a smooth sea never made a skilled sailor

proverb

Challenging experiences are the most educational and thus, ultimately, the most beneficial.

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Meanings

proverb
  1. Challenging experiences are the most educational and thus, ultimately, the most beneficial.
    1 more example

    A smooth sea never made a skilled sailor and the same concept applies to a relationship. If you have a relationship where there is never tough times to work through together, there will never be an opportunity to gain strength within the relationship. Accept the good with the bad because it all happens for a reason, and will teach you something.

    L.K. Elliott (23 March 2015), Confessions of an Ex Hot Mess: 10 Steps to Beat Stress and Feel Your Best, FriesenPress, page 53

Origin

Attributed to Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

a smooth sea never made a skilled sailor. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/a%20smooth%20sea%20never%20made%20a%20skilled%20sailor

MLA

“a smooth sea never made a skilled sailor.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/a%20smooth%20sea%20never%20made%20a%20skilled%20sailor. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “a smooth sea never made a skilled sailor,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/a%20smooth%20sea%20never%20made%20a%20skilled%20sailor.

Source: a smooth sea never made a skilled sailor on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.