Dark Voyage

It was a dark and chilly night - Picture courtesy of Wikipedia

by blogSpotter
How better to follow my Downton Abbey blog, than to talk about RMS Titanic – the luxury ocean liner that met its chilly fate on April 15th 1912, 400 miles off the coast of Newfoundland. The unsinkable ship actually played a role in Downton Abbey's season one plot line. And what befell this magnificent ship? As if the reader hasn't seen the movies and books ... we'll do a little refresher.

Titanic's Captain Edward Smith seemed to ignore ice warnings from the nearby Californian; Titanic hit an iceberg at 11:40PM, tearing open 5 of its 16 watertight compartments. Sadly ironic, the Californian was only 10 miles away and could’ve saved Titanic’s passengers – but the officer handling ship communications duty had gone to bed. Californian sped happily away as the Titanic foundered and then split in two, swallowed by the unforgiving North Atlantic.

The Titanic has been turned into two highly acclaimed movies – 1958’s A Night to Remember and 1997’s Titanic. It’s no wonder that the disaster has loomed so large in our collective memories. The ship was teeming with all classes and varieties of people – it was a floating, social microcosm of 2,224 people ranging from house maids to robber barons. With only 20 lifeboats, Titanic was the ultimate survivor show -- 90 years ahead of reality television. The very extremes of human behavior, cowardice and nobility, played out during the two hours and forty minutes that the wounded vessel kept above the water line. In a footnote of gallantry, 67% of 1st class male passengers perished – while only 54% of 3rd class women met the same watery fate. Gentlemen seemed to accept what was coming – hypothermia and drowning – with little drama or hysterics.

It probably helped that many passengers were well-lubricated on alcohol. Also many, including the handsome and wealthy John Jacob Astor IV, thought that the ship would survive and that help was on the way. In fact, the Carpathia had received the SOS and was steaming toward them; its 4 hour distance would prove too late. It had to be the ultimate, frantic moment when the last lifeboat was dispatched. Shortly thereafter, the surviving stern turned vertical, pitching people into the water as it embarked on its 2.5 mile descent downward. Some hearty soles endowed with athleticism and swimming skills were actually able to swim toward lifeboats. Many more were gobbled by terror, cold and infinite black water.

1,514 people perished on this infamous night. Only 710 (far less than could’ve fit in the 20 lifeboats) survived. In an act of incredible selflessness, 67 year old Macy’s owner Isidor Straus insisted that younger men be placed on lifeboats before him. His wife Ida remained with him steadfastly, refusing a lifeboat that was offered. Such were the acts of sacrifice and heroism on this terrifying night.

AFTERMATH / FOOTNOTE

The US Senate and British Trade Board both investigated the accident immediately after it happened. Regulations were updated for lifeboats, lifeboat drills and an International Ice Patrol was established for all ship travel.

The Titanic was actually a “triplet”; it had two nearly identical sister ships – the Britannic and the Olympic. The Britannic hit a German landmine in 1916, but the Olympic actually survived until White Star Lines scrapped it in 1936. Various decorative pieces were auctioned off for use in hotels and ships in England. Given the intense fascination with the Titanic now, one has to figure that maybe the Olympic should’ve been docked and preserved as a permanent attraction. Would-be Kate Winslets could imagine how things were on that night to remember.

© 2012 blogSpotter