English ships in stays. In the centre is a starboard broadside view of a ship under mizzen and topsails with her main and mizzen topsails filled on the starboard tack and her fore topsail aback. In the background beyond her is a ship close-hauled on the port tack. On the right is a ship with main and mizzen topsails filled on the port tack and fore course and topsail aback; and on the left is a ship with fore course and topsail aback and other sails shaking in the wind.

This is part of a group of 13 drawings cut from an album of Van de Velde drawings bound up by Paul Sandby. All the drawings are very rapidly and broadly done in pencil. There are other drawings of this group in the Victoria & Albert Museum, London.