Typical of the black and white drawings which Wyllie produced for publication in magazines, notably the 'Graphic', although it is not known where this drawing was reproduced. Wyllie has used white heightening (opaque white pigment) to emphasize the sunlight on the sails of the yacht. The drawing may date from around 1894 when, at the Royal Academy, he exhibited 'Butterflies and working bees', his best-known yachting picture (Royal Corinthian Yacht Club).

Lord Dufferin, former governor general of Canada and viceroy of India, was an accomplished J-class yachtsman who wrote a well-admired account of his voyages in the 1850s. During the 1890s, he enjoyed a diplomatic post in Rome where he spent time sailing his yawl ‘The Lady Hermione’ through the Mediterranean.