A colored lithograph of a view of two British vessels sailing. The vessel on the left goes leeward and the vessel on the right goes toward the weather or windward. As the title states in the lower margin, the mainsails are reefed, or reduced in size by folding or rolling the bottom edge of the canvas in on itself. The ship heading leeward flies the flag of the British Royal Navy. The ships are depicted as if seen from an angle below the horizon line.
