Two Dutch men-of-war are shown at anchor, the ship on the right is shown in broadside view, and the ship on the left is seen from the starboard quarter. There are four figures on the shore in the foreground. One man seated with his back to the viewer, observes the scene through a telescope that he holds in his right hand. Another figure stands facing towards the viewer, holding a boat-hook with his right hand and pointing with his left. Two other figures are seated in a small boat in the foreground, the man on the right holds a tankard, and the man on the left holds a pole, possibly another boathook. Several piles have been driven into the water on the left. Sillemans was probably born in England but spent his working life in Amsterdam. He principally painted grisailles in pen and ink on a gesso ground, in the style of van de Velde the Elder.