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"Ship of Dreams" - "Unsinkable."

Titanic

By Oliver Moore Spin-ParadisePublished 2 years ago 4 min read
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"Ship of Dreams" - "Unsinkable."
Photo by K. Mitch Hodge on Unsplash

WHITE STAR LINE'S Titanic was the largest ship in the world, measuring four city blocks long and eleven stories high. She was the most luxurious -- even more luxurious than the prides of the rival Cunard Line, the Lusitania and Mauretania. Titanic could accommodate 3,547 passengers and crew. On her maiden voyage she carried approximately 2,200 people. First class accommodations on Titanic were marvelous, rivaling the best hotels on land. Second class passage was like first class on other ships, and a third class (also known as steerage) ticket was, in most cases, better than what the passengers experienced at home. She was called "The Floating City," "The Millionaires' Special," the "Ship of Dreams"..."Unsinkable."

TITANIC was constructed in Belfast, Ireland by the building firm, Harland and Wolff. She was the technical marvel of the Edwardian period, built and finished within three years. She had a double bottom and sixteen compartments formed by fifteen watertight bulkheads running across the ship's width. On account of these "safe" features, a phrase was often repeated; "God himself couldn't sink this ship." Even the technical journal, The Shipbuilder, had something to say about her, "In the event of an accident, or at any time when it may be considered advisable, the captain can, by simply moving an electric switch, instantly close the [watertight] doors throughout, practically making the vessel unsinkable." The ship was supposed to stay afloat for days until assistance arrived. In theory, this plan only worked if the first four compartments were flooded. During her maiden voyage, the iceberg breached five compartments.

AT 11:40 PM, April 14, 1912, four days after her departure from Southampton, England en route to New York, an iceberg damages her starboard hull. There is no "crash" -- in fact most people sleep right through the collision. The berg causes a series of thin steel separations measuring roughly 249 feet in length, contrary to the popular belief of a 300 foot "can-opener gash." If the latter were true, the ship would not have stayed afloat for two hours and forty minutes.

OVER 1,500 PEOPLE die that night when she disappears under the Atlantic Ocean, at 2:20 AM, April 15. The initial reason for such a high death toll is because no one believes that Titanic is actually sinking beneath their feet. Therefore the early lifeboats, already few in number, are lowered half empty. This means that about 470 of the available 1,178 lifeboat seats go unused. The other reason for the higher death toll is because after the ship founders, only one lifeboat returns to the scene of the wreck. That is one out of twenty lifeboats floating nearby. Within an hour, the horrible cries of drowning and freezing people from the scene of the wreck become quiet. The lifeboat that goes back, despite its good intentions, is only able to pull four people from the water. At dawn, the first rescue ship Carpathia arrives. There are only 705 survivors.

IN SEPTEMBER OF 1985, Titanic is found again by Robert Ballard and his French-American team from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. She is found at a depth of 2.5 miles in two main, separate pieces facing in opposite directions. The pieces are 1,970 feet apart. Despite being under the Atlantic for eighty-five years, she is in remarkable condition.

IN THE TWO HOURS AND FORTY MINUTES that Titanic stays afloat, a human drama is staged.

Mark Fortune and his son Charles see off Mrs. Fortune and their three daughters. "Charles, take care of Father," one of the girls calls back to her brother.

"Be brave; no matter what happens, be brave," says Dr. Minahan to his wife as he steps back from the boats.

Ida Straus, however, refuses to step into a lifeboat, "I've always stayed with my husband; so why should I leave him now?"

Led by Mr. Hartley, the band plays the latest ragtime on the boat deck as the bow tips lower and lower.

Third class steward John Hart leads his second convoy of steerage passengers through the maze of confusing corridors to the boat deck. There is no time to go back for another group. Hart is ordered to board a lifeboat.

The engineers keep the ship's lights and wireless operational until the very last moment. Not a man survives.

Young Eva Hart and her mother listen to the "ghastly cries" of the drowning after the ship sinks. What strikes them most, however, is the silence that follows.

Jean Hippach huddles in a lifeboat and looks up at the sky above. She watches the shooting stars go by and cannot remember seeing so many before in her life. Then she recalls a legend that says that every time there is a shooting star, somebody has died...

Beyond the horror of the tragedy were the small,

individual stories that made up the whole; individual

acts of courage and individual acts of cowardice.

They were what made the people of the Titanic

living, human beings.

Historical
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About the Creator

Oliver Moore Spin-Paradise

Hi, I’m Oliver Moore the author of Spin-Paradise: This is the best place to find Top online casinos and play Best Australian Online Pokies for real money, do not miss the opportunity to really make money with us. https://spin-paradise.com.

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