This atmospheric oil study depicts 'Britannia' heeling over to port in rough seas under a lowering sky. A light vessel appears to the left with a flock of seagulls circling; a coastline visible on the horizon.

'Britannia', a 122-ft racing cutter, was commissioned from the Scottish designer George Lennox Watson (1851-1904) by the Prince of Wales in 1892; she was launched on April 20 the following year. By the end of her first year's racing, 'Britannia' had scored thirty-three wins from forty-three starts. However, by 1896 the Prince of Wales had retired from yacht racing, principally as a result of the rivalry between the Prince and his nephew, Emperor William II.

Eduardo de Martino became a close friend of the Prince of Wales, later King Edward VII, in the late 1870s, and thereafter accompanied him on many cruises and State Visits abroad, documenting the journey with small, lively marine oils and watercolours. Queen Victoria was also extremely enamoured of his work and appointed him Marine Painter-in-Ordinary in 1895. The Royal Collection holds over two hundred works by the artist.