In the background, there is a port-broadside view of the Dutch fleet lying at anchor, which seems to lie facing the wind. In the foreground is a stern view of a boeier yacht.

The work is inscribed with ‘den 12 meij 1665’. In ink, on the back of the drawing, it is inscribed, ‘Drawn on the Helder, our States fleet May 12 with a fresh gale’ [purportedly translating an illegible Dutch inscription].

The drawing has been signed by Van de Velde the Younger, ‘W.V.V.J’. This signature is probably genuine although it is likely to have been added years later.