Panoramic drawing on two sheets of laid paper, joined at the middle, bearing the artist's title as given above in the lower left corner and above it a scale of 1200 feet (2 cable-lengths or 200 fathoms), marked in 100-foot divisions, numbered up to 600. It is in three parts comprising a plan of two main lines of ships at the bottom, with an elevation drawing above separating them out in profile, with correct flags shown; a 'perspective', as seen against the coast of the Isle of Wight beyond from the Portsmouth side, is in watercolour along the top. The plan identifies ships and captains' names. Three outlying frigates form a top row on the south side of the formation: 'Cerberus / Brisbane' , '[John] Macbride / Orpheus' and in brackets 'Thames / Locker - as intended - not returned from Gibraltar': i.e., William Locker, who was one of Serres's patrons, did not get back in time to take part. John Brisbane's presence in 'Cerberus' may be an error since modern sources say Hugh Dalrymple had relieved him in 1772. The line of battle ships are in the two main rows below, with captains' names above those of ships. Upper or southerly line (left to right / east to west): 'Barrington / Albion', 'Ourry / Dublin', 'Drake / Torbay', 'Roddam / Lenox', 'Balfour / Royal Oak', 'Bentinck / Centaur', 'Arbuthnot / Terrible', 'Suckling /Triumph', 'Knight / Ocean', 'Evans / Ma[r]lborough'. Lower or northerly line (left to right / east to west): 'Graves / Raisonable', 'Barret[Burnett] / Boyne', 'E.[dward] Hughes / Somerset', 'R.[ichard] Hughes / Worster [Worcester]', 'Vernon /Barfleur', 'King / Asia', 'Douglas / St Albans', 'Jerkill [Jekyll] / Egmont', 'Hotham / Resolution', 'Fielding / Kent'. (Other reports of the event also make it clear that 'Albion' and 'Kent' were respectively the most westerly and easterly ships of the formation.)

The following is the divisional breakdown (excluding frigates) based on the list given in ‘Lloyd’s Evening Post’ of 11-14 June 1773: * indicates respective flagships for the event. Under the Rt Hon. George, Lord Edgcumbe, Vice-Admiral of the Blue and second senior flag officer: ‘Albion’, 74 guns, Captain Samuel Barrington; ‘Raisonable’, 64, Thomas Graves; ‘Dublin’*, 74, George Ourry (as Edgcumbe’s temporary flagship instead of ‘Royal Oak’); ‘Boyne’, 64, Thomas Burnett. Under Thomas Pye, Vice-Admiral of the Red to 24 June, then Admiral of the Blue, the senior commander and C-in-C at Portsmouth; ‘Somerset’, 64, Edward Hughes; ‘Lenox’, 74, Robert Roddam; ‘Worcester’, 64, Richard Hughes; ‘Royal Oak’*, 74, George Balfour (as Pye’s temporary flagship instead of ‘Barfleur’); ‘Barfleur’, 90, Edward Vernon (with the Admiralty flag at the main from 12/13 June and for the visit, as formal base for Lord Sandwich as First Lord, except when the king was on board and present among the fleet, when it shifted to the fore and the Royal Standard was hoisted at the main, with the Union at the mizzen); ‘Centaur’, 74, John Bentinck; ‘Asia’, 64, Richard King; ‘Terrible’, 74, Marriot Arbuthnot; ‘St Albans’, 64, Charles Douglas. Under Richard Spry, Rear-Admiral of the White and C-in-C, Plymouth; ‘Triumph’, 74, Maurice Suckling; ‘Egmont’, 74, Edward Jekyll; ‘Ocean’*, 90, Joseph Knight; ‘Resolution’, 74, William Hotham; ‘Marlborough’, 74, Thomas Evans; ‘Kent’, 74, Charles Fielding.

Serres has signed and dated the drawing, lower right. Two other annotations at bottom left appear to be later, one reading 'RAB [Rear-Admiral of the Blue?] 1813' and the other an apparently 20th-century reference code 'A/35/25'.