A ship to starboard

The sun hanging low in the sky caused the light to slant across the surface of the water as the boat bobbed around at anchor near the lee shore. The breeze wafted across the river, the temperature dropped and the people sitting in the bow felt the chill. There was also a chill of anticipation since it was within an hour for the tide to turn and a journey to begin, with all the imponderables that sailing down the Thames in the failing light of evening would bring. 
Time to go. The the sheets loosened, the sail was raised as the boat headed over the anchor to ease the lift.  Pulling the chain up we were soon to free to move into the main channel and take notice of our surrounding.
The lights on the far shore began to twinkle as the last vestiges of light disappeared and our attention turned to the business of navigating a passage at night. A ship to starboard was swinging into view, better take a bearing to see how she was sailing in comparison to our own course since, on the water there were no means of identifying where we were in relation to other boats or their course.  Passages down the Thames have been made since before Roman times, history was all around, every creek, every mud flat every obstacle or wreck were waiting to test our navigation and everything lay in the tar black water with only a set of lights from the various navigation buoys to help us. Looking for the first buoy one struggled to remember, was it two flashes or three and where would we expect it to be, there it is 1,2,3. What's the next one on the chart and how far. Mark off the distance, estimate the flow of the tide and add it to the speed of the boat which should get us to the next change of course.
And so it went on throughout the night until the dawn began to break and the estuary opened out into the sea. The thrill of open sea as we left behind the claustrophobic danger of being in a boat close to shore. The swell began to make the boat pitch and roll as we set a new unencumbered course to our first foreign port as we looked at each other with new respect.
A lumpy grey sea stretched all around reaching to the horizon, an environment like no other, an environment filled with portent which questioned all the surety we had become accustomed to on land. The sickly swell slopped against the side of the boat to a rhythm who's motive force had begun thousands of miles away with a storm in the tropics. It was this living nature of the element which made us realise how exposed we were to events across the globe and, as we peered over the side into the water we thought of the depth and the enormity below us, an environment totally hostile to our survival if the boat floundered for any reason. On we ploughed across the waves with the wind in our sails. There was plenty to do as we trimmed the sheets and tightened the canvas to present the best shape to the wind. A sailing boat is about efficiency of keeping an eye on the fickle nature of the sea and wind and using mans ingenuity to get the best out of any situation.
On we sailed throughout the day and it was only as the light began to fade did we see the distant glow on the horizon,our first indication of land. Making landfall at night has its dangers, should we stand off until dawn and risk the potential of poor weather that was forecast or should we press on and hope our navigation had positioned us to enter the harbour in safety. The lights at the entrance beckoned and after checking the local maritime information as to any particularities we turned towards the safe haven of land and the welcoming sight of buildings and lights from the cars as they drove home along the coast road unconcerned about the little dot of light shining from our mast head out in the inky blackness of the water. Keeping an eye out for ships leaving port we entered a bewildering array of navigation lights, trying to remember the road rules we edged our way past the long finger of the sea break and on towards a place to tie up along side the yacht pontoon and a hearty meal to reward us for our endeavour. We would never forget this our first crossing it would steel us for future voyages but the memory of this our first would hold a special place in our lives and would be the subject of many conversations as we grow old.