Would you care for a starter, madam?

The land held every promise of its morbid title. The shivers that ran through spines were enough to make the boat quiver in the dullness of the dawn. The Grey Lands were indeed the greyest she had ever seen and appeared as though every colour of the spectrum had been filtered out by the stony clouds above. It was more than a depressing sight.
They came to rest in the still, leaden waters. The rowing boat touched the water lightly and her oarsmen waited patiently for their passenger to step aboard.
The lament in her going had started over an hour ago and the keening had since built to an almost unbearable level. Her ears would certainly not miss their kin but her heart would cry as though it had been ripped from her breast. She bit the inside of an already sore cheek determined to show no sign of the fears that had swept through the crew as they had got their first glimpse of land. This land.
A rope-calloused hand guided her gently into the slight sway of the smaller boat and the lament grew to a funereal wail.
‘Hush now, I do not go to my death’ she said over her shoulder.
The dirge had continued at a more acceptable level and the sound had followed her to the shallow water where the waves were now licking at the drab shore.
She adjusted the large leather back sack and nodded to the crew. The icy water cut deep to the bone but she proceeded with grace and dignity to the edge where she stood with her back to the sea.
She heard the oarsmen’s hands slap against their thighs at the end of the traditional salute and the boat was turned. Every sinew in her body strained, every muscle ached, to catch one last look at her people, but tradition must be upheld. She belonged to this land now and she must learn its ways, its history, its future, and its people. She must become.

***

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Ooh, starters, openings, beginnings - tricky bloody things.
The is the opening few lines of a novel that has barely got past the fourth chapter. I have been wondering lately what stopped it before I really got into stride.
Is it the starter? I think this must be as important to the writer as it is to the reader. I rarely buy a book where I have not had a sneaky peek at the first chapter, but I quite like this one and the story promises to be an exciting write.
I have quite a few stashed away like this. The plot for these, (as much as I ever do) is laid out in my head and my haphazard writing technique is no different than for those that have made it to the finish post.
So, is it the beginning that has failed to spur it onwards, or is it just not the right time for this one?