Here's a thread in which to discuss the Titanic. The 100th anniversary is in just under a month, so I thought others may be interested by it. There will soon be documentaries and dramas on TV, which you guys may want to discuss here.
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The sinking of the Titanic absolutely fascinates me.
The first time I watched footage of the wreck, I was 9 years old and sitting eagerly against the TV as I awaited the appearance of Leonardo DiCaprio in the 1997 film. My introduction to the wreck, then, was typical for my generation. Back then, I was a little tentative - the Titanic resembled a ghost ship. The sea life which clung to its rusty, disintegrated rails were a ghostly veil; the features on the ship were indistinct, washed out like a gothic painting; the artefacts belonged to people who had died. I could not separate the ship, nor the dissembled objects which lay on its floors, from the dead bodies that been trapped within its walls. I distanced myself from these images and focussed instead on the fictional love story.
One week ago, I decided it was time to read about what really happened that night. What I discovered surprised me; a considerable series of unlucky expectations and events contributed to the disaster.
I was also surprised by the genuine heroism displayed during the event, as described in personal accounts. I had always thought Jack Dawson somewhat of a fictional character, but it appears that certain people were willing to go down with the ship for the sake of their loved ones, even for the sake of others whom they perceived to be more vulnerable. Most famously, members of the band kept on playing until the ship went down. Survivors agree that they closed with a hymn, but disagree on the title.
My desire to learn and reflect on the tragedy came at a suitable time; the 100th anniversary of the Titanic is in less than a month (15th April). I plan to watch each documentary on it, to pick up one or two more books so I may learn more about what happened that night. I would love to travel to the depths of the ocean to explore the wreck itself. Unfortunately, I am unlikely to be in that position, and even then, each visit to the ship is detrimental to its survival; disturbances in the water, created by our submarines, have caused the Titanic to disintegrate as much in 10/20 years as it did in the 70 years before we discovered her. It has been estimated that in 50 years, the ship will collapse.
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The sinking of the Titanic absolutely fascinates me.
The first time I watched footage of the wreck, I was 9 years old and sitting eagerly against the TV as I awaited the appearance of Leonardo DiCaprio in the 1997 film. My introduction to the wreck, then, was typical for my generation. Back then, I was a little tentative - the Titanic resembled a ghost ship. The sea life which clung to its rusty, disintegrated rails were a ghostly veil; the features on the ship were indistinct, washed out like a gothic painting; the artefacts belonged to people who had died. I could not separate the ship, nor the dissembled objects which lay on its floors, from the dead bodies that been trapped within its walls. I distanced myself from these images and focussed instead on the fictional love story.
One week ago, I decided it was time to read about what really happened that night. What I discovered surprised me; a considerable series of unlucky expectations and events contributed to the disaster.
- Neither The White Star Line nor Harland and Wolff declared the Titanic unsinkable. However, people believed she was. This played a part later, as people were reluctant to get onto the ‘flimsier’ lifeboats.
- The route taken by the Titanic was usually busy. However, a coal strike at the time meant that ships which may have used that route were in port.
- It is possible that the iceberg the Titanic hit was a ‘black iceberg,’ an iceberg that’s recently broken off, revealing clear ice that’s almost invisible to the eye. These could usually be detected by the water’s movement, but the water was still.
- When the Titanic hit the iceberg, five of the her compartments were flooded; the Titanic was equipped to stay afloat with up to four flooded compartments.
- The size of the Titanic may have contributed to the series of holes in the ship’s side which allowed the fifth compartment to fill up with water. A smaller ship would not have had the same momentum and may have bounced away from the iceberg soon after impact. The Titanic, however, forced herself forward.
- Shipwrecks away from port were rare; they usually occurred when the ship ran aground in shallow waters or came into contact with things in port. Even then, routes were generally busy, so if a ship did sink at sea, it was expected that another ship would be nearby. This is one explanation for the lack of lifeboats. Lifeboats were used to transfer people between the wreck and safety; having space on these lifeboats for every person on board didn’t seem necessary.
- The Titanic actually carried more lifeboats than required by the Board of Trade's regulations - 4 additional collapsible boats and 2 emergency cutters, which could collectively carry 268 people - but these regulations were outdated. They targeted ships above 10,000 tons; the Titanic was a giant in comparison as she weighed 46,328 tons.
- As extra insurance, the Titanic provided life vests for every member on board, which were padded so as to keep each person’s head out of the water, even if they fell unconscious or couldn’t swim. However, the water was far too cold. Hundreds died of hypothermia.
- Time was against the staff as they strove to fill the lifeboats. It was important to get the boats out to sea before the ship sank. The boats would be useless if they went down with the ship. Filling them did not feel like a priority, particularly when so many passengers did not want to leave their loved ones and believed the ship was more sturdy.
- The intricate design which separated First Class, Second Class and Third Class passengers from one another contributed to the death of so many Third class passengers. Contrary to the 1997 film, these passengers were not detained behind closed doors. The ship’s interior was a labyrinth of corridors and stairs. Some had ¼ mile to travel before they reached lifeboats; others were foreign and could not understand instructions. Furthermore, the newness of the Titanic meant that even the staff were uncertain about which direction to take.
I was also surprised by the genuine heroism displayed during the event, as described in personal accounts. I had always thought Jack Dawson somewhat of a fictional character, but it appears that certain people were willing to go down with the ship for the sake of their loved ones, even for the sake of others whom they perceived to be more vulnerable. Most famously, members of the band kept on playing until the ship went down. Survivors agree that they closed with a hymn, but disagree on the title.
My desire to learn and reflect on the tragedy came at a suitable time; the 100th anniversary of the Titanic is in less than a month (15th April). I plan to watch each documentary on it, to pick up one or two more books so I may learn more about what happened that night. I would love to travel to the depths of the ocean to explore the wreck itself. Unfortunately, I am unlikely to be in that position, and even then, each visit to the ship is detrimental to its survival; disturbances in the water, created by our submarines, have caused the Titanic to disintegrate as much in 10/20 years as it did in the 70 years before we discovered her. It has been estimated that in 50 years, the ship will collapse.
But, unfortunately, could never really enjoy the movie... 
However, it's pitch black in my house at night. There are no streets lights and we don't keep lights on either. It's always more difficult seeing things outside when the lights are on.
I believe the final lifeboat left the ship 15 minutes or less before, meaning they couldn't have gotten enough boats into the water. I suppose they could have sped the process up and encouraged people to swim to them, but I can't really imagine it being significantly more effective - passangers in the lifeboats would have still been reluctant to move into the crowd of victims for fear of their lifeboat being swamped and capsizing! 