Sailors' quotes about . . . 

... the sea

"только в море хорошо!" (only at sea it is good) - M.Rodionov, STS MIR, chief mate
"The sea gives me power and strength" - V. Prokopyuk, STS MIR, chief mate

... their ship

"It was my dream from childhood on and it still is and will always be till the last moment." - V.Antonov, STS MIR, master about the MIR
"There is something magnetic about this ship (MIR)." - S.Timoshkov, STS MIR, master.
"Крузенштерн - это как наркотик" (Kruzenshtern is like a drug) - I. Pyets, STS Kruzenshtern, chief radio mate
"I still think of her (MIR) as my ship, although it's more than ten years ago that I sailed on her." Anton, "Shtandart", chief mate.
"I am leaving MIR because I am afraid that if I did another season, I couldn't leave any more." - young officer on MIR
"MIR is home to me." - sailor on MIR
"Already 3 ships I sailed on went down after I left. That makes me think!" Fran, S/V Kaskelot, chief mate
"She is wonderful, it is as if she was alive" - V. Pushkarev, PSS "Sea Cloud, master

...their job

"The nice thing about my job is that I don’t actually DO anything… I’m management." - J. Etheridge, STS Lord Nelson, master

... women

"Frauen sind die besseren Seemänner!" (Women are the better seamen.) - H. Temme, "Fridtjof Nansen", master.
"Every time I come home I have a different wife - sometimes she's red, sometimes she's blonde, sometimes she lost weight, ..." - A. Maller, STS MIR, 2nd Engineer.
"I always look for an ugly and terrible stewardess. So when I start liking her, I know it's time for a vacation." - S. Tunikov, STS Kruzenshtern, chief mate
"Imagine - she smokes!" - stewardess on MIR about the Queen of Denmark after a reception where she met her.
 "Womens no belong on ship.  Womens weak.  Womens get in way.  Womens have babies!" - M. Novikov, STS Kruzenshtern, chief navigator when asked from a female trainee why they had no female cadets on board)
" Good girls go to heaven - naughty girls go everywhere! - ...and nautical girls are worst" crew members during smoko on "Lord Nelson"
"Women can do several things at the same time. That's a biological fact and makes them fitter for the work on modern bridges than men who can only do one thing at a time" - professor during a lecture at the maritime college
"I like to work with women. They do what I tell them!" - J.Reid, STS Jean de le Lune, skipper
"There are 3 things that can really screw up your carreer as a navigator: alcohol, engineers and women" - V. Pushkarev, PSS Sea Cloud, master

... sex

"ship is ship and home is home" (general rule among seafarers)
"... it's tradition!" - able seaman, MIR
"six months without - impossible!" - radio mate (not married), MIR
"This is friendship! It has nothing to do with your mother." - engineer to his son
"Okay girl, you have half an hour to decide. Can't wait all evening - have to be back on board!" - engineer (not married), Mary-Anne II
"At home I am married - on the ship I am single!" - chief mate, Brake

... (foreign) ports

"there is an ALDI-store next to the quay." - MIR-sailors about Warnemuende
"I speak enough Spanish to survive in south-american ports: cerveza (beer), muchacho (friend), chica (girl)." - S. Timoshkov, STS MIR, chief mate
"The beer was cheap." - MIR-sailors about Spain
"The same beautiful girls and the same beautiful rain as in Russia." - cadet
"I am here for here 4 weeks now and this is the first day with sunshine." - V.Antonov, STS MIR, master, about Hamburg
"Remember, wherever you are, the way from the pub back to the ship is always downhill!" - S. Higgs, STS Lord Nelson, bosun
"Germany is best. We have so many friends there." - D. Bogdanov, STS MIR, ship's surgeon
"They always book the dry dock here to make sure we work - there is nothing else you can do in this place!" - maintenance crew on Tenacious about Milford Haven
"After having been laid up with the ship there for 2 winters returning to this place feels like coming home!" - engineer on Mary Anne II about Valencia

...about food:

"cow-bla-bla" - cook on MIR when asked by trainees what they were having for lunch (beef tongue)
"Cookie, can you make something really unhealthy today!" - C. Petersen, Mary-Anne II, master (his wife is diet assistant and always cooks terribly healthy stuff)
"You shouldn't eat - it's a waste!" - noted by Enrico, chief mate, to a young apprentice who was seasick

...about the wind and weather:

"Because we are in the "Atlantic part" of the Mediterranean sea..." said BELEM' Second Officer as they faced strong winds just after crossing Gibraltar straights
"It's a bit choppy today!" -  skipper as we encountered a force 8 just after leaving port
"Who dares to wish me a good morning risks immediate flogging!" - J. Etheridge, Lord Nelson, master after a horrible night in the Canary swell

...the course:

"Ahmmm... the other starboard, please!" - pilot to the helmsman
"Skipper, the buoy escapes!" - helmsman (at night) when he realised that the 'buoy' he was steering on was actually another ship
"Why are you always sailing from France to England and back without stopping on either side?" - French Coast Guard to master of Mary-Anne II when we were beating against strong head winds in the English Channel.

...other:
"The situation is hopeless, but not serious!" - C. Petersen, MARY ANNE II, master