In Upnor Reach, the tide ebbs fast - leaving only an unctuous east coast ooze to prop craft against the sea wall.
On this chill January day, naked trees shiver above the castle.
The winter solstice is past, a new decade has begun. On a weathered red brick arch, above the naval dockyard's gate, industrious shafts of sunlight burnish the coat of arms. As Nelson's sailors once polished brass aboard the Victory.
Days are growing longer. Green shoots herald the first stirrings of spring's awakening - and the sailing season to come.
Across the rooftops...
.... the spire of Rochester's ancient cathedral, and turrets of its castle, stand four square and proud. Rising serenely above the humdrum waves of ephemeral riverside development lapping at their time worn feet. Rolling Kentish hillside looks on impassively, stalwart and changeless.
Long shadows play across the rills and gullies of the still uncovering river ooze. Sun beams stipple bright silvers, ochres, blues and golds across a canvas of grey and brown.
It is low water now. The Command House quay high and dry.
Down river, boats slumber at their winter moorings. Bare masts front bare trees. Both await the signal, from spring's warm breath, to blossom once again.
Stargazer rests too. Snug in the navy's former dry dock. Aboard, the heater is running. Charts are spread across the rich mahogany of her saloon table. Plans for our 2020 cruises are being hatched. Tales, last heard on our Texel cruise, have whet our appetite to explore further. To delve among the riddling sands, beckoning islands and labyrinthine channels of the Friesland. An excited anticipation mounts within me.
