Recall Titanic

At just before midnight on April 14, 1912 the Titanic struck an iceberg on its maiden voyage. It was to be its last. With three hours of float time left the crew began to direct passengers to the lifeboats. Many of the boats left with room for more people in them. The band played till the end and the stokers and engineers kept the generators going to attract the attention of passing ships. A few minutes before it sank the lights of the Titanic went out. It reared up and plunged into the water, where, it is said, the lights came back on for one dazzling instant, turning the water a ghostly blue-green. Then they went out for the final time, and Titanic breathed her last at 2:20 April 15, 1912. It took only 3 hours to sink the "unsinkable" ship. Only 705 lived, more than half of her passengers and crew died.

This story has captured the world for 100 years and will not stop anytime soon. So, to, has it captured me. I remember a book in first grade about it, a book I wanted to read but couldn't. So I had to ask another girl to read it for me. Even at that young age it fascinated me, and it still does. Then it was just the ship that sank, but tried to fly before it did. Now it is a mystery, and a story of the people on board. At one hundred years since it sank, I think back on the tragedy as though I were really there. I just want to commemorate the ship, her crew, her passengers, and the families.

She claimed many people for her own, even before setting out to sea. In the shipyard where she was built she claimed 8 lives, all men who were working on her construction. Shipyards were not the safest places to work in 1912, and the shipyard of H&W was no exception.

Imagine for a moment that you are someone who is going to sail on the Titanic. You would not know about the cost in lives already attributed to her, you would not know that her maiden voyage would be her last. As she is towed from the dock by tugs she almost collides with the New York, an ominous start to the voyage. All else goes smoothly in picking up the passengers from France and Ireland. Unknown to you, the coal in the sixth boiler room catch fire, causing the haul of the ship to weaken.

On the open sea all fares well. If you are in first class the days and nights are the picture of luxury and grandeur. You have the run of the ship on the best of everything available. If you are second class then you experience more finery than you most likely have seen in your entire life. The quarters are picture perfect and the meals are delicious and filling. For third class or steerage the rooms are simple but quaint. You may not have the run of the ship, but you are well feed and have running water in your cabin.

The night of April the 14th begins as every other night has. Singing and dancing, fine dining and a starry sky. Unaware that iceberg warnings have been coming in, you look out across the water, enjoying the cold northern air on your face and the endless darkness of the water. If you are on the right side of the ship you may notice the approaching iceberg. If not, you may feel a slight jolt, hear a grinding noise, or if you are in boiler rooms 1-4 you may see the side of the ship slowly giving way to the pressure of the berg on the side of the ship. The steel bends and water slowly begins to trickle in. Someone runs over to try and stopper up the leak, if the cold seawater makes contact with the burning coals an explosion will take place.

Andrews, in charge of the wellbeing and up keep of the ship on this voyage, estimates that the ship has only three hours left before she sinks. Pumps are taken to the chambers that are filling with water in an attempt to buy more time. The man at the telegraph starts to send out hurried messages to nearby ships. The one ship that could have come in time to help the Titanic, the California, does not respond. The nearest ship that responds is four hours away. The operator keeps sending signals in hope of reaching any ship in the nearby area.

The lifeboats are uncovered and the first group is herded in. "Women and children first!" is the call that comes from the crew members. The passengers stand by, unsure of how much danger there really is. The first lifeboat out contains only 12 people. It has a capacity of 65. More boats go out in this way, not near to being as full as they could be. In the boiler rooms, the stokers work to keep the lights going in hopes that a ship might see them and come to the rescue. The telegraph operator keeps sending out his signals, but with no results.

The ship is beginning to visibly slope up as water fills up the bow. People are now aware of the danger and begin to panic, grabbing life vests and trying to find spots in lifeboats. The musicians play music to calm the passengers. Many first class passengers are off the boat by this time, most of the ones still on board have chosen to give others a chance to get out alive. Third class passengers are beginning to make their way onto the upper deck in hopes of finding a lifeboat to go in.

Imagine you are one of those third class passengers. As you make your way to the upper decks, water laps at your heels and at some points you may actually be in the water. It is frigid and dark, chilling anything that touches it. You know you will most likely not survive. If you are man, you do your best to find a spot for your wife and children if they are traveling with you. A priest is hearing confessions and giving last rights to those of you still on board. Slowly, the ship's stern rises into the air, higher, higher, higher.

Those in the lifeboats look on in horror and pity, if they look at all. If they still have family on board, they will not be getting out alive. The ship rises up, and a terrible screeching noise is heard as everything not securely bolted down goes flying through the walls of the ship. The lights go out, and the ship dives beneath the waves. For a moment, the lights flare back on, illuminating the water with an eerie green glow. Then they snap out forever. The Titanic is sunk on April 15, 2:20 a.m.

Imagine you are still on the ship as it starts to rise. Most people will jump off and try to find debris to cling to. Some cling to the railings to keep from falling off. Others are still inside when the ship rears up. They are most likely pinned against the walls. The stokers and men manning the boilers stay in the belly of the ship and go down with her. The telegraph operator sends signals until end, the last signal from the ship was CQ. He did not even have time to finish the last D to make the former distress signal. The musicians play as the ship goes down, and none are found alive.

It is said it may have taken the Titanic two hours to reach the floor of the ocean. Not everyone died as soon as they hit the water, most probably lived for at least a few seconds in the numbing water before going unconscious or succumbing to death. Imagine yourself as one of the people stuck in your cabin, with no way to escape the clutches of death.

As the ship slides under the water, you are hit by a shock of cold. The water encases you, luring you to a watery death. Everything around you is dark, you cannot see anything. In the instant the lights snap on, everything has a strange tint to it, as if you are already dead. Things float around the room, and your vision swims. Just as quickly as the lights came on, they go out again. Within moments you are no more than a floating body, the life gone.

News travel around the world. Many rumors start, and everyone wants to know who caused the tragedy. The death toll comes in at 705 survivors, more that 1,000 dead. The whole world is in shock. Heroes emerge from the chaos, many are woman. Years go by, and slowly the Titanic is forgotten, but never fully. In 1985 the first photos of the luxury liner were taken since her demise in 1912. They showed a ship, split in two on the ocean floor, supporting a growth of deep sea organisms. Even though she was no longer in her former glory, she continued to give us a glimpse onto the past, and still does today. There is controversy over whether the Titanic should be brought to the surface, and whether "artifacts" should be taken from her gravesite. Many "artifacts" have already been taken. While the fight continues, Titanic sits in her watery grave, with the danger of rusting completely away hanging over her.

Special thanks to QueenWolf81 who made my cover!