This free and very rapid drawing is probably compositional. It shows in the centre a ship, bow view, and to the left a galliot or hoy. Astern of the ship, to the left in the sea is inscribed the letter 'L' to indicate light on the water, and the drawing suggests a sense of light and space achieved with minimal means, including slight shading with graphite. In the right background van de Velde has suggested distant shipping on the horizon. The drawing is unsigned.