One of a series of drawings made by Van de Velde the Elder when he was attached to the Dutch fleet following the action at Bergen on 2 August 1665, early in the second Anglo-Dutch War. The English had attempted unsuccessfully to capture a valuable fleet of Dutch East Indiamen that had been forced to put into Bergen, and the Dutch fleet under De Ruyter sailed north to its aid. At Bergen Van de Velde transferred to the fleet of Indiamen to record its departure for Holland.

This view is taken from astern of about twenty of the Dutch Indiamen sailing down a fjord. In the left foreground is a ship, possibly the ‘Slot Hooningen’, in stern view, flying a flag at the mizzen and with a galjoot on her port quarter. Another galjoot is on the right in bow view. In the right background is a ship with a flag at the main, rounding a bend in the fjord: this is possibly the ‘Walcheren’ under the command of Pieter de Bitter. On the tafferel of the rear-admiral in the foreground there appears to be a full-length figure, but this was added in the 18th century by the collector and amateur artist Charles Gore. The original wash drawing beneath appears to represent a castle, which would be more appropriate to the stern of the ‘Slot Hooningen’.