White sails catch the wind across a sparkling blue-green bay, while a line of well-dressed men and women gathers along the pebbled shore in the foreground. A woman in a pale dress sits at the lower left, holding a parasol, beside a man in a gray suit and straw hat, both gazing toward the regatta. Behind them, another man stands upright, also watching the boats, while further up the beach, small groups stroll or pause, their hats and dark coats marking the fashion of the time.

A blue rowboat rests on the sand near the water’s edge, its mast draped with a white sail and a hint of red and blue, echoing the flags fluttering from other boats in the distance. Above, the sky is filled with streaks of white cloud, painted with quick, horizontal brushstrokes that animate the expanse of blue and suggest a breezy summer day. The water is rendered with dabs and patches of green and turquoise, the surface broken by the movement of the boats and the shifting light.

The composition is carefully balanced, with the dense crowd and dark greens of the left bank offset by the open sweep of sea and sky to the right. Small details, like the shadow cast by the parasol and the glint of sunlight on the waves, reveal the artist’s close attention to the effects of light and atmosphere. According to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Monet signed the work at the lower left. The subject is rooted in marine art, but the lively brushwork, vivid color, and focus on fleeting light place the work within the movement of Impressionism.