--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I would rather sail and hit a rock than…" description: "\"I would rather sail and hit a rock than sit and rot in dry dock.\" — Lester Roloff" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/add/lester-roloff-27444_dock_i-would-rather-sail-and-hit-a-rock-than_104518.png" --- # I would rather sail and hit a rock than sit and rot in dry… ![“I would rather sail and hit a rock than sit and rot in dry dock.” quote by Lester Roloff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/add/lester-roloff-27444_dock_i-would-rather-sail-and-hit-a-rock-than_104518.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/add/lester-roloff-27444_dock_i-would-rather-sail-and-hit-a-rock-than_104518.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/add/lester-roloff-27444_dock_i-would-rather-sail-and-hit-a-rock-than_104518.png) > “I would rather sail and hit a rock than sit and rot in dry dock.” [Lester Roloff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lester-roloff/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Choosing a risky, active life is preferable to a safe, stagnant existence that erodes one's spirit. **In simple terms:** Better to face danger than to waste away. Key Takeaway Active risk beats passive decay. Themes risk agency stagnation adventure Mood defiant energetic Type motivational philosophical When to use this quote - career change - starting a business - physical training - creative projects Key Concepts existential choice psychology of motivation Practical Applications - Embrace calculated challenges - Avoid complacency Questions to Reflect On - What does 'rock' symbolize for you? - How can you turn stagnation into movement? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dock/) [Rocks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rocks/) ## Related quotes > [The hardest work begins in dry dock.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-wineburg/the-hardest-work-begins-in-dry-dock/) Sam Wineburg > [We're going to need a bigger dock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-crusie/we-re-going-to-need-a-bigger-dock/) [Jennifer Crusie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-crusie/) > [I just have this deep kind of connection to reality of being like... in a way, I feel like a dock worker. I want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eddie-vedder/i-just-have-this-deep-kind-of-connection-to-reality-of-being-like-in/) [Eddie Vedder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eddie-vedder/) > [Hickory dickory dock, I just want to be your clock. Just set me for a lifetime, and I'll wake you up every morning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/smokey-robinson/hickory-dickory-dock-i-just-want-to-be-your-clock-just-set-me-for-a/) [Smokey Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/smokey-robinson/) > [Up till now, they are only on dock No. 10, not in Umm Qasr, not in the city](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohammed-saeed-al-sahaf/up-till-now-they-are-only-on-dock-no-10-not-in-umm-qasr-not-in-the/) [Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohammed-saeed-al-sahaf/) > [There was nothing new in sitting on this dock, on this or that wooden bench, watching for his boat to come. In some ways,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-brashares/there-was-nothing-new-in-sitting-on-this-dock-on-this-or-that-wooden/) [Ann Brashares](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-brashares/) > [Sittin' here resting my bones, this loneliness won't leave me alone. Two thousand miles I roam, just to make this dock my home. I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/otis-redding/sittin-here-resting-my-bones-this-loneliness-won-t-leave-me-alone-two/) [Otis Redding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/otis-redding/) > [“What the youth needs to be told is that a ship is a-building in his own mental dry dock, a ship with freedom of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldo-leopold/what-the-youth-needs-to-be-told-is-that-a-ship-is-a-building-in-his/) [Aldo Leopold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldo-leopold/) > [“We passed the dry dock and then it and the ship were gone. It would be a number of years before I got a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-a-goodman/we-passed-the-dry-dock-and-then-it-and-the-ship-were-gone-it-would-be/) [David A. Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-a-goodman/) > [The Thames is a wretched river after the Mersey and the ships are not like Liverpool ships and the docks are barren of beauty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-masefield/the-thames-is-a-wretched-river-after-the-mersey-and-the-ships-are-not/) [John Masefield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-masefield/) > [I know dock leaves pretty well, but I should not attempt to introduce them into a picture without having them before me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-constable/i-know-dock-leaves-pretty-well-but-i-should-not-attempt-to-introduce/) [John Constable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-constable/) > [At bottom, the decision to pardon Nixon was a political judgment properly within the bounds of Ford's constitutional authority. The specter of a former…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-ben-veniste/at-bottom-the-decision-to-pardon-nixon-was-a-political-judgment/) [Richard Ben-Veniste](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-ben-veniste/) > [Where I am from in Sweden was on the beach, so I love the sound of the water hitting the dock.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freddie-ljungberg/where-i-am-from-in-sweden-was-on-the-beach-so-i-love-the-sound-of-the/) [Freddie Ljungberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freddie-ljungberg/) > [“He walks toward the river, placing his feet carefully. His suit is too warm and tight. He reaches the water’s edge. There is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-salter/he-walks-toward-the-river-placing-his-feet-carefully-his-suit-is-too/) [James Salter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-salter/) > [I cling to the idea that Herman Melville had to work at the end of his career watching ships in a dock, as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jess-walter/i-cling-to-the-idea-that-herman-melville-had-to-work-at-the-end-of/) [Jess Walter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jess-walter/) ## More by Lester Roloff > [It seems that some consideration should be given to the cause of our mounting physical disabilities, but instead of going to the root of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lester-roloff/it-seems-that-some-consideration-should-be-given-to-the-cause-of-our/) [Lester Roloff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lester-roloff/) > [People read newspapers far more than they read the Word of God and then we wonder way America is in the mess she's in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lester-roloff/people-read-newspapers-far-more-than-they-read-the-word-of-god-and/) [Lester Roloff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lester-roloff/) > [You are not going to be lost when you get to hell. If you are without Christ, you are lost right now. Your trial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lester-roloff/you-are-not-going-to-be-lost-when-you-get-to-hell-if-you-are-without/) [Lester Roloff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lester-roloff/) > [God is the God of the impossible, as well as the God of the possible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lester-roloff/god-is-the-god-of-the-impossible-as-well-as-the-god-of-the-possible/) [Lester Roloff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lester-roloff/) > [America is an insane asylum run by the inmates.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lester-roloff/america-is-an-insane-asylum-run-by-the-inmates/) [Lester Roloff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lester-roloff/) > [Christian families are under attack in America! The Communists, Masons, Atheists, Humanists, Evolutionists, and other Godless sickos want to destroy the family. Parents beware;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lester-roloff/christian-families-are-under-attack-in-america-the-communists-masons/) [Lester Roloff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lester-roloff/) > ['Faith' Him When You Can't Feel Him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lester-roloff/faith-him-when-you-can-t-feel-him/) [Lester Roloff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lester-roloff/) > [If you want to save America, get America saved.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lester-roloff/if-you-want-to-save-america-get-america-saved/) [Lester Roloff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lester-roloff/) > [Churches become poor if they become rich and care not for the poor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lester-roloff/churches-become-poor-if-they-become-rich-and-care-not-for-the-poor/) [Lester Roloff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lester-roloff/) > [The only way to build a church, if you have a Bible church, is to preach out of the Bible, teach out of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lester-roloff/the-only-way-to-build-a-church-if-you-have-a-bible-church-is-to/) [Lester Roloff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lester-roloff/) > [A test of a Christian's character is what he does after he comes to the blockade in the road and what his attitude is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lester-roloff/a-test-of-a-christian-s-character-is-what-he-does-after-he-comes-to/) [Lester Roloff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lester-roloff/) > [The Television is the monster of hell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lester-roloff/the-television-is-the-monster-of-hell/) [Lester Roloff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lester-roloff/) > [...You cannot live by sight and by faith, neither can you live by fear and by faith. It either has to be by faith…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lester-roloff/you-cannot-live-by-sight-and-by-faith-neither-can-you-live-by-fear/) [Lester Roloff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lester-roloff/) > [Better a pink bottom than a black soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lester-roloff/better-a-pink-bottom-than-a-black-soul/) [Lester Roloff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lester-roloff/) > [I see no hope for a revival among God's people today. They are so enamored and so cluttered up with Hollywood and newspapers and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lester-roloff/i-see-no-hope-for-a-revival-among-god-s-people-today-they-are-so/) [Lester Roloff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lester-roloff/) [Explore all 20 Lester Roloff quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lester-roloff/) ## More Dock quotes > [We're going to need a bigger dock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-crusie/we-re-going-to-need-a-bigger-dock/) [Jennifer Crusie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-crusie/) > [I cling to the idea that Herman Melville had to work at the end of his career watching ships in a dock, as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jess-walter/i-cling-to-the-idea-that-herman-melville-had-to-work-at-the-end-of/) [Jess Walter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jess-walter/) > [Sittin' here resting my bones, this loneliness won't leave me alone. Two thousand miles I roam, just to make this dock my home. I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/otis-redding/sittin-here-resting-my-bones-this-loneliness-won-t-leave-me-alone-two/) [Otis Redding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/otis-redding/) > [The hardest work begins in dry dock.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-wineburg/the-hardest-work-begins-in-dry-dock/) Sam Wineburg > [“He walks toward the river, placing his feet carefully. His suit is too warm and tight. He reaches the water’s edge. There is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-salter/he-walks-toward-the-river-placing-his-feet-carefully-his-suit-is-too/) [James Salter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-salter/) > [At bottom, the decision to pardon Nixon was a political judgment properly within the bounds of Ford's constitutional authority. The specter of a former…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-ben-veniste/at-bottom-the-decision-to-pardon-nixon-was-a-political-judgment/) [Richard Ben-Veniste](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-ben-veniste/) > [I know dock leaves pretty well, but I should not attempt to introduce them into a picture without having them before me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-constable/i-know-dock-leaves-pretty-well-but-i-should-not-attempt-to-introduce/) [John Constable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-constable/) > [Where I am from in Sweden was on the beach, so I love the sound of the water hitting the dock.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freddie-ljungberg/where-i-am-from-in-sweden-was-on-the-beach-so-i-love-the-sound-of-the/) [Freddie Ljungberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freddie-ljungberg/) > [Up till now, they are only on dock No. 10, not in Umm Qasr, not in the city](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohammed-saeed-al-sahaf/up-till-now-they-are-only-on-dock-no-10-not-in-umm-qasr-not-in-the/) [Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohammed-saeed-al-sahaf/) > [We're on the same radius from the Earth, and then we start to swing around to where we're ahead of them on the velocity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-m-godwin/we-re-on-the-same-radius-from-the-earth-and-then-we-start-to-swing/) [Linda M. Godwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-m-godwin/) > [Hickory dickory dock, I just want to be your clock. Just set me for a lifetime, and I'll wake you up every morning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/smokey-robinson/hickory-dickory-dock-i-just-want-to-be-your-clock-just-set-me-for-a/) [Smokey Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/smokey-robinson/) > [I just have this deep kind of connection to reality of being like... in a way, I feel like a dock worker. I want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eddie-vedder/i-just-have-this-deep-kind-of-connection-to-reality-of-being-like-in/) [Eddie Vedder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eddie-vedder/) > [I went to Cork, Ireland, and stood on the dock some of my ancestors had left from. I felt their ghosts gather round me,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luanne-rice/i-went-to-cork-ireland-and-stood-on-the-dock-some-of-my-ancestors-had/) [Luanne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luanne-rice/) > [I'm sittin' on the dock of the bay. Watching the tide roll away. Ooo, I'm just sittin' on the dock of the bay. Wastin'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/otis-redding/i-m-sittin-on-the-dock-of-the-bay-watching-the-tide-roll-away-ooo-i-m/) [Otis Redding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/otis-redding/) > [I have a house with its own dock and I can take my boat out when I want.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freddie-ljungberg/i-have-a-house-with-its-own-dock-and-i-can-take-my-boat-out-when-i/) [Freddie Ljungberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freddie-ljungberg/) [Browse all 26 Dock quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dock/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I would rather sail and hit a rock than sit and rot in dry dock.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Lester Roloff" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lester-roloff/i-would-rather-sail-and-hit-a-rock-than-sit-and-rot-in-dry-dock/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Dock" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lester-roloff/i-would-rather-sail-and-hit-a-rock-than-sit-and-rot-in-dry-dock/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/add/lester-roloff-27444_dock_i-would-rather-sail-and-hit-a-rock-than_104518.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/add/lester-roloff-27444_dock_i-would-rather-sail-and-hit-a-rock-than_104518.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/add/lester-roloff-27444_dock_i-would-rather-sail-and-hit-a-rock-than_104518.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I would rather sail and hit a rock than sit and rot in dry dock.” — Lester Roloff", "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": "Lester Roloff", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lester-roloff/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I would rather sail and hit...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lester-roloff/i-would-rather-sail-and-hit-a-rock-than-sit-and-rot-in-dry-dock/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lester-roloff/i-would-rather-sail-and-hit-a-rock-than-sit-and-rot-in-dry-dock/#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 } } ] } ```