A study of a destroyer and two boats attempting to take off survivors from - probably - a warship sinking in action, or in its aftermath. The destroyer is very similar to the short-funnelled version of the River class of the 1901 to 1904 building programmes (later known as the 'E' class). There is no clue to the identity of the sinking vessel. Wyllie has inscribed the drawing 'Boats not so close' -presumably a note for correcting a later version rather than a title. A preliminary study for this drawing appears as one of three small sketches comprising item number PAE0033.