On 22 April 1920, Everett sailed from Bristol for Sabine, Texas, as third mate of the barque 'Birkdale'. This voyage resulted in many drawings and paintings. The 'Birkdale', built in 1892, was the last barque to fly the red ensign. She spent nearly all her working life in the Chilean nitrate trade and was wrecked on the Chilean coast after catching fire in 1927.

In this powerful image from a moving deck, the sails dominate, being portrayed rising vertically out of the picture space, billowing in the fair weather. A strong diagonal is created by the mast stay in the foreground to the left and the line of the deck takes the eye aft along the ship. The angle of the roof of the deckhouse accentuates the impression of a ship in a swell. The special interest of this work is as a scene from a deep-water sailing ship, in a world dominated increasingly by steamers.

Everett did not sell his marine work during his lifetime but bequeathed all of it to the National Maritime Museum. The collection consists of oil paintings and a large number of drawings and engravings. He was a practical deep-water sailor, understood his subject and his work manifests the knowledge gleaned from living on board. He was also a fine draughtsman and saw sails, ropes and deck fittings in terms of rhythmic patterns. This enabled him to produce powerful and vigorous compositions.