It is very probable that this drawing dates from 1889 when Wyllie cruised on board the armed frigate HMS 'Black Prince' during naval manoeuvres in Lough Swilly on the north-west coast of County Donegal, Ireland. The resulting drawings were exhibited the same year at the Fine Art Society, London, in an exhibition called 'The Queen's Navy'. They were seen by a group of Royal Academicians, which, according to Mrs Wyllie, writing later, contributed to Wyllie being elected an Associate of the Royal Academy by large majority.