A view of the quartedeck of HMS Waterwitch (1892), viewed aft from the starboard side. A sailor stands in full-length foul-weather coat just forward of the ship's wheel facing the camera. Behind him is the standard compass binnacle. The round canvas-covered structure in front of the sailor is the companion way to the Sail Room below. The two-barrel Gardner gun mounted on the starboard bulwark rail is covered in a canvas hood.

While the caption states a gale in the Formosa Channel, the ship does not seem to be underway, as there is no one steering and the boom above is on its crutch central to the vessel with the main sheet block centralised. It may be that the ship is riding at anchor.

The original negative envelope was labelled: 'Quarterdeck Formosa Channel Waterwitch 1.11.00'. The contact print is labelled: 'HMS "Waterwitch" in a gale in Formosa Channel November 1st 1900'.