April 14, 1912 ~ The 100 Year Anniversary

I didn't believe my husband when he told me that the Glorious Cruise Ship from the past century, the RMS Titanic, sank just off the coast of Nova Scotia; 400 miles from Newfoundland and so near Prince Edward Island.
Its so weird to think that this Great Ship is laying at the bottom of a cold, dark and unforgiving ocean not far from where I live. To think that such a Wonderful Ship became this after only 4 days of travel... it just doesn't seem possible somehow.

The idea that the RMS Titanic was passing so close to Canada in its 4th day of sea travel, on its Maiden Voyage from Southampton, Great Britain to New York City, US. Just 4 fateful days...

We have movies that may come fairly close to what we think was suffered by the crew and passengers on that fatal night, but we will never really come to understand why it happened or with what terror and tragedy these people experienced, trying to survive at 11:40 pm on the night of April 14th in 1912; Today. What passed through the minds of those sitting in tiny rescue boats bobbing on the mighty and fridged  ocean as they watched the Titanic sink under the freezing waters at 2:20 am the next morning? What hope did they have now that the drama was over and the last bit of light from her stokes was finally gone and they were left in the darkness with only the ice bergs and glacial water lapping at the sides of their life boats for company?


To give you a better idea of where the Titanic grave is now, here is a map:

Prince Edward Island it that tiny strip of brown in the channel between Halifax and Newfoundland; just to the left of 60 and down in the third box.

Titanic was built in Belfast, Ireland in shipyard 401 in the early 1900s and it took 10 years to finish her. Harlan and Wolf Shipbuilders had teamed with White Star Line and changed the worldview of ships forever. White Star Line had their headquarters at 9 Broadway, New York at the time. Thomas Andrews was a young man and Titanic's designer/architect; he was also one of the 9 men who were chosen for the Guarantee Group that would be privileged to sail on Titanic's maiden voyage because they knew the ship so very well. Not one man from this group survived. 

Titanic's resting place today has been very difficult to reach in years gone by but with advances in modern technology, Titanic is fast becoming endangered because of tourism and souvenir seekers having access to subs that can now reach her, since she was finally found in 1985 by Bob Ballard. 

12,600 feet into the ocean doesn't seem that deep, but looking at it from this perspective gives you a slightly different feel for the depth and the sheer weight of so much water on top of her, crushing her down. So far she has lasted, somewhat intact, for 100 years ~ 1912 to 2012; one has to wonder if the mighty Titanic will still be around in the years to come. What state will she be in when 3011 roles around and its 200 years under the ocean?  Will the waters finally have claimed her and nothing will be left? Apparently on the night of April 14, 1912 Captain Edward Smith had ordered that the Titanic travel at a speed of 22 knots which was quite fast for a ship her size. They managed to dodge one ice berg only to run into another, too many of the ship's water tight compartments flooded as a result. Captain Smith then asked Mr. Andrews to go to engineering to assess the damage to Titanic. Upon returning, Mr. Andrews informed said Captain that the ship was sinking and there was no saving her.  What was it like for Mr. Andrews to walk through the ship he built for ten long years and knew so very well, knowing that with each step he took, the RMS Titanic was sinking into the depths of the ocean below? Survivors have said they saw him; he was not wearing a life jacket, not heading for the boat deck but rather for one of the beautifully decorated and ornate smoking rooms. I guess some people really do go down with the ship. 

No one, it seems, can agree on the exact amount of people who were aboard Titanic on that fateful voyage, between 1500 to just over 2000 but one man, Jack Thayer jumped overboard and found an overturned lifeboat that saved his life. When the Carpathian began picking up survivors out of the ocean, he was among them and was the very first eye witness to say that the mighty Titanic broke in half before she went down, lost to the world forever. What might have happened it she had reached New York? Another man, Artie Frost, was in the engine room and did not survive. 

Lets always remember the Titanic. The ocean has always been treacherous for sea travel and is, even today, not to be taken lightly. Only by remembering can we honor the memory of those who lost their lives that night while the waves and the current gently removed their bodies from the site of a World tragedy. 

Because of the priority for woman and children in the few life boats that there were, most of the victims who died were men.

Lest we forget. 

In honor of the Titanic and all the Great Ships of the Age

Yesterday and Today

Catspaw