An incident during the American Revolutionary War, 1775–1783. In 1777 Captain William Locker sailed to the West Indies station in the frigate 'Lowestoffe', 32 guns, with the young Horatio Nelson as his second lieutenant. They arrived at Port Royal, Jamaica, in July with a convoy of 18 sail of merchantmen. When the 'Lowestoffe' captured an American merchant ship or privateer on 20 November, a rough sea made the first lieutenant reluctant to try to board it and take formal possession. However Nelson volunteered for the task and succeeded in boarding the prize despite the heavy sea. The painting denotes the moment that Nelson leaves the 'Lowestoffe' for the ship's boat that will take him to the captured privateer. He is shown on the verge of the momentous departure, poised with one leg already firmly in the boat. In an exaggeratedly theatrical gesture, he bids farewell to Captain Locker and the other officers standing in the ship. Other figures crowd the deck in anticipation of the daring feat, their arms outstretched to hold the ropes and help steady the boat. The artist has accentuated the strong swell, bottom left, where the waves come up over the side of the boat. This has emphasised the effect by enclosing the action and by pitching the ship and the boat at the same angle in the heavy sea, with the sailors on the boat using the oars to fend off and prevent their gunwale being stove in against the frigate's side. The heavy sea demonstrates the tension and physical enterprise involves, and anticipates the potential danger ahead. Westall has conveyed the staged effect by employing a dramatic language of gesture and expression.