Boudin’s birthplace at Honfleur on the Normandy coast of France determined the themes that he would explore in much of his artistic production. He was drawn mainly to life in the port cities of the North Atlantic and to such fashionable resorts as Deauville and Trouville. While many of Boudin's views record vacationers enjoying the seaside, others, like this work, focus on the ocean-going vessels off shore. Boudin’s portrayal of contemporary life and his pleasure in working outdoors influenced the early Impressionists, such as Claude Monet, whom he met at Le Havre in 1858. Boudin encouraged the younger painter to work en plein air, and exhibited his paintings with Monet and his Impressionist colleagues in their first group show held in Paris in 1874.