Explain the lines: “ As I gain the cove with pushing prow / And quench its speed in the slushy sand”

       

        In the poem ‘Meeting at Night’ by Robert Browning, the lover makes a nocturnal journey through the sea only to meet his beloved. After crossing the sea he reaches the cove at the sea-shore. The word ‘quench’ means ‘stop’ or ‘satisfy’. After reaching the shore, the lover stops his boat’s speed in the soft and wet sand. This fact also may be interpreted in this way that the lover was very much thirsty to meet his ladylove. And his reaching the sea-shore slightly satisfies his thirst as the shore is not far from the ladylove’s farmhouse. The phrase “I gain the cove” may also mean that the lover wants to possess her beloved physically and as if he has been successful in his mission.