Montague Dawson describes the scene of the present work in a letter to Frost and Reed (fig. 1):

"The epic race between the "Cutty Sark" and the "Thermopylae" took place in 1872, when both these famous ships were in their heyday. The "Cutty Sark" is the black and white ship, "Thermopylae" is the green one; the former was better in rough weather and the latter in light weather. This race was the only occasion when the two ships were in company. The weather was heavy at the t.mes and, when "Cutty Sark" was pulling away from her rival, she had the misfortune to lose her rudder, which put her out. They were never together again to decide the issue."