Sinking of the Titanic

[Mura]

I recently read Lord's "A Night to Remember" and thoroughly enjoyed it.

 

I then read a report by a passenger that I've had on my Kindle for some time but never got around to reading. This is "The Loss of the Titanic" by Lawrence Beesley (free at amazon.com through Kindle or you can pay $300 for a collector's edition or anywhere inbetwween). This also is a fascinating read.

 

Mr. Beesley was a 35 year old science teacher taking his first cruise ever who survived by luck. The rule was "women and children" into the boats but men had disappeared in his area and the crew told him to jump into Lifeboat 13, so he did. Other crew supervising earlier loading of lifeboats followed the "only women and children" rule so stringently that when no more women and children were available, they sent the boats of half empty.

 

At the end of the book he made suggestions. One was that all ships should have boat drills upon departure. He asked a crew member if drills could be done even before leaving port but was told it just wasn't possible. (But Oceania is often doing that these days, even before the Costa disaster.)

 

He also suggested that all passengers should have an assigned seat in an assigned lifeboat. I suspect that THAT may indeed not be feasible. On the "R" ships, we go to our assigned area and could go into one boat, or perhaps one of three boats, if necessary, but I'm not convinced that assigned seats would be possible in a real emergency.

 

Still, it' an interesting read! According to him, news reports in NY were yellow journalism at its worst. Reports of panic and officers shooting passengers (and of some officers committing suicide) before any of the passengers landed in NY. According to Beesley, passengers were calm and heroic . (Many of those who stayed on board the ship evidently believed that the emergency was temporary -- after all, the Titanic was unsinkable -- and everyone in the boats would soon be returning to the ship.)

 

Good reads, both of them. But maybe NOT while on board ship.

 

Mura

[klscaz]

I recently read Lord's "A Night to Remember" and thoroughly enjoyed it.

 

I then read a report by a passenger that I've had on my Kindle for some time but never got around to reading. This is "The Loss of the Titanic" by Lawrence Beesley (free at amazon.com through Kindle or you can pay $300 for a collector's edition or anywhere inbetwween). This also is a fascinating read.

 

Mr. Beesley was a 35 year old science teacher taking his first cruise ever who survived by luck. The rule was "women and children" into the boats but men had disappeared in his area and the crew told him to jump into Lifeboat 13, so he did. Other crew supervising earlier loading of lifeboats followed the "only women and children" rule so stringently that when no more women and children were available, they sent the boats of half empty.

 

Good reads, both of them. But maybe NOT while on board ship.

 

Mura

 

Interesting. I have not heard of Beesley's account before. It's chilling to think of sending a life boat off half empty. Thanks for the recap. Kathy

[JimandStan]

For those who prefer their nautical reading to be about ships which (primarily) stay afloat:

 

Marvelous deck chair reading

[PS Caledonia]

I agree, those books are the "Holy Trinity" of ocean travel, no other author comes close to capturing the theatre and drama as MR. M-G!! My favourite is Chapter 8, "Dark Nights" in Liners to the Sun. Beautifully written and compelling, I am taking that book with me to read on board in September...

[LaCroisiereS'amuse]

Thanks for the heads up Mura....I always forget to browse the kindle freebies, also "The Loss of the Titanic" is a whopping £0.49 for UK Kindle readers :eek:

[cbb]

And for those of you who like mysteries, try Conrad Allen's cruise ship mysteries with Dillman (man) and Masefield (woman)as undercover agents at the turn of the 20th century with some history of the era as well. Fun to read on board. c

 

Murder on the Lusitania, on the Mauretania, the Minnesota, the Caronia, the Marmora, the Salsette, the Celtic, and finally, the Oceanic. (last is often available on O's library shelf)

[Mura]

Thanks for the book recommendations ... I wasn't actually thinking of the Titanic books as shipboard reading (!) although I did read Violet Jessop's autobiography on our first Renaissance cruise. I thought "Titanic Survivor" was an unusual choice for a shipboard library but it was entertaining as well ...

 

Too bad this suggestions aren't on Kindle!

 

Mura

[spook1]

No doubt about it John Maxtone Graham is the best. We were fortunate to be on the first westbound crossing of the Norway in 1984 and have an autographed copy of SS NORWAY a book on the transformation of FRANCE to NORWAY. Graham gave several excellent lectures during the crossing on the early days of Trans-Atlantic ships and their passengers. He was often asked his favorite ship..his reply.."the one I'm on". He would have made a good politician.

Another great read (I expect hard to come by) is Ocean Liners by Robert Hall. I happened to see a copy in the window of a London bookstore and bought it for five pounds. Home I found the price on the dust cover at L12.95

Another treasure is Cunard's White Star Quadruple-Screw Liner Queen Mary. A fascinating text with tons of photos. And would you guess ten million rivets went into the building of QM? And best of all that no two cabins were identical. Whether by design or poor workmanship we will never know. A far cry from the cookie cutters of today. :p

[JimandStan]

JMG's book on the Normandie is a gem too. She was an amazing ship.

[spook1]

Jim and Stan,

In OCEAN LINERS there is a heart-rendering photo of NORMANDIE on her side at New York pier 88 after the terrible fire accidently started by a welder when she was being transformed from the pride of France into a WW 2 troop ship in Feb. 1942. Fire boats filled he with water and she sank .

I always thought the two funnels on UNITED STATES were very similar in design to the three on NORMANDIE.

The wake of time waits for no man.

[bbwex]

Lifeboat drills were not part of the routine until after the Titanic disaster -- they were a response to the tragedy as was the requirement that there be enough lifeboats for everyone. Prior to that, they considered the ship itself to be the primary lifeboat! The sinking of the Titanic taught us many lessons which are still with us today.

 

Many of the early lifeboats were sent out only partially filled, and they were launched and told to row away from the ship -- not stay close and take on additional passengers. The officer on the port side of the ship felt that the lines holding the boats could not withstand many more than 20 people (the boats were to hold 65 and could hold 75 in calm seas). Additionally the officer on the port side (Lightoller) did not think it was a real emergency and did not ever consider saving the maximum number of people.

 

As for assigned seats, it is simply not practical and not safe. The people at a given station for muster will all fit onto the designated lifeboat. It would be a waste of time (and therefore unsafe) to take the time to line people up to load in a specific order, and more absurd (and unsafe) to wait for one person who might be missing and hold up the loading. In the event of a real emergency, there are two steps -- get the people onto the lifeboat, launch the lifeboat!

[JimandStan]

If one really READS those Titanic books, it quickly becomes apparent that the major flaw in their 1912 logic was in seeing the lifeboats as ferries from a sinking ship to a non sinking ship rather than as life saving devices in themselves.

In actuality, there was at least one ship which was close enough to have received (and thus rescued) Titanic's entire compliment on that tragic night, but because Radio Regulations did not require 24/7 coverage in 1912, she could not be summoned.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Californian

Lifeboat Drills get all of the attention, but it is the ability to contact the outside world and summon help instantly which offers the greatest security today.