An empty horizon showing the effects of clouds from the deck of the 'Birkdale'. Everett has used form and colour to create a highly dramatic effect. A blue-grey mass of cloud hovers above the horizon and one mass of blue stands out against the sky painted a broad wash of vivid yellow colour. Rain can be seen falling on the right, against the horizon. The sea has been loosely painted with small brush strokes of different colours to indicate the movement of the waves. 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, 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 'Birk', 'Dana Gulf'.