The English ship Resolution in a gale, oil on canvas, 119.5 x 101.5cm/47 x 40in. This dramatic picture was painted by Um de Velde the Younger some six years after he had moved to England. The ship has been identified from a careful drawing by the Younger in the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich (MSR.540). It is dated 1676 and may have been used for the painting. Th e Resolution was one of the first 70-gun two-deckers and was built at Harwich by Sir Anthony Deane in 1667. She is depicted close-hauled on the port tack under her main and miu.en, and the fore course with the sheets and tacks raised. The picture shows the Resolution when Sir Thomas Allin went in her as commander-in-chief in the Mediterranean. Allin journal for his commission in the Resolution has been preserved, and it is possible that the picture may represent an incident described by Allin in his entry for 14 December 1669: " Ui> tryed all the morning with our mainsail, the Wind at E and by south and the ship laboured very much and fetched such seeles [sudden heeling caused by the sea] that we were in much danger of losing our mast. We set our miu.en at 8 o'clock to keep her head upon the sea, but still she laboured exceedingly, so at 9 they brailed it up again. We had much rain and sleet or small snow. About ten it cleared a little and we set our foresail to stand in to make the land ... ."
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SEA HISTORY, WINTER 1984-85
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