strain.
Neither Captain Smith nor his officers seem to have been aware of the test. Harland & Wolff never told them that the boats could be lowered fully loaded; the builders simply assumed they knew this as “a matter of general knowledge.” If they ever knew, nobody remembered it that night. Boat 6 rowed off with a maximum of 28 people; Boat 8 with 39; Boat 2 with 26.
Acting on his own, Lightoller decided he might get more people into the boats by utilizing the portside lower deck gangway. He sent six seamen down to open the doors, and ordered the boats, once afloat, to row down to the opening and receive additional passengers. It didn’t work. The doors were never opened; the men sent down were never seen again. They were probably trapped by some sudden inflow of water before they could get the job done.
There was apparently a similar plan for boats on the starboard side. Lawrence Beesley recalled hearing an officer—Murdoch, he thought—calling down to the crew of No. 13, “Lower away, and when afloat, row around to the gangway and wait for further orders.” Captain Smith was also calling on the boats to stay within hailing distance.
Some did…for a while. But the sight of that greathulk, lights ablaze, sagging into the ocean proved too frightening. She was clearly doomed now, and there was talk of suction and a huge wave that would swamp any boats that remained too close. One by one they crept away into the night.
On the Titanic herself, the mood had changed to desperation. By 1:15 the water was lapping at the letters of her name on the bow. Drunkenly, she staggered from a slight list to starboard to a heavy list to port. The downward tilt of the deck grew steeper.
Time was running out. The officers in charge of loading the boats no longer hesitated to fill them: No. 11 went off with 70; No. 14 with 63; No. 15 with 70.
But haste could also be costly. It probably explains the worst case of the night of a boat leaving the Titanic with too few people. Technically, No. 1 was called an “emergency boat”—smaller than a regular lifeboat, manned by a specially trained crew, and ready for instant launching in such untoward situations as a man overboard. It was the first boat on the starboard side, just aft of the bridge.
Since No. 1 was always kept swung out, the crew did not bother with it when they first came on deck to clear the boats. Instead, they started with No. 3 and worked their way aft. The crowd on the Boat Deck followed along, and by the time First Officer Murdoch turned his attention to No. 1, the only passengers in the vicinity were a rather haughty English couple, Sir Cosmo and Lady Duff Gordon, and Miss L. M. Francatelli, who was Lady Duff Gordon’s secretary. There seems no clear reason why they didn’t go aft with the mob; perhaps it just wasn’t their way of doing things.
When the boat was ready for launching, Murdochcalled for women and children, but none appeared. Lady Duff Gordon had already made up her mind that she would never leave her husband, and Miss Francatelli wouldn’t go alone. Finally, Sir Cosmo stepped up and asked if all three couldn’t enter the boat. Murdoch replied, “Yes, I wish you would.” They climbed in, as he again called for women and children. This time two American businessmen came up, and Murdoch put them in too.
Hundreds of women must have been still on the Boat Deck, but Murdoch apparently felt there was no time to search for them. His one idea seems to have been to get the boat away. The ship was sinking fast, and he needed the empty davits for the two starboard collapsibles. He plucked two seamen and five stokers from members of the crew standing by, put Lookout George Symons in charge, and told him to lay off 200 yards, ready to come back when summoned. At 1:10, Boat 1, capacity 40 persons, dropped down to the sea with just 12 people aboard, only 5 of them passengers.
There would have been less need to hurry, if the Titanic’s crew had been better
Neither Captain Smith nor his officers seem to have been aware of the test. Harland & Wolff never told them that the boats could be lowered fully loaded; the builders simply assumed they knew this as “a matter of general knowledge.” If they ever knew, nobody remembered it that night. Boat 6 rowed off with a maximum of 28 people; Boat 8 with 39; Boat 2 with 26.
Acting on his own, Lightoller decided he might get more people into the boats by utilizing the portside lower deck gangway. He sent six seamen down to open the doors, and ordered the boats, once afloat, to row down to the opening and receive additional passengers. It didn’t work. The doors were never opened; the men sent down were never seen again. They were probably trapped by some sudden inflow of water before they could get the job done.
There was apparently a similar plan for boats on the starboard side. Lawrence Beesley recalled hearing an officer—Murdoch, he thought—calling down to the crew of No. 13, “Lower away, and when afloat, row around to the gangway and wait for further orders.” Captain Smith was also calling on the boats to stay within hailing distance.
Some did…for a while. But the sight of that greathulk, lights ablaze, sagging into the ocean proved too frightening. She was clearly doomed now, and there was talk of suction and a huge wave that would swamp any boats that remained too close. One by one they crept away into the night.
On the Titanic herself, the mood had changed to desperation. By 1:15 the water was lapping at the letters of her name on the bow. Drunkenly, she staggered from a slight list to starboard to a heavy list to port. The downward tilt of the deck grew steeper.
Time was running out. The officers in charge of loading the boats no longer hesitated to fill them: No. 11 went off with 70; No. 14 with 63; No. 15 with 70.
But haste could also be costly. It probably explains the worst case of the night of a boat leaving the Titanic with too few people. Technically, No. 1 was called an “emergency boat”—smaller than a regular lifeboat, manned by a specially trained crew, and ready for instant launching in such untoward situations as a man overboard. It was the first boat on the starboard side, just aft of the bridge.
Since No. 1 was always kept swung out, the crew did not bother with it when they first came on deck to clear the boats. Instead, they started with No. 3 and worked their way aft. The crowd on the Boat Deck followed along, and by the time First Officer Murdoch turned his attention to No. 1, the only passengers in the vicinity were a rather haughty English couple, Sir Cosmo and Lady Duff Gordon, and Miss L. M. Francatelli, who was Lady Duff Gordon’s secretary. There seems no clear reason why they didn’t go aft with the mob; perhaps it just wasn’t their way of doing things.
When the boat was ready for launching, Murdochcalled for women and children, but none appeared. Lady Duff Gordon had already made up her mind that she would never leave her husband, and Miss Francatelli wouldn’t go alone. Finally, Sir Cosmo stepped up and asked if all three couldn’t enter the boat. Murdoch replied, “Yes, I wish you would.” They climbed in, as he again called for women and children. This time two American businessmen came up, and Murdoch put them in too.
Hundreds of women must have been still on the Boat Deck, but Murdoch apparently felt there was no time to search for them. His one idea seems to have been to get the boat away. The ship was sinking fast, and he needed the empty davits for the two starboard collapsibles. He plucked two seamen and five stokers from members of the crew standing by, put Lookout George Symons in charge, and told him to lay off 200 yards, ready to come back when summoned. At 1:10, Boat 1, capacity 40 persons, dropped down to the sea with just 12 people aboard, only 5 of them passengers.
There would have been less need to hurry, if the Titanic’s crew had been better
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