The tide is out in the harbour and the exposed hulls of the beached sailing boasts are being inspected by the attendant figures. Others are looking on with interest. The size of the foreshortened sailing boat in the foreground can be gauged by the scale of the figures adjacent and the beached rowing boat toward its stern. The harbour appears busy with boats moored up. The water with the reflection of the white sail appears to be calm but with a slight shimmer. This is another good example of how Knighton-Hammond uses clean washes of colour to achieve the maximum luminosity. The technique, which he perfected, gives his watercolours a clear and distinctive style, evident in this accomplished composition.