An inscription by John Thomas Serres on the back of this drawing indicates that his father, Dominic, drew it in 1785. However, it appears originally to have been a drawing by van de Velde the Younger, subsequently worked up, or perhaps repaired by Serres, since a large proportion of the sky drawn in grey wash by Serres has been pieced in on a backing sheet above a neatly cut profile of clouds across the middle. Serres is known to have owned van de Velde drawings and others in the Museum's collection are worked up or embellished by him. The composition is a version of van de Velde's large 'Royal Visit to the Fleet' of about 1673 (BHC0299): see that entry for details of the occasion and the ships shown.