A small single-masted sailboat with white triangular sails sits on a low horizon, left of center, while rounded island silhouettes trail along the horizon to the right. Above, billowing cumulus clouds fill roughly the upper half of the picture over a deep teal-green sea.

The light is soft and overcast, as if coming from behind the cloud bank, and haze softens the horizon. Thick impasto builds the clouds in ridged, dabbed paint, while short, energetic strokes describe the choppy water in the manner of a plein-air oil sketch.