Three yachts are shown racing off Cowes, Isle of Wight, in 1923. The painting is thought to show the yachts 'Britannia','Terpsichore' and 'Ilyrica'. 'Britannia', left of centre, was King George V's racing yacht. In the 1920s, her return to the regatta circuit was spectacular and even with her outdated rig, she met the challenge from such fast modern big yachts as the cutter 'Ilyrica' which also appears in the painting. In 1923, she won 23 out of the 26 races she entered.

When George V died in 1936, he left instructions that if none of his sons wanted the yacht she should scuttled and this was done on 9 July at a point south of the Isle of Wight after her movable fittings were stripped off and sold. The third yacht, 'Terpsichore', was probably owned by Sir Mortimer Singer, the sewing machine magnate, who later changed her name to 'Lulworth'. The painting has been inscribed 'Off Cowes', lower left, and signed 'Chas Pears', lower right.