The Best Sailing Songs You've Never Heard

You know this voice,
but do you know the ones below?
Jimmy Buffett has made a fortune over the years singing his nautical rhymes that give voice to many a cruising sailor. You know (and perhaps love) all of his sailing songs like Son of a Sailor and A Pirate Looks at Forty. But what about those smaller grassroots artists who also express the passion and beauty of sailing through song? I've found several that have inspired me to Sail Far and Live Free. They've earned their megabytes on my iPod through well written lyrics and "feel good" melodies. If you're looking for new tunes to echo across the water this summer, check out the songs/artists below.

FREE by Jack Maynard
"Serendipity sat in the boat boneyard with a broken mast and a broken heart. I think it was fate or my destiny. Did I choose you or did you choose me? We wanted to sail on the wind and the sea, over the rails on a hard-a-lee, take it off, leave it off, play in the sun, set our sails for a downwind run..."

Bienvenidos Summer Wind by Jack Maynard
"Bienvendios summer wind, sail me away on journey back in time to yesterday. Take me down to the ocean, ride the waves once more. See the beautiful faces on the American shore. Feel those misty kisses dance freely again. Breathe the air of peace and love, summer wind."

Sailing Away by David Cisco
"Set the sail, loose bow, we're shoving off shore right now. Bring all hands on deck. This is a moment you won't forget. I don't know why, but it happens ever time I feel the waves below me. It's as if the water knows me. Wind and sun in my face. Oh it is a time, it is a place when I feel at my best. Yeah, I'll solve some problems, forget the rest."

Jiggy by David Cisco
"I've ridden the waves forty foot high and forty foot come crashin' down! I steered through the rain for days and days never knowing I was just going 'round and 'round. You can stay safe in the harbor, you can stay safe close to shore, but that my son wouldn't be much fun and that ain't what ships are built for!"

Latitudes & Attitudes by Eric Stone
"Smooth seas and blue skies, palms trees and sunshine await me in new latitudes. Pirates and treasure. Ordeal or adventure, the only difference is attitude. So I'll raise me glass and raise the sails, toast the world from the bow. Say farewell to my landlocked life, throwin' in the towel. Wherever my journey takes me, I'll take time to unwind because paradise is not a place, it's state of mind. And my mind is made up, I'm gonna sail away."

Sailing Life by Eric Stone
"I got a magnetic fix on my compass, a true northern girl on my starboard. She moved down here to escape from the snow. We met on a beach by the harbor. We filled the 'reefer with lobster and beer and now we're leavin' slip. We might be slow, but on island time the journey itself is what makes the trip. Sailing life is what I chose."  

Last of the Leelanau Schooners by Michael Snell
"With a half empty hold and leaks 'round the seams, don't let her fall off, keep the waves of the beam. But she'll bring them all safely back home as she's done without fail. She's the last of the Leelanau schooners to ever set sail."

The Land of the Inland Seas by Michael Snell
"North and south and west to east your waters sing to me a soothing song to hush the rush of this life I choose to lead. So take a look around you, take in all you see. This funny shape within these lakes is all the home we'll ever need. Oh Michigan, the land of the inland seas."

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