Three crew are busy about the jib, preparing to cast off a mooring, and one prepares to hoist a flag. The central figure in a top hat, seated, is probably Joseph Weld. The balding man carrying his cap is a professional skipper, and seems to be taking instructions from the young man with the outstretched arm. Wearing braided navy-style cap, yachting jacket, white waistcoat and holding a cigar, this is probably William John Forster or perhaps Joseph Weld Junior. On the far left the man with outstretched legs wearing a yachting jacket, dark trousers and black hat could equally be William John Forster. As a member of the Royal Western Yacht Club he was entitled to fly the Blue Ensign, visible in the bottom left corner. Weld was an honorary member and full member of the Royal Yacht Squadron, whose name appears on the ornate frame with the club's emblem of a crown and anchor. The picture remains a puzzle, both from the uncertain identification of those shown, and the fact that while Foster's name is known as a yachtsman, there is no evidence of him owning 'Alarm'. The artist became an appreciated painter in England who exhibited from 1842 to 1845 at the Royal Academy and lived and worked in Plymouth.