In the left foreground are two sailing boats: a ‘wijdschip’ with a white flag with 'C…' and tricolour stripes above and below, and immediately behind a ‘kaag’ with a red and white ensign bearing the Bakhuizen initials LB. In the centre mid-distance a ‘smalschip’ is under sail with a red and white striped flag and a long Dutch flag. The view is comparable to a smaller canvas, dated 1697, in the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, which suggests a similar date for the present work. Acquired as by Bakhuizen, it was listed under an attribution to the more prestigious Aelbert Cuyp (q.v.) in the 1890 Hertford House Inventory.