This offset depicts a near view of a late seventeenth-century two-decker, viewed from abaft the port beam. The topmasts are struck but the yards are still crossed and the sails stowed. The ship’s main yard is to port (or aportlast) while the fore yard is slanting (known as being acockbill).

This is a very faint offset, rubbed on the back. The Union in the canton of the ensign can normally be read as proof that the drawing is not by either of the Van de Veldes. However, this drawing appears to be a normal offset from a late drawing by Van de Velde the Younger. It is possible to explain the appearance of the ensign by supposing that the drawing was made in the Mediterranean, where from as early as 1687, ships wore such ensigns in order to differentiate from Genoese ships.