a maniac, but lunacy and genius are very close together, and it had to be admitted, he was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cressida-cowell/norbert-the-nutjob-may-have-been-a-maniac-but-lunacy-and-genius-are/) [Cressida Cowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cressida-cowell/) > [“the witch softly, ‘for the dragons’ days are numbered”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cressida-cowell/the-witch-softly-for-the-dragons-days-are-numbered/) [Cressida Cowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cressida-cowell/) [Explore all 89 Cressida Cowell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cressida-cowell/) ## More Reaching quotes > [We are reaching deep within ourselves to adjust the master knob.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-kelly/we-are-reaching-deep-within-ourselves-to-adjust-the-master-knob/) [Kevin Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-kelly/) > [The more we sense...our ultimate potential, the more determined we become to achieve it. It's the difference between your mother hounding you to practice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheri-l-dew/the-more-we-sense-our-ultimate-potential-the-more-determined-we/) [Sheri L. Dew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheri-l-dew/) > [Demographically, I'm a hippie from San Francisco and I'm not culturally inclined to be sympathetic to states' rights. My cultural heritage is FDR and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-wolf/demographically-i-m-a-hippie-from-san-francisco-and-i-m-not/) [Naomi Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-wolf/) > [I have a real low tolerance for parasites, and you're so close to the limit that I'm already reaching for the flea powder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-howard/i-have-a-real-low-tolerance-for-parasites-and-you-re-so-close-to-the/) [Linda Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-howard/) > [In his anti-Darwinian book... (and eponymously named The Neck of the Giraffe ), Francis Hitching tells the story... "The need to survive by reaching…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/in-his-anti-darwinian-book-and-eponymously-named-the-neck-of-the/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [Whether it's people walking off 'The View' when Bill O'Reilly makes a statement about radical Islam or Juan Williams being fired for expressing his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-cantor/whether-it-s-people-walking-off-the-view-when-bill-o-reilly-makes-a/) [Eric Cantor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-cantor/) > [I feel as if my mission is to write, to see, to observe, and I feel lazy if I'm not reaching conclusions. I feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-theroux/i-feel-as-if-my-mission-is-to-write-to-see-to-observe-and-i-feel-lazy/) [Paul Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-theroux/) > [Optimism boosts your energy and focuses your sights on reaching your goals, rather than wallowing in your setbacks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-waitley/optimism-boosts-your-energy-and-focuses-your-sights-on-reaching-your/) [Denis Waitley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-waitley/) > [I just wanted to jump into the stands and start celebrating with those wonderful fans. (on reaching the Champions League final)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-gerrard/i-just-wanted-to-jump-into-the-stands-and-start-celebrating-with/) [Steven Gerrard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-gerrard/) > [She was reaching the limits of how much its possible to change a man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/she-was-reaching-the-limits-of-how-much-its-possible-to-change-a-man/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) > [I think my soul is intact, but my methods of reaching people are completely different.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-franti/i-think-my-soul-is-intact-but-my-methods-of-reaching-people-are/) [Michael Franti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-franti/) > [It was psychobabbler Abraham Maslow who wrote of the phenomena of self-actualization. What Maslow failed to grasp is that reaching true self-actualization can only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-nugent/it-was-psychobabbler-abraham-maslow-who-wrote-of-the-phenomena-of/) [Ted Nugent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-nugent/) > [When you're reaching out to people beyond the scientific community, image does matter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-randall/when-you-re-reaching-out-to-people-beyond-the-scientific-community/) [Lisa Randall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-randall/) > [I'm aware that because America is so powerful - with its tentacles reaching out to the world - one doesn't escape it by leaving.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randall-robinson/i-m-aware-that-because-america-is-so-powerful-with-its-tentacles/) [Randall Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randall-robinson/) > [The convictions that leaders have formed before reaching high office are the intellectual capital they will consume as long as they continue in office.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-a-kissinger/the-convictions-that-leaders-have-formed-before-reaching-high-office/) [Henry A. Kissinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-a-kissinger/) [Browse all 1,253 Reaching quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reaching/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Always sailing, sailing, sailing...never quite reaching.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Cressida Cowell" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cressida-cowell/always-sailing-sailing-sailing-never-quite-reaching/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Reaching" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cressida-cowell/always-sailing-sailing-sailing-never-quite-reaching/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aa5/cressida-cowell-7158_reaching_always-sailing-sailing-sailing-never-qui_2003199.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aa5/cressida-cowell-7158_reaching_always-sailing-sailing-sailing-never-qui_2003199.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aa5/cressida-cowell-7158_reaching_always-sailing-sailing-sailing-never-qui_2003199.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Always sailing, sailing, sailing...never quite reaching.” — Cressida Cowell", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Cressida Cowell", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cressida-cowell/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Always sailing, sailing, sailing...never quite reaching.", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cressida-cowell/always-sailing-sailing-sailing-never-quite-reaching/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cressida-cowell/always-sailing-sailing-sailing-never-quite-reaching/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```