History Main / BornUnderTheSail

** Despite never even developing agriculture, the Atmorans were master ship-builders and sailors. Their most famous shipyard was Jylkurfyk, from which Ysgramor commissioned ships for he and his companions to invade Tamriel.

* In ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'', while Redguards are primarily known for being warriors, they are secondarily famous for being masters of sail, to the point that Hammerfell itself is referred to as "the Land of Sword and Sail".

A common feature of OceanPunk settings.

A related skill is that of TheNavigator.

Compare SpacePeople and SpaceNomads. For a variant involving horse-riding cultures, see BornInTheSaddle.

** The Greeks, ancient and modern, as a result of most of their civilization and cities being built on the coasts of the Aegean Sea and on its many islands, with numerous colonies dotting the Mediterranean. Even today, Greeks own about 20% of the global merchant marine despite Greece being a fairly small country.

** The Four Maritime Republics of Renaissance Italy -- Venice, Genoa, Pisa and Amalfi -- were four city-states that built their wealth and power on the backs of their powerful fleets and their maritime trading networks. Even today, the official flag of the Italian Merchant Navy consists of the Italian flag with the symbols of the four republics emblazoned on a shield in its center.

* ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'': Among the Literature/SpaceWolves (space Vikings), Engir Krakendoom's tribe are known for being the best sailors, hunting sea monsters with nothing but oars, harpoons and axes. Their skills translate well when SpaceIsAnOcean, and so his Company excels at boarding and ship-to-ship combat.

* ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}}'': The Norscans are naturally good at sailing (being the HeavyMetal version of HornyVikings), repeatedly raiding the equivalents of Europe and Canada. [[Literature/{{Wulfrik}} Wulfrik the Wanderer]] even has a flying longship that can go through the Warp and emerge anywhere he wants it to, leading to his monike "The Inescapable One".

** The Greeks, ancient and modern, as a result of most of their civilization and cities being built on the coasts of the Aegean Sea and on its many islands. Even today, Greeks own about 20% of the global merchant marine despite Greece being a fairly small country.

** The Scandinavians, including Finns and Estonians. They were basically the same in the Atlantic what the Polynesians were in the Pacific. The Icelanders in particular were the first Europeans to confirmably reach the New World, centuries before Columbus.

* In ''VideoGame/CrusaderKingsII'', any nation with a lot of coastline can become a serious contender at amphibious warfare, and merchant republics require coastal access to build trade routes, but the true sea kings are the Norse. All rulers of Norse culture get free level 2 shipyards when the "Dawn of the Viking Age" event fires around 790 AD (and start with them in the 867 AD start date), while [[Myth/NorseMythology Germanic pagans]] (also chiefly Norse, though the Saxons follow the same faith) can sail up major rivers to raid inland and portage ships between them, and may declare county conquest wars against any coastal province (instead of merely ones on their own borders as other pagans, Hindus, Buddhists, and Muslims can). They also have a slew of traits they earn by raiding.

** The Scandinavians, including Finns and Estonians. They were basically the same at the Atlantic what the Polynesians were at Pacific. The Icelandics in particular were the first Europeans to reach the New World, during the Middle Ages, centuries before Columbus.

** The British

A culture whose [[PlanetOfHats hat]] is their skill at sail, whether through literal seafaring and shipbuilding in oceanic or riverine environments, being a spacefaring species known primarily for spacefaring when SpaceIsAnOcean, or traversing the skies when TheSkyIsAnOcean. In some cases, they may be born and spend their entire lives at sea without ever touching dry land. By necessity, they often tend to double as a ProudWarriorRace and/or ProudMerchantRace. They often have a powerful navy, and may also engage in marine commerce, piracy, or both, but aren't limited to those roles.

A culture whose [[PlanetOfHats hat]] is their skill at sail, whether through literal seafaring and shipbuilding in oceanic or riverine environments, being a spacefaring species known primarily for spacefaring when SpaceIsAnOcean, or traversing the skies when TheSkyIsAnOcean. In some cases, they may be born and spend their entire lives at sea without ever touching dry land. By necessity, they often tend to double as a ProudWarriorRace and/or ProudMerchantRace. They often have a powerful navy, and may also engage in piracy, but aren't limited to those roles.

* The Quarians from the ''Franchise/MassEffect'' series lost their homeworld in a RobotWar centuries ago, and have since been traveling the galaxy in a giant Flotilla of space ships. Quarian names even include the ship they were born on and the ship they serve under following their Pilgrimage. As a result, their spacefaring skill is legendary and unquestioned throughout the setting.

** The Polynesians, who could be an UpToEleven variant of this trope. Despite having no metalworking, writing, or organized states, Polynesians expanded over half the world's oceans, from Madagascar in the west to Easter island in the east.
** The Scandinavians, including Finns and Estonians. They were basically the same at the Atlantic what the Polynesians were at Pacific.

* ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}}'': The Norsca are naturally good at sailing (being the HeavyMetal version of HornyVikings), repeatedly raiding the equivalents of Europe and Canada. ''Literature/{{Wulfrik}}'' the Wanderer even has a flying longship that can go through the Warp and emerge anywhere he wants it to, leading to his monike "The Inescapable One".
* ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'': Among the ''Literature/SpaceWolves'' (space Vikings), Engir Krakendoom's tribe are known for being the best sailors, hunting sea monsters with nothing but oars, harpoons and axes. Their skills translate well when SpaceIsAnOcean, and so his Company excels at boarding and ship-to-ship combat.

[[AC:WesternAnimation]]

* ''Disney/{{Moana}}'': Moana's people were once skilled seafarers, roaming the ocean to discover new islands as the gods created them, but after Maui took the Heart of Creation the seas became hostile and forbidding and they mothballed their seafaring canoes. [[spoiler:After Moana returns the Heart to Te Fiti, they take up their heritage again.]]

** The Phoenicians
** The Greeks, ancient and modern. Even today, Greeks own about 20% of the global merchant marine despite Greece being a fairly small country.

** The Venetians

* ''TabletopGame/WarhammerFantasy'': The Norsca are naturally good at sailing (being the HeavyMetal version of HornyVikings), repeatedly raiding the equivalents of Europe and Canada. ''Literature/{{Wulfrik}}'' the Wanderer even has a flying longship that can go through the Warp and emerge anywhere he wants it to, leading to his monike "The Inescapable One".
* ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40K'': Among the ''Literature/SpaceWolves'' (space Vikings), Engir Krakendoom's tribe are known for being the best sailors, hunting sea monsters with nothing but oars, harpoons and axes. Their skills translate well when SpaceIsAnOcean, and so his Company excels at boarding and ship-to-ship combat.

* The Illhar'dro Clan of ''{{Webcomic/Drowtales}}'' were originally seafarers back in the Moons Age, but after being driven underground have turned into a ProudMerchantRace that still use turquoise blue as their primary color.

* There have been several cultures and civilizations, who have been based on maritime and seafaring, and is often based either on archipelago or estabilishing overseas colonies. Some of the RealLife examples contain:

** The Athenians
** The Polynesians, who could be UpToEleven variant of this trope
** The Scandinavians, including Finns and Estonians. They were basically the same at the Atlantic what the Polynesians were at Pacific
** The Dutch

->''We read the wind and the sky\\

We know who we are, who we are!''

* An empire based on dominance of the sea, maritime and maritime commerce is called a ''thalassocracy'', the prime example being the BritishEmpire.

* In ''TabletopGame/RocketAge'' the thirty three Green-Yellow Chanari are the preeminent [[AlienSea silt sailors]] of Mars. Most sea trade on Mars is done through them, along with most of the piracy, and they are the only people who dare to hunt Silt Dragons, the largest vertebrate in the solar system.

* ''Disney/{{Moana}}'': Moana's people were once skilled seafarers, but after Maui took the Heart of Creation the seas became hostile and forbidding and they mothballed their seafaring canoes.

* ''Disney/{{Moana}}'': Moana's people were once this, but after Maui took the Heart of Creation the seas became hostile and forbidding and they mothballed their seafaring canoes.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Civilization}} V'', the Polynesians have an unique ability to embark on the ocean way earlier than any other civilizations. In ''Civilization VI'', the Norwegians gain a similar ability.

* Prior to uniting in order to achieve spaceflight, the Kig-Yar or Jackals of the ''Franchise/{{Halo}}'' series were divided into clans that raided one another on their homeworld of Eayn. Afterwards, they ended up forming numerous colonies on the asteroids surrounding Eayn and raided the ships of other species before getting folded into the Covenant as mercenaries, though they still kept up pirating even after the Human-Covenant War.

A culture whose [[PlanetOfHats hat]] is their skill at sail, whether through literal seafaring and shipbuilding in oceanic or riverine environments, being a spacefaring species known primarily for spacefaring when SpaceIsAnOcean, or traversing the skies when TheSkyIsAnOcean. In some cases, they may be born and spend their entire lives at sea without ever touching dry land. By necessity, they often tend to double as a ProudWarriorRace and/or ProudMerchantRace. They often have a powerful navy, and may also engage in piracy, but aren't limited to those roles. A common feature of OceanPunk settings.

A culture whose [[PlanetOfHats hat]] is their skill at sail, whether through literal seafaring and shipbuilding in oceanic or riverine environments, being a spacefaring species known primarily for spacefaring when SpaceIsAnOcean, or traversing the skies when TheSkyIsAnOcean. In some cases, they may be born and spend their entire lives at sea without ever touching dry land. By necessity, they often tend to double as a ProudWarriorRace and/or ProudMerchantRace. They often have a powerful navy, and may also engage in piracy, but aren't limited to those roles.

* ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40K'': Among the SpaceWolves (space Vikings), Engir Krakendoom's tribe are known for being the best sailors, hunting sea monsters with nothing but oars, harpoons and axes. Their skills translate well when SpaceIsAnOcean, and so his Company excels at boarding and ship-to-ship combat.

* The Jorenians in the ''Literature/{{Stardoc}}'' series are known for developing wanderlust and taking large portion of their [[TheClan HouseClan]] on deep space cruises for months or years at a time.

* ''TabletopGame/WarhammerFantasy'': The Norsca are naturally good at sailing (being the HeavyMetal version of HornyVikings), repeatedly raiding the equivalents of Europe and Canada. {{Wulfrik}} the Wanderer even has a flying longship that can go through the Warp and emerge anywhere he wants it to, leading to his monike "The Inescapable One".