A sketch looking towards an empty horizon in the Gulf of Mexico, from the deck of the 'Birkdale'. The artist has experimented with colour and shape to create the dramatic sky and cloud effects. Short brush strokes of horizontal colour represent the sea and the clouds are a solid mass of cream and lilac against a backdrop of vivid blue paint representing sky. A darker cloud is visible in the top of the painting. The formation of the clouds indicates the presence of high winds in the Gulf of Mexico. 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 on 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 she 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 'G of Mexico', 'Birk'.