April 14, 1912 Sunday night.... part 2

....Once the passengers were mostly in bed,

Came the dreadful cry “iceberg dead ahead.”

They then didn’t know it

But soon found out,

She would not make it there was no doubt.

The pain was unbearable that fateful night,

For the Captain and crew their lips they did bite.

One minute she sailed

Next minute she stopped

Hit by an iceberg that wrenched her apart.....

Captain Smith no doubt was stricken in heart, as he called all of the officers to the bridge to let them in on the situation. He and Andrews knew that there were not enough lifeboats for all of the passengers on board.
He shared the disastrous news with the officers, and gave them the following orders; first officer Murdoch, and third officer Pittman were ordered to use their men to rouse the passengers, and get them on the boat deck with their lifebelts on. Second officer Lightoller was to use the seaman to uncover, and get the lifeboats ready to launch. The fifth and sixth officers were to stay on the bridge, and fourth officer Boxhall was to work out their position.
At 12:10am Monday morning the Titanic position was given to the wireless operators, 41*46* N, 50*14* W. At 12:15am the first CQD distress call was sent out.
As passengers were being roused in the early hours of the 15th, most of them were not happy campers, what was this? Here these passengers had booked on an 'unsinkable' ship, and now they are being woke up, under the pretence that the Captain is being fussy, and correct, making them dawn their lifebelts, dress warmly, and go up to the boat deck, where the weather was now freezing. Put yourself in their spot, you're sound asleep, and then a steward appears at your door and tells you that you have to be prepared to abandon ship! This would have been a very hard task to accomplish, and reasonably so. They are on a "unsinkable" ship!!! Part of the reason for their stubbornness is, the passengers did not know the real state of the ship, and thought the Captain, and officers were just being picky and cautious about things.
The crew in the bottom of the ship were told to stay at their posts, and keep fire in the boilers, to power the generaters, to give power to the wireless, and keep the ship brightly lit. These men are not really talked about, when honors are being passed out, but think about it, these men were in the lowest part of the ship, not the place you want to be when a ship is sinking, these men knew that they did not have a chance. If they would not have stayed at their posts, the Titanic would have blacked out, the wireless radio would have had no power, and nobody would know what even happened to the 'Queen of the seas.' Truly these men were brave! Then think of the wireless operators, here they are swamped with private 'stuff' and now their stopped in the middle of the Atlantic, with damage to the ship. What if they had to turn around and had to return to Belfast, to repair damage. If that happened they would not get a moments rest.
Third class passengers were told to stay below decks, until further notice! First and second class were slowly meandering their way to boat deck, and to first class lounges, and smoking rooms.
Captain John Edward Smith could not put off the inevitable any longer, he ordered women and children into the lifeboats. At this time there is no panic, passengers are not even concerned at this point about the safety of the ship. Women did not really care to leave the brightly lit decks of the Titanic, to enter a small swaying lifeboat, and second of all their husbands could not come along. At first it was hard to convince women to leave the Titanic, but after a while a few here and there were starting to get in.
Officers were becoming aware of the fact that the Titanic would really sink. At 12:45am they fired off the first distress rocket.
The Titanic was beginning to list to starboard, and water was rushing into the forward compartments.
Right now things are calm and peaceful, men step back and light cigars and start smoking calmly, and talking quietly. Also as time went on, more and more passengers were getting into the lifeboats, maybe they were realizing that something was wrong. This is one of the times I just have to ponder the things that were going on, what were the passengers really thinking? How did they fill? Everybody in this age was concrete in the fact that the Titanic, and her sister ships were unsinkable, but I have to wonder if some unknown feeling were beginning to chip away at that firm belief.
There was one mistake that stands out of them all in my mind, one lifeboat was capable of holding 70 to 74 people, but many were sent out half filled or less than half, one was sent out with 12 passengers, when it was capable of holding 70!

If all of the lifeboats would have been filled to their full capacity 500 more souls could have been saved.

The Titanic could see a ship in the distance, but she was not responding to the distress calls, so Smith thought that rockets would make them aware of the peril that they were facing. That ship was the Californian, and the officers on deck did see the rockets and reported to the sleeping Captain of what they saw, they were wondering why a big ship like that would fire rockets. The Captain said they were probably company rockets, and to enter it into the log, none thought to wake the sleeping wireless operator. So, the Californian set through the whole night 10 miles away and watch the sinking Titanic fire rockets.

Back in the Titanic's wireless room the operators could not find anybody closes enough to help, they were able to contact ships 75 to 200 miles away but that would be no help. Bride suggested to Phillips in a joking tone, "you might send SOS it could be the last chance you have to send it." It was the first time that SOS was internationally used!

Down it third class it was utter pandemonium, the crew received orders that only women and children were allowed up top, but a lot of them didn't understand what they were trying to tell them, and they did not want to be separated from their husbands. It was complete chaos!
There were many calm men that fateful night, but the coolest men on board were Captain Smith, and Major Archibald Butts, the military aid to president Taft. There was a time when three third class men came charging up to get into a lifeboat, yelling screaming, and fighting when officers told them to step back or they would be shot, Butts covered them with a 38 revolver. First class passenger Mrs. Henry B Harris said "the world should raise in praise of Major Butt. That man's conduct will remain in my memory forever. The American Army is honored by him." There was no fear in his manner, even though the circumstances called for it. There was one time when a dozen of women became hysterical all at once, Major Butts stepped over to them and said, "really, you must not act like that." His calm assurance helped many that fateful night. A man saw a boat being lowered and ran to jump in it, but Butts shot him in the arm, caught him in the back of the neck, and jerked him back like a pillow, and cracked his head against a rail, and said, "sorry, but women and children will be attended to first, or I'll break every bone in your body." Many people were heard that night to say, "thank God for Major Butt." Again he saw a man trying to get in to a lifeboat, but he caught him and said, "keep your head and be a man." He helped so many people that night with such a strong firmness and sincerity, he was an example to every man on board that fateful night. His last known words are thought to be when he was helping a women into a lifeboat, preforming small courtesies, and smiling as if death were far away, instead of just a few moments from it. After lowering the lady into the lifeboat, he said, "good-by miss Young, good luck to you, and don't forget to remember me to the folks back home." He stepped back and waved his hand!

Arms and ammunition were being passed out among the officers, Smith knew it was a matter of time before some men tried and made for the lifeboats, but they were going to enforce the rule, "women and children first." On the port side of the ship second officer Lightoller was filling lifeboats, and it was becoming increasingly harder to keep men from going to the boats, but Lightoller was upholding the rule 'women and children first' strictly. On the starboard side it was Murdoch filling lifeboats, he was not as concerned as Lightoller about women and children only, if there were no ladies about he would allow men to get in.

“Women and children” was the cry,

Get them away

With no delay.

The bravery of men

Abounded that night,

Standing aside that others might live,

Staring at death

Like brave men they did.

Oh grave where is thy victory?

Oh death where is thy sting!

As their loved ones departed

Too see them no more,

The only thing left, was a door.

The door of eternity open wide,

To receive these men as they died.

“Nearer My God To Thee” was heard that night,

Upon the waves of untold fright.

Some men however were panic stricken, and six men sreaming in terror dashed for the lifeboats, and six shots sounded out in quick sussesion, and six men were stopped in their tracks, this helped discouraged violations of the rule "Women and children first." But on the whole most of the men were the brave type, telling their wives that they would meet them on another ship, knowing good and well that would not be the case.

Back in the wireless room the operators had found a ship close enough to help, the Carpathia! She was 48 miles away, and was coming at full speed and would be there in four hours, the Titanic only had one hour to live.

There are many differant versions of how Captain Smith met his death, I'll tell you the one I believe; first of all he had to be in utter dispair, on his last voyage having a perfect record at sea, his ship was sinking, over 2,000 passengers that should be in bed right now, are now on the verge of death, you know that, that morning they were not expecting to die. Was it Smith's fault? NO! It was not his fault, but he was responsible, you can't blame the accident on him, he wasn't on the bridge at the time of impact, but as Captain he was responsible! He was last seen heading to the bridge, the place he made his life out of, the place he had commanded for forty years, the bridge. I speculate that he stood at the ship's wheel as the cold waters of the icy Atlantic, swirled around his feet then up to his chest, and finally to his nostrils, and there he died, at the ship's wheel!

After all the lifeboats on the starboard side had been lowered, first officer Murdoch took the revolver out of his pocket and said "try and save yourself, good-by and good luck." With that he shot himself through the head and ended his life!

Up to this time there had been no real panic, but now it was sure that the Titanic would sink. Stokers came up from below, their posts now submergerd and they beat all down in their path, for they had iron bar.
The ship now is at a steep slant!
Sences of the sinking vessal become more tragic, as passengers faced the certain fear of death. Many women rejected the lifeboats to stay and die with the men that they truly loved.

As the bow slipped beneath the waves, and water crept up around the bridge, and started to surround the first funnel. The first funnel {smokstack} weighing in at sixty tons of steel could no longer take the slanted strain, the cables holding her whipped back into the water like angry hornets, and no doubt killing those in its path. Then the massive funnel fell over and killed those in the water around her!

Back in the wireless room, news came that the Carpathia was making full steam, and was racing to the sence at full blast. Jack Phillips must have wondered where the fool was that blasted into his ears a while back about some ice-warning, the power was strong, he must be in the vicinity. Now he probably wished he would not have been so rude!
Not long after that the power left the ship's wireless room, but Phillips was still tapping away, even though it did no good.

Benjamin Guggenheim also showed great courage in the face of death, he, being one of the richest men in the world, faced death like a man. When someone asked him if he would try to save himself he said, “I think there is grave doubt that the men will get off safely. I am willing to remain and play the man’s game, if there are enough boats for more than the woman and children. I won’t die here like a beast. I’ll meet my end as a man.’ He paused for a moment than continued, ‘tell my wife, Johnson, if it should happen that my secretary and I both go down and you are saved, tell her I played the game out straight and to the end. No woman shall be left aboard this ship because Ben Guggenheim was a coward. ‘Tell her my last thoughts will be of her and our girls, but that my duty now is to these unfortunate woman and children on this ship. Tell her I will meet whatever fate is in store for me, knowing she will approve of what I do.” He was last seen talking to Major Butts and Colonel Astor.

Thomas Andrew the designer of the Titanic, the first to know that she would not make it, was last seen in the first class reception room, he had a wife and three children.
There is an unknown man that gave the men on board a bad name, instead of staying with the men and letting women and children get into the boats, he went back to his cabin and put on woman’s dress, woman’s shoes, a woman’s hat, and a woman’s veil, went and walked back through the heroic men standing their waiting to meet their death, and got on a boat and saved himself, not a more cowardly thing could have been done.
Among the cowardly few men who got onto lifeboats, none other but John Bruce Ismay the president of the White Star Line stepped into a lifeboat. He, above all other men should have stayed on board, since it was he who argued with Carlyle about the issue of lifeboats, and said the Titanic is unsinkable, it’s its own lifeboat, and made the decision that there would not be enough lifeboats for every one. He should have been the last man to be put safely in a lifeboat. But he was scared of death and could not stay on the Titanic’s sloping deck. He died years later almost bankrupt.

As the ship began to settle to the starboard side at nearly a 45-degree angle, more and more people began to jump. It must have been a hard thing for the ladies who set in the lifeboats and watched their husbands smiling calmly at them, awaiting their death.

Among the heroes, the Titanic’s band was one of them, Wallace Hartley being the bandleader. As the ship neared the end the band started playing the beloved hymn “Nearer My God To Thee”. Some say they played this until the water was about their knees, but that would have been nearly impossible, because of the angle of the ship. But I believe that they played until they could no longer keep balance. Many times when you think of the Titanic sinking you think of Nearer My God To Thee, but don’t give honor to the men who played it to the very end. This song would also cause men to reflect on the fact that the end was very near. The band’s heroic deed went down in the history of the Titanic.

Passengers in the lifeboats could hear the sinking ship now, as she began to aquire a very steep angle, everything inside the ship began crashing over, plates, tables, beds, tea cups, luggage, machinery, and sounds of terror, etc...

Then it happened. The Titanic was in her death throws, she started to make her last plunge, as water started to creep up the deck even faster, people began to jump and clamber for the stern area. The Titanic was almost standing upright in the water when between the third and fourth funnels the biggest ship in the world broke apart. She could no longer take the heavy strain, and then the lights flicked and went out for good. Imagine the fear in the passengers not all the way up to the stern of the ship yet, and to feel the deck begin to break, and the wood planks pop apart below their feet then to fall to your death inside the broken ship. The bow plunged to the bottom of the ocean 2 ½ miles below. The stern area came crashing down into the water; it created a small tidal wave, and no doubt killing people that would have been in her way. People clung to the stern as well as they could, knowing the end was finally here. As the stern sank lower and lower, the water crept closer and closer. Then she plunged and sank. The R.M.S Titanic was last seen at 2:30, on April 15^th 1912. The world’s greatest liner was gone, everything was gone.

It was the end of an era!

...Titanic plunged with a moan,

She died with a great groan.

Behind her she left hundreds of souls

Where cold would soon take its toll.

Titanic was gone

As soon as she came.

She lost her glory,

But gained great fame.

James Daniel McEntire

April 14, 1912 Sunday night... Part 1

This is one of the subjects that I love talking about the most, and yet when the occasion arises I feel inadequate to do so.
When I start explaining what happened that fateful night, I have a hard time expressing my self, and putting what I think and feel into words. So please bear with me!
This will be the post on things that took place this night 95 years ago, there is so much that I'm afraid that I can only hit the basic story line...
As the Titanic sped on through a known ice field at 22 1/2 knots, about 28 miles an hour, she had but a few more hours to retain the title 'Queen of the seas'! The big golden sun began to set in the west, casting wondrous shades of light and depth to the glorious evening. I don't think that any words can describe the last few hours of precious sunlight that the Titanic's passenger, and the ship itself had to revel in. Slowly but surely a huge orange mass of light and energy sank lower and lower into the west, and was gone forever for some. For the others the next time they would see it, they would be on the decks of another ship!
As it got later the temperature dropped drastically almost to freezing, and this forced many out of the open decks and back into the warmth and radiance of the Titanic.
Passengers are now enjoying their "last meal on the Titanic." They slowly started to retire one by one. Just a few scattered here and there, maybe playing card games, talking, or braving the cold decks.
Titanic's death clock began ticking toward that deadly moment when she would meet her fate. Captain Smith had taken precautionary measures by taking the ship 10 miles south of its original course. The Captain knew they were in the midst of ice but chose not to slow down. Why? John Bruce Ismay was pushing the Captain very hard to arrive in New York early and surprise everyone, and by the way it would be the perfect ending to his perfect career. This was Captain John Edwards Smith's last voyage, and Ismay wanted him to end it in style. Out of everything that I know, I don't believe that the Captain was for trying to make a record time, but oh well, he'd crossed the Atlantic and probably knew it better than anyone, what would it hurt? So at Ismay's request they were rushing headlong into danger. Another problem, some how the binoculars had been left in Southampton. Then the weather; it was calm, still, flat, no wind, and star lit. Now that sounds like a picture perfect evening, and it is, but not for spotting icebergs. here's why; if the water is smooth, and flat, it won't produce 'breakers' around the edges of the iceberg, and believe it or not the brighter it is at night the harder it is to see icebergs, and especially 'blue bergs.' Sailors would say later that they had not seen a night like this in 40 years.
At 11:00pm First officer Murdoch came on the bridge, and began his watch. This in itself was a terrible mistake, this was the most critical part of the voyage and the Captain was not at the wheel. They were in a known ice field, they were making 22 knots, and it was at night, and the Captain entrusted the care of the ship to the first officer.
Stewards start cleaning up, and getting ready for the next day, bakers finish up their days work, the Captain himself has retired, along with other officers, passengers turn to their bed as a symbol of security and comfort, not knowing that they will be rudely awakened... all is quiet.
It's now 11:45pm, the dreadful moment that we wish we could stop, but can't. Up in the crow's nest one of the lookouts, Fredrick Fleet, is chilled to the bone at the sight of a iceberg coming on quick, he forgets how cold he is and can't believe his eyes,,, an ICEBERG!!! Something that no sailor wants to see. He quickly regains his senses and rings the brass bell three times, picks up the phone, sixth officer Moody picks up the phone on the bridge and asks what he saw, the reply stops the blood in his veins his voice rings out loud and clear, "Iceberg dead ahead, sir," we all know what happens, but take this as it comes, as he hears the chilling words he must wonder momentarily how far off, and how big? With a quick 'thank you' he hangs up and reports to Murdoch, he dashes to the Starboard wing and peers with all his might and then he sees it as well. He rushes back into the bridge and quickly shouts the order "hard 'a starboard' the ship's wheel is flung over hard, and Murdoch runs back onto the wing, they don't seem to be turning, what's the matter, he flings himself back into the bridge and orders "full speed astern both" the worst thing he could have done. In doing this he would make the ship turn much more slowly, and he probably knew this, but panic set in and he did what sounded right, and I'll explain why. first of all the propellers are situated just beneath the rudder, now with the propellers spinning in one direction they push the flow of water around the rudder, if you reverse the direction of the propellers, it pulls water away from the rudder which means the flow of water stopped around the rudder, so in effect putting the wheel or rudder hard over didn't do a thing with the engines running at full speed in reverse. He is standing on the starboard wing watching in untold terror as the pinnacle of the age, biggest ship in the world, the hopes and dreams of hundreds, headed toward something six times her size. Did Murdoch have a lump in his throat? Or perhaps a tightened jaw? Or maybe he almost passed out on the account of not breathing? Who knows but him, but I'm sure he was rooted too the spot in fear. Then it happened the height of mastered engineering received its death wound. The iceberg tore a 300 foot gash on the starboard side of the Titanic, it was done. Titanic's fate was sealed. The Captain was awakened immediately and was on the bridge, some passengers were awakened by a peculiar scraping sound, one passenger reported that it felt like the ship had gone over a thousand marbles. Down below decks water started pouring in at a breath catching pace, it took the stokers by surprise and made them scatter for safety.
Once the Captain was on the bridge, he asked for Thomas Andrews to come up. Once he arrived he told him what had happened, and asked for a detailed inspection. He was gone for a short while and then asked to see the Captain in his private quarters, the news was devastating, how could this happen to the unsinkable, and to Captain Smith after 40 years at sea he had never been shipwrecked in his life, why now? Andrews explained with great detail why she would sink. The iceberg had pierced 5 of her watertight compartments, these watertight bulkheads only went to E deck, the Titanic was not designed to have more than 4 filled. If more than 4 were the weight of the water would bring her down by the head, and then water would spill into the next and so on till she sank. Andrews speculated that she had an hour to live.

So sorry but I'm wiped out, I have set at this computer all day, my wrists hurt, my eyes hurt, and I'm terribly tired, and we have church tomorrow! I'll do part two the first chance I get next week. Please forgive me!!!

April 14, 1912 Ice-warnings...

Why weren't the Officers, and the Captain aware of ice-warnings in the North Atlantic? Well the fact of the matter is they were aware, very aware!
I'll make it to where you can choose for yourself, I'll put the all of the ice-warnings that the Titanic received on the 14th of April.

1. At 9:00am the Titanic received an ice-warning from the Caronia, the message was delivered to the bridge at Captain's request, for other officers to take note.
'Captain, Titanic west bound report bergs, growlers and Field ice in 42*N, from 49* to 51*W, compliments, Barr'


2. At 1:42pm the Titanic received an ice-warning from the Baltic, the message was delivered to Captain Smith, and he talked about it with Ismay. Ismay then put the ice-warning in his pocket and later showed it to other passengers, then the Captain asked for the return of the warning, and he posted it in the chart room at 7:15!
'Greek steamer Athenia reports passing icebergs and large quantities of field ice today in latitude 41*51* N, longitude 49*52* W wish you and Titanic all success. Commander'

3. At 1:45pm the Titanic received an ice-warning from the Amerika, this was really a private message over heard by the wireless operators, and never made its way to the bridge.
'Amerika passed two large icebergs in 41*27* N, 50*8* W on April 14.'

4. At 7:30pm the Titanic received an ice-warning from the Californian, this message was also over heard by the wireless operators and was delivered personally to the bridge by one of the wireless operators Harold Bride. Captain Smith was not made aware of this ice-warning, he was dining in the La Carte resturant with the Wideners.
'To Captain, Antillian latitude 42*3* N, longitude 49*9* W, three large bergs five miles to the southward of us. Regards Lord'

5. At 9:40pm the Titanic received an ice-warning from the Mesaba, this message never reached the bridge. Harold was taking a much needed rest, and Phillips was too busy sending commercial traffic to Cape Race.
'From Mesaba to Titanic. In latitude 42* N, to 41*25* W, to longitude 52*30* W, saw much heavy pack ice and great number large icebergs, also field ice, weather good, clear.'

6. Around 11:00pm the Titanic received an ice-warning again from the Californian, this liner was only 10 miles away from the Titanic. As Phillips was busily sending private messages the Californian was going to tell Titanic that she was stopped for the night because of field ice, but when he started transmitting he was so close that it burst into the already stressed ears of Jack Phillips, He did not wait for the warning to come through before he replied angrily "shut up, shut up, I am busy I am working Cape Race." The Californian operator felt rejected and shut down his radio and went to bed.

So, I leave you to judge for yourself!
But I'll give you my opinion. I really don't think that these were regarded as they should have been. But I have to remember that I know the end of the story, and the wireless operators, officers, and Captain didn't. How were they to know that these ice-warnings were critical to the situation. Part of the reason that they were not taken note of like they should have been, is because the radio broke down that morning, and the operators were under stress, tired, and probably a bit cranky.
The Titanic was warned six times about danger to come!!!

April 14, 1912 Sunday afternoon...

For 1635 passengers, half of their last day was over. Titanic's short life was about to end, and she would become a legend. From 'Queen of the seas' to passenger's worse nightmare.

"......Sea trials she passed with no great concern;

Taking it with ease at every turn.

Built to tower over all,

She acquired fame, but it cost her a fall!

She was known as unsinkable

Queen of the Seas,

But that could not stop her from breaking up dreams.

She then departed to see land no more,

With the greatest luxuries man could afford.

Titanic was regarded as a dazzling sight,

But size and power couldn’t keep her from fright......."

It's hard to really know what all went on in the dwindling hours of the late morning and afternoon. I guess that I have always surmised that passengers enjoyed fabulous meals, and service. You have to really put it into perspective, these were real down to life people, with lives! Many third class passengers were coming to America for a new life, you have to wonder what kind of anticipation filled their hearts right now, how will we adjust to a new culture, will we fit in well, will I acquire a steady job, will I be able to provide for my family? I can only imagine what was running through the minds of most third class passengers.
Then you have second class passengers, better off financially but I'm sure things still ran through their minds. These second class passengers were coming back from Europe, maybe from visiting family, sight seeing, just normal people trying to make a decent living.
Then you have first class passengers, prominent leaders in the world of art, wealth, political offices, writers, presidents of different railway companies, bankers, and merchants! When you think about it, it's a distinguished group of people for a distinguished ship.
Playing cards in the first class smoking rooms, maybe there were people playing squash on F deck. But all in all passengers were probably soaking up the fresh clean air on boat deck, or perhaps relaxing to the Titanic's band playing ragtime, or classical music, or maybe rich first class passengers indulging in the authentic Parisian Cafe with real French waiters.
But then I also think of the crew and officers, there was always an officer on the bridge, a man standing there tirelessly keeping the ship on track, or what about the stokers, firemen, engineers, and all of the other sweaty crewmen, men that the passengers never saw, but it was they who kept the ship running. Then you have the stewards, making sure that all of the passengers never needed anything, keeping things clean and tidy.
When I step back and look at the whole catastrophe it's really sad to think of all the work that went into her, all of the money, and all of the lives just to be wasted. Just think about being able to look over the bow of that great ocean liner and see the endless blue ocean stretching out before your eyes, and to know that your apart of it. It would have been a very enjoyable experience.

The Morning of April 14, 1912

On the Sunday morning of April 14, 1912 the dawn broke crisp and clear, the rising sun sparkling off the tips of water making it shine like diamonds. Not a more beautiful morning on the North Atlantic, and for 1635 souls it would be the last sunrise the would ever see. But how could they know, they were on a so-called 'unsinkable'.
Four days earlier 2340 passengers had embarked on the Titanic at Southampton, Cherbourg, and Queenstown. How could you not be excited to travel on the largest liner in the world on her maiden voyage, it was a once in a lifetime thing. Most of all the Titanic! What saddens me is the fact that all of these people, rich or poor, were not prepared or expecting what would happen four days later. 1635 passengers were headed unknowingly to an untimely death, and 705 passenger were going to endure hardships, pains, and miseries, to say the least.
But now it is the 14 of April and the passengers have been enjoying themselves immensely, depending on what luxuries their classes afforded them, relaxing in the sun, or perhaps trying out a mechanical horse in the ship's gym, or maybe enjoying a Turkish bath, or possibly enjoying a heated swimming pool. Whatever they did it was to indulge themselves and to have the time of the their life. Colonel Archibald Gracie said "I enjoyed myself as if I were in a summer palace on the seashore, surrounded by every comfort."
There was a Church of England service that was presided over by Captain Smith in first class, and Father Thomas Byles conducted a Catholic mass in the second class lounge, and then one for third class passengers.
That same morning the wireless operators were swamped with private messages, they were trying their best to keep up, but it was a hard fight, the previous evening the wireless radio broke down and they didn't get it fixed till about 5:00am that Sunday morning, and were trying feverishly to get all the telegrams sent out in a timely fashion. I'll talk about it later more, but this would cause a terrible mistake.
The Titanic was making excellent speed; such as on Sunday her engines were making 75 revolutions a minute and covering 549 miles in one day. That Sunday morning the Captain ordered two more boilers to be fired up, she was cruising along at the break-neck pace of 22 knots, and on Monday they were going to fire the remaining boilers, and try to achieve 24 knots. Proverbs 27:1 says, "Boast not thy self of tomorrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth."
I'll end this post with what first class passengers had to eat!

{cooks} Consomme Fermier Cockie Leekie

Fillets of Brill
Egg A L'Argenteuil
Chicken A La Maryland
Corned Beef, Vegetables, Dumplings

From The Grill
Grilled Mutton Chops
Mashed, Fried & Baked Jacket Potatoes

Custard Pudding
Apple Meringue Pastry

Buffet

Salmon Mayonnaise Potted Shrimp
Norwegian Anchovies Soused Herrings
Plain & Smoked Sardines
Roast Beef
Round Of Spiced Beef
Veal & Ham Pie
Virginia & Cumberland Ham
Bologna Sausage Brawn
Galantine Of Chicken
Corned Ox Tongue
Lettuce Beetroot Tomatoes

Cheese
Cheshire, Stilton, Gorgonzola, Edam
Cammebert, Roquefort, St. Ivel,
Cheddar

Iced Draught Munich Larger Beer 3d & 6d Tankard

I seriously don't think that you could start a morning better off then this.

"Millionaire's Special"

This is one of the Titanic's nicknames that she acquired in her short life. But what made her the "last word in luxury," "Millionaires special," "floating palace," etc...? I will list some things below that made her truly Titanic... This is part of a chapter out of a book that I wrote!

"Specifications to the Titanic were going to be based upon those of the Olympic. There would be some changes made, and as a result, the Titanic would be a thousand tons heavier than the Olympic, and even more luxurious. One of these changes would be to close the 1^st class promenade deck in with glass. Passengers had complained about being splashed with spray from the sea. This change made a notable difference between the two ships. In the next months to follow, the empty hull of the Titanic would be formed into the most elegant, and luxurious ship the world had ever seen sailing the sea.
Titanic boasted of the first ship to have a heated swimming pool!
Also it boasted of a fully equipped gym with rowing machines, stationary bicycle, and a mechanical horse for first class passengers!
Titanic also had a squash court on F deck for first class passengers!
Titanic had it’s own band and five grand pianos!
State of the art infirmary room with a fully equipped operating room with two physicians!
A fully equipped darkroom for amateur’s to try their skills!
Titanic had a 50-phone switchboard complete with operator, Titanic ended up having over 200 miles of wiring in side her and 10,000 light bulbs!
She had four generators that produced 400 volts!
A Marconi wireless room for passengers to send and receive messages!
She had three elevators altogether. Two for her first class passengers, and one for second-class passengers.
She also boasted of a Turkish bath for first class passengers.
The Titanic had two suites with a 50-foot private promenade, enclosed!
Also a Veranda Café with real palm trees, and an authentic Parisian Café with French waiters, Titanic was the first to have restaurants!
There were two barbershops for all classes!
Smoking rooms for first and second-class for men!
Reading and writing rooms for first and second ladies!
First & second-class libraries!
First class dining saloon with the capacity to sit 554 passengers!
Electric lights and heat in every stateroom!
Titanic also boasted indoor toiletry!
It was said that the Titanic had a miniature golf course, and her own herd of dairy cows to provide fresh milk for the passengers. But those were just rumors.
For a first class suite in today’s money would be $69,000 for a one-way ticket. For a first class berth in today’s money would be $2,400. A second-class ticket would cost $960 and for a third class ticket it would cost $640!
One of the main attractions of the ship was the grand staircase covered with a beautiful glass dome, it was lighted so it looked like it was day even if it was night, and the staircase was of the most elegant woodcarvings, with the steps trimmed in gold! This would be where wealthy first class passengers would make their appearance in the evening, walking down the 'grand staircase' into the reception room."

Now all of this may seem standard or even out of date, but remember this is 1912 and this was as good as it got. Some of the things mentioned here is what separated the Titanic and her sister ships from other liners. So if you ever wondered why the Titanic was boasted like it was, this is why. As you can see this is the kind of ship that would attract more rich and wealthy people, but was affordable for third class passengers.
Hope this was helpful!!!

Titanic in Hollywood

What is to be said about the movie "Titanic"? I have done much reading on the "Titanic" movie, and have come to know the director and actors fairly well. I also know quite a bit about why James Cameron wanted to make a movie about the "Titanic". I have read quite a bit about the special effects, stunt doubles, the 'Titanic' James Cameron constructed, the point of the story, etc...
The only reason I'm interested in the movie is because of how James Cameron practically 'rebuilt' the Titanic. From me he gets a five star rating for that, but it seems that Hollywood can't leave it at that. They have to turn every movie that comes down the pike into a love story, it's really a bummer they have to do that. Otherwise it would have been a good movie.
Someone once said about the movie that "it's as close as your going to get to walking the real decks of the Titanic".
For me the movie helps put real life images into my head, and helps me get an idea of what she really looked like. I'm going to post pictures of James Cameron's "Titanic"!!!



href="http://www.fortunecity.com/lavender/stroheim/163/set10.jpg">The 'Titanic' that Cameron built was actually 10% smaller than the real thing, if he would have made it built to scale it would not have fit in the tank! But you can get an idea of how big she really was.


href="http://www.solarnavigator.net/history/explorers_history/titanic_sinking.jpg">The 'Titanic' has made billions of dollars worldwide. It has won more Oscars, than any other movie, and tied for 11 academy awards with other movies, such as 'Ben Hur'.
The thing is, its just a movie, and you can learn more reading a book then you ever could watching a movie. I hate it when I ask someone if they have an interest in the Titanic, and they say "oh yah I have seen the movie", no you don't like the Titanic you like the movie. I don't tell them that but I should.
Seems how the 'Titanic' made such a hit 10 years ago, I thought I might as well share my thoughts on the matter.
It would take a really long time to go into detail about how the movie was made, and its really not important, so I won't. I have always found it interesting how people make movies and if your interested further there's a multitude of information on the internet about how they made it.

Coming up...

Two weeks from now, the Titanic disaster happened, 95 years ago! So I hope to post continually that day so you can get a feel of how the day of April 14, 1912 went, and everything that happened. I'll start that morning with how things may have gone, different things and comments that passengers said, then moving on into the afternoon and the ice-warnings that the wireless operators got, and what happened to them! Then go into late afternoon, and the last meal on the Titanic, and people going to bed, and different things that took place. Then finally the tragic night of April 14, the collision, orders on the bridge, inspection of the ship after impact, lifeboats being lowered, brave men standing back, and the cowardliness of some men, things that happened on the boat deck, {were shots really fired to keep men from getting into boats???} the fate of the crew below, and the ill fated band, Titanic's final moments in the frigid waters of the icy Atlantic, and then rescue.
So I ask as much as possible on the 14, of April 2007, check my blog all day to find out what happened that fateful day!!!

Living A Dream

Finally! The Titanic was ready for her maiden voyage. Wednesday, April 10th 1912, was a very exciting day for Joseph Bruce Ismay. Finally, after five years of waiting, and then waiting some more, the Titanic was ready! Ismay and the chief designer of the Titanic, Thomas Andrews, would accompany the Titanic.Over the course of five years, Lord Pierre had aged dramatically; he was a sick old man. He had a tumor in his left eye, which would need surgery. He would not be able to make the Titanic’s maiden voyage, to his major disappointment.
Ismay had undoubtedly crossed the Atlantic Ocean many, many times. But this time it would be different! For the first time in his life he was living a dream, not that this was the first ship he had built, but this ship, the Titanic, was his own invention, a ship of his own making.Maybe some of us have had a chance to live our dreams, if you have, you might know what Ismay was experiencing. A sense of fulfillment! A sense of achievement! A sense of arrival! And possibly a sense of excellence!

Ismay would only have four days to live his dream. Four days, only four days. This magnificent ship would only have four days to prove her self-worthiness on the sea. To be the Queen of the Seas. Ismay’s pride in the matter affected more than just him. It affected the Titanic’s passengers, it affected the crew, and it definitely affected the White Star Line. It affected the world by being the first news to be worldwide.
Once the Titanic departed from the coast of Ireland, she would never see land again. For some on board, it would be the last time they viewed solid ground. As the huge liner swept past the Irish coast and progressed farther and farther away; until she was a mere speck, and then vanishing completely, the world would never set eyes upon her again. Titanic had a short and sad life, and the life that she did have was rushed to keep up with schedules, regulations and dates. It was almost as if she was built to sink.
Once the Titanic was on sea, she became a world of her own, at least to the passengers. Each class of passengers enjoying their own different luxuries their class afforded them. Titanic was also making excellent speed, much to her owner’s approval. From the time she left Queenstown, she was making more and more speed every day. Finally, on Sunday, April 14, 1912, she made 75 revolutions a minute, and covered 549 miles. But Monday the 15th was going to be the final test; she was going to attempt about 24 ½ knots compared to 22 knots on Sunday, putting Titanic at full speed, at Ismay’s request…

Titanic's Chief Officer

Henry Tingle Wilde was not a man given to flights of fancy.
A tall powerfully built man, just 38, had worked up from the ranks from apprentice to chief officer, in May 1911. The White Star Line held him in high regard, and captain Smith valued his experience and skill.
He was 39 at the time of the disaster.
He was born in Liverpool, England and his residence in 1912 was also in Liverpool, England.
He made 25.00.00 [in English pounds] a month.
Smith requested Wilde for this maiden voyage because of his experience at sea.
He was born September 21, 1872. Nothing is known about his childhood, parents, or upbringing.
At the captain’s request, Wilde’s addition to the ship’s officers bumped everyone else down a notch, completely bumping David Blair off the ship’s roll.
Chief officer Henry Tingle Wilde did not survive the Titanic’s sinking! This is part of a book I wrote on the Titanic!!!

Heavy Duty Power

Let us talk a bit about what pushed a 66,000 ton ship through the Atlantic swell. The Titanic was 92 feet wide, 883 feet long, 175 feet from the keel to the funnels, and 30 feet of that was under the water. She weighed in at 66,000 tons of steel and iron, massive weight, massive length, and massive width. What would it take to push this mass of steel through water? The answer, some heavy duty power...

The Titanic had two reciprocating engines, to go into a little more detail, they were reciprocating, four cylinder, triple expansion, direct acting inverted engines. And there were two of them, they drove the side propellers. How much horsepower? 30,000 hp for one of these engines, 30,000 hp driving one propeller, that's impressive. I'm not an engineer, but I'll explain as best as I can how they work... first steam from the boilers is fed through pipes till they reach the engines, then the steam is fed into the cylinders at very high pressure, such as 2,000 pounds of pressure per square inch, this high pressure steam forces a shaft to turn, and in the end of that shaft, is a propeller. And where did all that excess steam go? Continue reading! I'm sure a mechanic could explain it better, but that will have to do.
Altogether, 60,000 hp with just these and were not done yet...

The Titanic was also equipped with a low pressure, Parsons turbine that drove the center propeller, this engine created 16,000 hp. This third engine would allow the Titanic's cruising speed to be brought up to 23-24 knots, which is about 27 miles per hour!!!

These engines were simply Titanic! They were as tall as a three story building. Our church is two story in the back, so just imagine these engines towering above that, about 8 feet.
So Titanic's total hp was 76,000 hp, that's a whole lot of horses. Think of it like this, chain 76,000 horse's to the Titanic and let them pull their hearts out, it's hard for me to conceive of 76,000 horses in one spot at the same time, but that's what is couped up in these massive engines.


Propellers are not the only things that the engines powered, they sent power to generaters to give power to the Marconi wireless, to all the lights and heaters.
I guess for a behemoth ship you need huge engines!
The Titanic's engines preformed well for the short time they were needed. On the night of April 14th 1912, the Titanic's engines were pumping at almost full speed, speeding through a known ice field. When first officer Murdoch put the engines "full astern",what he was really doing was slamming the brakes on the biggest liner the world had ever seen, and more than that, he threw it in reverse, one second these engines are spinning one way at full speed, and then in another second they're supposed to be spinning in the other direction. You can imagine the stress they were under. I have had the opportunity to be in a vehicle going 70 miles per hour when it was thrown into reverse, it's a pretty chilling experience. This had worse effects than putting the engines under stress, if Murdoch would not of put the engines in reverse, she may not of hit the iceberg at all, and I'll explain! The rudder of a ship and the propellers are situated in the back, the propellers are right under the rudder, ok, if you're traveling at a high rate of speed and you turn the rudder hard over and put the engines in reverse, you will lose the flow of water around the rudder. Because you have a mass moving in one direction, and you have propellers spinning to make it go the other direction, you create a stillness of water around the rudder, if he would not have put the engines in reverse, the water would have flowed freely around the rudder, and thus turned more quickly!!! It was a fatal mistake, and one that should not have been made by an officer!

Third class

Altogether there were 706 third class passengers from the following: Ireland, Finnish, Swedish, Belgians. There were 462 men, 165 women, and 79 children, only 75 out of 462 men survived, only 76 out of 165 women survived, and only 27 out of 79 children lived.
Third class on the Titanic was absolutely stupendous compared to the times. On the Titanic, third class accommodations were like that of second class of any other liner or shipping company. Though the White Star Line focused a lot on first class wealth, they did not do away with third class. The White Star Line knew that third class passengers were coming to America to start a new life and that they were moving all of their belongings across the Atlantic for a fresh start.
Third class berths were fairly luxurious in their own way, they provided electric lighting, heat, and wash basins. In fact the accommodations in third class were far better than the life they had left from where the came from. There was only one bathtub for all of the men in third class, but this was not stinginess on the White Star Line part, the poor at that time thought that taking frequent baths would give you lung disease. The same for all of the women and children.

-Breakfast-

Quaker Oats and Milk
Smoked Herrings
Beefsteak and Onions
Jacket Patatoes
Fresh Bread and Butter
Marmelade, Swedish Bread
Tea, Coffee

-Lunch-

Brawn
Cheese and Pickles
Fresh Bread and Butter
Rhubarb Jam
Currant Buns
Tea

-Dinner-

Rice Soup
Corned Beef and Cabbage
Boiled Patatoes
Cabin Biscuits, Fresh Bread
Peaches and Rice

Dinner: - Every Day - Cabin Biscuits and
Cheese, Gruel and Coffee.
Fresh Fish served as a Substitute for
Salt Fish as opportunity offers.
Kosher Meat supplied and cooked for
Jewish Passengers as desired.

They didn't eat too badly, either!!!
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This is a picture of a third class dining room, it don't look that bad to me, but compared to the first class dining room, there's a huge difference. But as you can see, third class passengers didn't have it that bad off really, and they were treated really well from the White Star Line.
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This is a third class berth, the only thing that I see that I don't like is how cramped it seems to be, but you just have to remember the places these people were coming from. The
accommodations are not really that bad at all. All of the third class berths had springs in the mattresses and feather pillows.




















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This is just a third class common area.

Here is a third class sitting room and smoking room all combined. As you can see, it is brightly lit and is furnished fairly nice.









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On the night of April 14, 1912, and the morning of the 15th the Titanic's third class passenger did not fare very well. They were kept below decks, and told that they would be let up soon, and that there wasn't that big of a problem. But here and there, a few third class passenger escaped to the boat deck. By the time that the crew let all of them up, all of the lifeboats had gone and there was nothing for hundreds of passengers. There was a 1 out of 10% chance of a male third class passenger getting on a lifeboat, and a 9 out of 10% chance of a female first class passenger getting on a lifeboat. Most of these poor passengers were left to fend for themselves, and await their fate.
Titanic's third class passengers had it pretty good till the ship started to sink, and then they were treated like animals. But these were real people who led real lives, just because they didn't have the money to travel in first class doesn't mean that at least the women and children didn't have the right any more than the first class passengers did to a lifeboat. In my eyes, third class women passengers that lost husbands lost even more than the first class women passengers did, think about it; a third class women passenger arriving in a foreign land with really no way to make money without a man, and they usually had families, what became of them? Now first class passenger women that lost their husbands did not have the financial problems that third class passenger would have most likely had, and second of all, they were probably home.
I guess the point I'm trying to make is that they weren't treated right, and could have been treated a lot better. Third class women and children deserved a spot in a lifeboat just as much as a first class lady, or child.

Book review

I received a book on my birthday about the Titanic, the title is "The Complete Titanic" {From the ship's earliest blueprints to the epic film.} Written by Stephen J. Spignesi!
The inside cover...
"no book about the Titanic had ever assembled so much fascinating information about the ship, the people that surrounded it, its wreck, and the aftermath."
Back of the book...
Did you know...?* In response to an early ice warning message from the Californian, a Titanic wireless operator replied, "shut up, shut up, I am busy."
*First class passengers could partake of herring, haddock, smoked salmon, grilled mutton, lamb chops, and sirloin steak``` for breakfast.
* There were 36 ships in the North Atlantic when the Titanic sank and only one, the Carpathia, came to her assistance.
*On April 15, 1912, the New York Evening Sun ran on its front page the headline "All Saved From Titanic After Collision."
*An 1898 novella seems to have predicted the Titanic disaster.
*James Cameron's $200 million blockbuster epic Titanic contains 40 "bloopers," including one in which Leonardo DiCaprio's character Jack refers to a man made lake in Wisconsin that was not dug until two years after the ship sank.
*Titanic's enormous cargo included such varied items as anchovies, auto parts, surgical instruments, and tennis balls.
And this is just a few of the things that this book talks about. It is "the most comprehensive compilation of Titanic information to date."
It gives a very detailed view of the Titanic's construction, from the length of the engine room, to the particulars of the boilers. How many cylinders were in each engine, to who and when the boilers were made. It even gives detailed particulars of the gross tonnage of different parts of the ship, from the poop deck to the bridge space, the whole ship registered 46,328 tons of constructed steel.
Just in an overall view, we're talking everything from the Englehardt equipment, space available for passengers on different boat decks, all of the inspections, and countless others.
This is all I will post for now, don't want to bore anybody, but this book puts things in an interesting way to read and understand more about the Titanic. So this time I posted about the book's view on the construction, so the next time it will be on the next chunk!!!

Should we, or should we not?

In my opinion the Titanic sank for a reason.

The sinking of the Titanic has been a magnet to underwater ship-explorers. Even in 1912, after the Titanic sank, there was talk of trying to find her. They soon found out they really didn’t know where she was when she sank, nor how deep it was where she hit bottom.
But as the years went on, so did technology towards underwater exploration. Many different groups of people set out to find the great wreck, but all still came back empty-handed.
Not until July of 1985 did the American and French research team find the wreck. Once again the Titanic made world news, and once again she was in the spotlight. Now that the ship was found, it raised possibilities of going down in a small submarine that could withstand the deep-sea pressure. Exactly one year later, Bob Ballard and two other undersea explorers went, for the first time, down to the wreck. There was doubt in the minds of those going down to the wreck; they still didn’t know that the ship had broken in two. They didn’t know what to expect, what if all the rigging was intact, that would create a great hazard to maneuvering about the ship. Would the Titanic even be recognizable? Or would she be sitting perfect on the ocean floor?
As Bob Ballard and the other researchers reached the ocean floor, they tried to locate the Titanic. The submersible they were using, the Alvin, sprang a leak in her batteries. Now they only had a couple of minutes on the ocean bed and they had not seen the Titanic. Peering through the small portholes of the Alvin, a massive wall of black steel loomed up right in front of them, that was the only glimpse of the ship they got that time. The leak in the batteries would become critical if they didn’t surface.
Since that July in 1986, numerous dives have been made to the Titanic. Several people have spent more time with the Titanic underwater, than the Captain spent with her on the seas.
One thing is certain; the Titanic is in a state of complete devastation. The ship broke in two in between the third and fourth funnels; and all of those funnels are gone. In one square mile there are boilers, teacups, beds, tables, engines, wine bottles, suitcases, chairs, and the list could go on
The beauty of the ship is now gone, her once proud hull glimmering in the bright sunlight, now is encrusted in rusting steel. Where her four behemoth funnels stood are now just gaping holes on top of the ship. Her once proud stern, the beauty of the ship, where at the end of Titanic’s short life, men and women alike met their fate, now lays almost unrecognizable due too the impact that she suffered when she hit the ocean floor.
There she will sit until countless ages have taken their toll on her, and there is nothing left but small piles of dust in the salty water.
Men will probably always go to her to seek just one more fact, something nobody else knows. Titanic may be sitting 2 ½ miles below the surface of the sea, but ask anyone what the most well known and famous shipwreck is, and they’ll tell you, it is the Titanic.
The Titanic will never be forgotten. She will always be alive in history.

Even though the Titanic is one among the many sea wrecks that litter the ocean floor, she still, to this day captivates the minds of underwater explorers, historians, and people like me. What more can be said? Titanic is still truly a great ship.
Some have talked and thought to bring the Titanic up out of the depths. That’s going too far! It’s impossible to “raise the Titanic.” When she sped down through the depths, she hit the bottom at a great speed; the bow sliced through the mud and is buried in 60 feet of mud. The stern plunged with huge air pockets inside, and when it hit the ocean floor the air burst through the steel and it crumpled and fell apart. So, in order to raise the Titanic’s bow, you would be trying to lift over 33,000 tons of rusted steel out of 60 feet of mud, and where the pressure per square inch is 6,000 pounds! And even if you were able to get a grip of it, it would probably crumple in its weakened state. The stern would be completely impossible to raise, all it is, is twisted and crumpled steel. It is a graveyard, many brave men were killed there and to go and cause that much disruption would be disregarding death, and for that reason alone we ought to have respect for it.

When you think about the night of April 14, 1912, and everything that took place, I just don't see how it could be right to go and raise the mighty Titanic!!!
But, all of this is my opinion.

'Nearer My God To Thee'

The Titanic's band played a major role on the night of April 14, 1912, & the morning of the 15th.

All of these brave men met their fate in the chilling waters of the Atlantic Ocean, none survived. Shortly after impact, the band was asked to play ragtimes, waltzes, and other various tunes. The Captain hoped that the calm music would help quell any panic passengers might be feeling.
In almost every book that I have read, the Titanic's band comes in somewhere, their bravery and fortitude that fateful night was astounding. Everyone regards them as brave men willing to lay down their life for women and children, and they were calm about it. Many a man found comfort in the different tunes that they played that night.
Wallace H. Hartley once stated that if he should ever die at sea, the last song he would play would be 'Nearer My God To Thee'. There are some suggestions of what the band really played last. Some think it was the ragtime, 'Autumn,' or 'Nearer My God To Thee'. It's really something that everyone has to decide for themselves, out of all my knowledge, I would strongly think that the bandmaster led the band in the old hymn 'Nearer My God To Thee'. And there's more proof leading in the direction that this was the last song they played.
I cannot comprehend that kind of bravery, standing and playing till you could no longer keep balance because of the angle of the ship, and doing all of this for other passengers. A lot is thought of the rich men in first class, but not enough attention or honor is given to the Titanic's band. They should take first prize in bravery and self sacrifice.
Would not the beloved hymn cause the remaining passengers on deck to ponder where they were going to spend eternity, just the very name 'Nearer My God To Thee' causes you to think.
After the disaster, the White Star line charged the widows and the fatherless for the band uniforms that were lost!!!
The band leader had over 40,000 people attend his funeral.

Fred Clarke of Liverpool
P.C. Taylor of Clapham
G. Krins of Brixton
Wallace H. Hartley of Dewsbury (Bandmaster)
Theodore Brailey of Notting Hill
Jock Hume of Dumfries
J.W. Woodward of Headington,
All died the night of April 14, 1912, leaving behind children, and widows.
May they never be forgotten!!!