This print shows four sailors fighting for their lives in a storm on the deck of a dismasted ship. The deck is at a dramatic angle in the raging sea breaking over it, with the stump of what appears to be the broken mizzen mast clearly visible. The wreckage of the mast is clearly still attached, invisibly, on the far side of the vessel since the principal figure shown is cutting away the shrouds on this side at the dead-eyes, where the lashings strain over the gunwale. This is one of a set of four plates of effectively the same size and vertical format celebrating 'the British sailor', issued by Smith after Stothard with the same official 1798 publication date. They comprise three similar group shipboard scenes - 'Sailors in a Fight' (PAH7352), 'Sailors in a Storm' (PAH7353) and 'Sailors in Port' (PAH7355) - and the rather different 'A Sailor's Return in Peace' to his family (PAH7354). The first two of 'Fight' and 'Storm' are mezzotints but for reasons yet to be explained the other two are aquatints. [PvdM 7/07]