This stretch of wharfage lies along the upper reaches of the Staithes estuary. I found here a spiralling accumulation of compositional elements. In the foreground, reaching from the right, a cobbled boat-slide sweeps underneath moored fishing boats, lying at angles dictated by an absent tide. The arm of Cowbar Nab curves in from the left hand side, and around the harbour to the north. The sense of a vortex is further implied by the swirling cloudscape above. The striated masonry of the wharfage directs the gaze towards the centre of the painting and the footbridge, which stands like a portal to a scene beyond the viewers reach.