This mezzotint depicts in detail the wrecking of the 'Minotaur' on 22 December 1810 on Haak Sands off Texel, in a stormy, tempestuous scene of chaos. On the left of the image, the stern portion of the hull looms large, heeled far over on its port side, masts broken off a few feet above deck level. Sailors crowd at the upper, starboard rail and cling to mast stumps and ropes. Several ship's rowing boats, overloaded with men, are overwhelmed by the waves as they try to rescue their comrades. Even a small gaff-rigged cutter, under full sail, looks doomed. Flotsam of yards, sails and chests, torn from the ship, surge in the boiling sea.