How's everyone doing this fine day? Things are okay with me. My husband is relaxing after some laser surgery that he had on Tuesday. He's doing well and I'm sure that he'll soon be back to his old self. I wasn't worried because I'd put him in God's hands and there is no better place to be.
I'm currently reading a book entitled, "Shadow of the Titanic" by Andrew Wilson. It was published in 2011. I've always had a fascination about the sinking of the Titanic. About twelve years ago, I read a book about the Titanic and then loaned it to a girl I worked with. I am sorry to say that I never got it back and I don't remember the title anymore. If I did, I'd see if I could purchase another copy of it.
I thought it was called "Unsinkable," but when I did a search for it, the one I read did not come up. I will tell you that I cried almost the entire way through it. Not just for all the people that perished in this disaster, but for all the mistakes that the ship personnel made, as well as, the sorrow the survivors went through for the rest of their lives.
One of the things that was reported by the survivors was that of the screaming that was done when the ship was going down. Many reported that they were never able to get those screams out of their heads. The Titanic started it's travels on the morning of April 12, 1912. Within less than three days, the Titanic sank. This ship was dubbed as "Unsinkable", which was a great mistake, mostly because many of the passengers thought that statement was true. Only, soon enough, they realized that it wasn't true at all.
The ship carried first, second and third class passengers; as well as all the employees of the shipping company. Unlike the movie which came out some years ago, the first class passengers and the third class ones never came in contact with each other. There were iron gates placed in various positions which kept the third class passengers segregated from other parts of the ship. This class was called "steerage". They had no classy cabins to sleep in or any fancy food to eat. Of course, their tickets were much cheaper than either first or second class passengers.
It was because of these gates, that many of the third class passengers lost their lives on April 14, 1912
The stories of many of the survivors is heart wrenching, to say the least. Many of them either committed suicide or had major emotional problems for the rest of their lives.
Here are some facts about the Titanic. The luxury liner cost 7.5 million dollars to build. It carried 800 bundles of asparagus; one and a quarter tons of fresh green beans; 36,000 oranges and 16,000 lemons; 75,000 pounds of fresh meat; 11,000 pounds of fresh fish; 4,000 pounds of bacon and ham; 7,500 pounds of game and poultry; 1000 sweetbreads; 40,000 sausages and 40,000 fresh eggs; 6,000 pounds of fresh butter; not to mention the 1,500 bottles of wine, 20,000 bottles of beer and stout and 850 bottles of spirits. Also, for the gentlemen on board, there were 8,000 cigars for them to enjoy.
The captain of the ship the Titanic was Captain Edward J. Smith. He was a distinguished, bearded man who planned on retiring after the Titanic's maiden voyage. His dreams died just as he did when the Titanic went down.
On April 14, around eleven o'clock at night, the Marconi operator from the Californian, which was in the near vicinity, sent a message to Jack Phillips, who was the Marconi operator on the Titanic, that they had stopped because of icebergs everywhere in their vicinity. Phillips, who was tired and overworked, was nearly deafened by the noise that came from his equipment. Because of this, he answered, "Shut up. Shut up. I am busy." As a result the message from the Californian never reached the bridge of the Titanic.
Another mishap was that when one of the "eyes of the ship", Frederick Fleet climbed into the Crow's Nest late that night, he didn't see any of the icebergs, because the binoculars, which were always kept there, were missing. So, in the darkness he didn't see the danger until it was way to late to stop the inevitable from happening.
The Titanic carried 2,228 people, including First, Second and Third Class passengers; crew members and all the workers hired by the ship company. There were 16 lifeboats and 4 collapsibles aboard the Titanic. Each of these sixteen lifeboats were equipped to carry 65 occupants. This would not have been enough boats to save everyone.
The problem was that when they instructed the women and children into the lifeboats, they did not fill the boats up. Many of them only had twenty to twenty five people. A few of the last ones did have about forty people in them. There was at least one crew member in each boat who was to be in charge. The order for filling the lifeboats was: first class women and children first, second class women and children next. As far as the steerage and the crew, they had to wait. It was noted that between 12:45am and 1:10pm, only six lifeboats were lowered, containing only first class passengers with accompanying crew members. There was one boat that was lowered which contained only five first class passengers and seven crew members. It was designed to hold many more.
I am sorry to say that only 705 people survived the sinking of the Titanic. That means that over 1,500 people died in this disaster.
There was also reports that the doors installed in the bottom of the ship, to keep water from encompassing the upper decks, did not work properly. Apparently, there were many small incidents which compiled together to cause the Titanic to sink that fateful night. What was classified as "Unsinkable" became a reality and sunk, killing way too many innocent people.
As I've said, I've have always been keenly interested in the Titanic and subsequently of it's sinking and the loss of so very many people.
This information was obtained from the book, "Shadow of the Titanic" by Andrew Wilson, or from previous books and acquired information I've learned over many years. I just wish I could obtain, once again, a copy of the novel I read about twelve years ago. I'm not really sure of the name anymore. I thought it was called, "Unsinkable", but now I'm not sure anymore.
Do you have anything like this that has, for many years, interested you? I am not sure why I have this interest, but I do feel for the families of everyone aboard the Titanic on it's maiden voyage, both the survivors and those who died. Apparently, what they went through escaping the ship, as well as, the very painful memories of watching the actual sinking of this largest ship, the Titanic. Every retell I've read from survivors told of the terrifying screams and high pitched noises they heard as the ship took it's final drop into the ocean. They all claim that they have never been able to get those sounds out of their heads. Apparently many of them died at an early age, some suffered from depression the rest of their lives; many were divorced and married several times; and some withdrew from their lives all together. That makes me very, very sad.
So, do you have anything that for many years has intrigued you? Let me know what it is, I'd love to know. May God bless each of you and may you be safe, always.
Susan
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