A starboard view of the HMS 'Vanguard' in between a small sailing dory in the right foreground and two smaller vessels in the left. One of the vessels has a square-rigged foremast. In the lower margin, Arthur H. Clark writes in graphite of how the ship outsailed the 'Minden,' 'Cornwallis,' 'Pembroke,' and 'Bellerophon' in trial matches in July and August of 1836. The match aimed to test the sailing qualities of the ships under the command of Rear-Admiral Sir Charles Paget. In the three-day trial, the 'Vanguard' proved her superior sailing power. The 'Bellerophon' and the 'Pembroke' displayed little difference to each other while both the 'Cornwallis' and the 'Minden' proved inferior to the others. The 'Vanguard,' designed by William Symonds, introduced controversial changes to ship design. The match was part of the test trials of the Experimental Squadron in the 1830s and 1840s that pit many new designs with traditional designs.
See John Fincham, 'A History of Naval Architecture, to which is prefixed an introductory dissertation on the application of mathematical science to the art of naval construction' (London: Whittaker and Co., 1851), 227.
