On board Kaiser Wilhelm II's yacht 'Meteor' during the Queen's Cup race at Cowes, 1893

This vigorous drawing looks astern as 'Meteor' beats to windward on the port tack in a lively sea, and is inscribed by Wyllie with technical points and the names of individuals shown. One is 'The German Emperor' on the right (noted also as 'Em [dressed] in white' with a 'Gold Bangle' on his left wrist). It was previously suggested to have been drawn by Wyllie about 1905 on the third 'Meteor' owned by the Kaiser, an American-built schooner of 1902. However, there is no evidence Wyllie sailed on this while he was certainly the Kaiser's guest on the first 'Meteor' (ex-'Thistle') when she raced for and won the Queen's Cup at Cowes in 1893 skippered by 'Captain Gomez', who is included here, lower left. Wyllie also recorded (in 'Sea Fights of the Great War' [1918] p. 4) that the Kaiser was - as also noted on the drawing here- 'dressed all in white, with a gold bangle on his wrist' on this occasion, so it seems more likely that this is a sketch done on board that day. The other inscriptions are, top left 'On board Meteor / In sheets' - which is probably the order being executed - and a note on the crew's dress, lower left: 'men in white for the / most part with red caps / but some of them in blue'. The Kaiser apears in three other drawings that Wyllie did on board during the race: PAE0232, PAE0233, PAE0457 and also (very small) in PAE0971, which is a later worked-up drawing recording 'Meteor' coming toward its end as the winner.

Object Details

ID: PAF2041
Collection: Fine art
Type: Drawing
Display location: Not on display
Creator: Wyllie, William Lionel
Date made: 1893; circa 1905
Credit: National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London, Caird Collection
Measurements: Sheet: 227 x 325 mm