On the left of the picture, a small yacht is firing a salute as a mark of respect to the flagship in the left centre to the picture. Figures in the stern of the ship repay the gesture by waving their hats, and a trumpet is also playing. The flagship is part of a fleet shown sailing in a line and flying the Dutch flag. The date of the painting can be seen on the flag on the mast of the small craft in the foreground, to the far right. There is a buoy at the bottom left. The artist has signed his work on a spar of wood floating in the water in front of the ships. The sea is fresh in the foreground. In the far distance, land is visible to the left and centre, with a skyline showing a town and church steeples.

The artist was initially a calligrapher in his native Germany before moving to Amsterdam. There, he was inspired by the grisaille drawings of van de Velde the Elder. Later, he was introduced to marine painting in oils in the studios of van Everdingen and Dubbels. He was a contemporary of van de Velde the Younger, and shared with him a concern for painting ships with accuracy and understanding.