Tuke's Registers record that this work was painted on board the derelict French barque, Mazatlan in the summer of 1905, when she was moored alongside the Eastern breakwater of Falmouth Docks, having been towed in following her dismasting in a gale. The models were Harry Cleave, Tom Tiddy, Neddy Hall, probably the bearded figure on the left, Johnny Jackett, and Stride of Camborne. The work is also known as 'Sailors Yarning' and Tom Tiddy recalled that the models wore their own working clothes occasionally supplemented by Tuke's own studio nautical props.

In 1908, the painting was bought for 280 by Prince Ranjitsinhji, later the Jam Sahib of Nawanagar, one of the great figures of English cricket of the day and a friend of the artist who helped him to improve his batting. The Prince bought three other works from the artist, including a full-length portrait in his magnificent Indian dress, painted in 1908 D. Wainwright and C. Dinn, op. cit.

We are very grateful to Catherine Dinn for her help in cataloguing this lot