A dramatic sketch showing cloud formation over the sea in the Straits of Yucatan, Mexico. This is one of the most treacherous bodies of water in the Caribbean Sea, notorious for its strong northerly moving current; shallow coral reefs border both sides of the pass. In the sketch a large bank of cloud hovers above the sea and rises up on the left to trail across the painting as a sweep of yellow and blue. The clouds indicate turbulent upper air. The calm blue sea is portrayed by a thin blue wash and several lines to indicate sea movement. Everett joined the barque, 'Birkdale', and sailed from Bristol to Sabine Pass, Texas, April to June 1920. It was his first journey after World War I. The 'Birkdale' was due to take sulphur from Texas to the Cape of Good Hope, but when she arrived in Texas the ship was re-chartered to Australia and so Everett reluctantly left her and came home by steamer. The 'Birkdale', built in 1892, was the last barque to fly the red ensign and spent nearly all her working life in the Chilean nitrate trade. For a short time after World War I she switched to taking sulphur from Texas to the Cape. The 'Birkdale' went back to the nitrate trade and was wrecked on the Chilean coast after catching fire in 1927. The painting is inscribed 'Calm Straits of Yucatan?' bottom right, which draws attention to the calm weather to identify it as an unusual occurrence, and 'Birkdale', 'Gulf of M' verso.