Around 1700 van de Velde the Younger made a large number of rapid drawings such as this, possibly in preparation for paintings of shipwrecks, a subject which had been painted by Dutch and Flemish artists since the early part of the 17th century but which also became popular in England. On the left a port-bow view of a ship driving broadside on to some rocks in the right foreground. Astern of her another ship is in a similar state and there is a third in the right distance. Despite the drawings small size van de Velde has used a variety of media to achieve a particularly dramatic effect. The pen and ink work is particularly freely handled and has a calligraphic quality. The drawing is unsigned.