For its time, this is decent footage of a lifeboat making its way through a rough sea. The print now shows many signs of wear, as it is at times unclear, and there are some extraneous marks on the footage as it now stands - or otherwise it might look even better.
A fair number of pioneering film-makers attempted to capture the feeling of the surging sea, and there are several good such features from the 1890s. This one also incorporates the action of the lifeboat, which could well have been returning from an entirely different drama.
This movie also attempts something then still new, as it tries to follow the lifeboat's irregular progress by switching the camera frame to keep the boat in view. The editing of this footage is very choppy indeed by the standards of later eras, but it deserves some credit as a pioneering attempt. Taking into account that, plus the fact that the footage undoubtedly looked better in its original condition, makes this a good effort for its day.