A rapid sketch from the 'Birkdale' showing the effect of the sun on the sea and sky. The sea is loosely painted with small brush strokes to indicate the movement of the waves. The sky is shown as a band of lilac tones close to the horizon, broken up by the thickly applied bright lemon paint representing the sun. The sea is streaked with horizontal dashes of colour with the reflections of the sun on the surface of the water. 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'.