She is running before the wind, as are the fleets in general. This interpretation ignores the presence of fog and falsely indicates that the visibility is good. Astern of the 'Soleil Royal', firing her chase guns, is the flagship of Vice-Admiral General van Callenburgh, and close on her port side a Dutch ship is also in chase. Beyond them and behind are other Dutch ships with, in the middle, an English smack-rigged royal yacht beating across them on the starboard tack. In the left foreground is a sinking French ship and to the right a number of boats and Barges. A burnt-out wreck smoulders on the extreme right foreground.

The artist was initially a calligrapher in his native Germany before moving to Amsterdam. There he was inspired by the grisaille drawings of van de Velde the Elder. Later he was introduced to marine painting in oils in the studios of van Everdingen and Dubbels. He was a contemporary of van de Velde the Younger and shared with him a concern for painting ships with accuracy and understanding.