down and slid on the deck into the water right on the ship. Then we hung onto a rope in one of the davits. We were pretty far back at the top deck.”
Like Jack, Ole and his companions wanted to wait until the very end to leave the ship. By the time Ole was ready “. . . it was only about five feet down to the water when we jumped off. It was not much of a jump. Before that we could see the people were jumping over. There was water coming onto the deck, and they were jumping over, then out in the water.
“My brother-in-law took my hand just as we jumped off; and my cousin jumped at the same time. When we came into the water, I think it was from the suction — or anyway we went under, and I swallowed some water. I got a rope tangled around me, and I let loose of my brother-in-law’s hand to get away from the rope.”
One thought came into his mind: “I am a goner.”
(Preceding image) A map showing the Titanic ’s ill-fated course.
The ship was now in its final moments. As the bridge went under, the ship’s funnels tilted forward. The weight of the enormous structures caused the cables holding the front funnel to snap. As it fell, the air filled with soot, and streams of sparks shot into the black, star-studded sky.
The gigantic funnel hit the sea with a horrific crash, crushing anyone in the water below it. It barely missed Collapsible B, which had shot forward from the port side into the water and was now on the ship’s starboard side. The splash from the funnel hitting the sea tossed the lifeboat, throwing off some of those desperately clinging to it. At the same time, Collapsible A, which had originally been on the starboard side, floated to port.
These two boats, one now bobbing upside down in the frigid sea, were the last hope for anyone left on board or struggling in the water for life.
(Preceding image) An illustration that appeared in a London magazine, The Sphere , on April 15, 1912, shows the Titanic sinking as passengers in lifeboats watch in horror.
“The water was intensely cold . . .”
— Charles Lightoller
Some survivors watched the Titanic sink from lifeboats a mile away. Others, like young Jack Thayer, had a close-up view. Really close.
Jack was standing near the second funnel in the ship’s final moments when his friend Milton Long slid down the side of the ship into the water. Seconds later, Jack threw off his overcoat and climbed onto the rail. But, unlike Milton, he jumped away from the ship, a decision that probably saved his life.
“The cold was terrific,” he said. “The shock of the water took the breath out of my lungs. Down and down I went, spinning in all directions.”
Shock? No wonder. The water was twenty-eight degrees Fahrenheit, below freezing. Painfully, deadly cold. Water that cold makes it hard to think or even to breathe. Fingers get stiff. It’s almost impossible to grasp anything, to hold on. Most people begin to freeze in a matter of minutes.
Jack wanted to get as far from the Titanic as he could. He feared getting sucked down with the ship or crushed by falling debris. When he surfaced, lungs bursting, he was forty yards away from the foundering giant.
Then a strange thing happened. Jack knew — absolutely knew — that he should keep moving. He should find something to grab, look around for a lifeboat. His life depended on it.
Instead, he couldn’t take his eyes off the unbelievable sight before him.
Jack saw hundreds of people on board rushing back toward the stern, which was now rising higher and higher into the air. The stern continued to tilt up until it was perhaps 250 feet out of the water. People trying to climb up toward the stern had a hard time. Many simply toppled into the sea as the angle became too great.
The noise was horrific. Everything inside the boat was crashing around — machinery, ovens, beds, mirrors, china, pianos, chairs, and tables. As the bow dropped below the surface, anything that floated rolled wildly in the
Like Jack, Ole and his companions wanted to wait until the very end to leave the ship. By the time Ole was ready “. . . it was only about five feet down to the water when we jumped off. It was not much of a jump. Before that we could see the people were jumping over. There was water coming onto the deck, and they were jumping over, then out in the water.
“My brother-in-law took my hand just as we jumped off; and my cousin jumped at the same time. When we came into the water, I think it was from the suction — or anyway we went under, and I swallowed some water. I got a rope tangled around me, and I let loose of my brother-in-law’s hand to get away from the rope.”
One thought came into his mind: “I am a goner.”
(Preceding image) A map showing the Titanic ’s ill-fated course.
The ship was now in its final moments. As the bridge went under, the ship’s funnels tilted forward. The weight of the enormous structures caused the cables holding the front funnel to snap. As it fell, the air filled with soot, and streams of sparks shot into the black, star-studded sky.
The gigantic funnel hit the sea with a horrific crash, crushing anyone in the water below it. It barely missed Collapsible B, which had shot forward from the port side into the water and was now on the ship’s starboard side. The splash from the funnel hitting the sea tossed the lifeboat, throwing off some of those desperately clinging to it. At the same time, Collapsible A, which had originally been on the starboard side, floated to port.
These two boats, one now bobbing upside down in the frigid sea, were the last hope for anyone left on board or struggling in the water for life.
(Preceding image) An illustration that appeared in a London magazine, The Sphere , on April 15, 1912, shows the Titanic sinking as passengers in lifeboats watch in horror.
“The water was intensely cold . . .”
— Charles Lightoller
Some survivors watched the Titanic sink from lifeboats a mile away. Others, like young Jack Thayer, had a close-up view. Really close.
Jack was standing near the second funnel in the ship’s final moments when his friend Milton Long slid down the side of the ship into the water. Seconds later, Jack threw off his overcoat and climbed onto the rail. But, unlike Milton, he jumped away from the ship, a decision that probably saved his life.
“The cold was terrific,” he said. “The shock of the water took the breath out of my lungs. Down and down I went, spinning in all directions.”
Shock? No wonder. The water was twenty-eight degrees Fahrenheit, below freezing. Painfully, deadly cold. Water that cold makes it hard to think or even to breathe. Fingers get stiff. It’s almost impossible to grasp anything, to hold on. Most people begin to freeze in a matter of minutes.
Jack wanted to get as far from the Titanic as he could. He feared getting sucked down with the ship or crushed by falling debris. When he surfaced, lungs bursting, he was forty yards away from the foundering giant.
Then a strange thing happened. Jack knew — absolutely knew — that he should keep moving. He should find something to grab, look around for a lifeboat. His life depended on it.
Instead, he couldn’t take his eyes off the unbelievable sight before him.
Jack saw hundreds of people on board rushing back toward the stern, which was now rising higher and higher into the air. The stern continued to tilt up until it was perhaps 250 feet out of the water. People trying to climb up toward the stern had a hard time. Many simply toppled into the sea as the angle became too great.
The noise was horrific. Everything inside the boat was crashing around — machinery, ovens, beds, mirrors, china, pianos, chairs, and tables. As the bow dropped below the surface, anything that floated rolled wildly in the
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