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Southampton on Wednesday, April 10, 1912, was clear and bright as the boat train from London arrived at White Star's Ocean dock. On board the train were several prominent Americans returning from seasonal holidays in Europe. Titanic's maiden voyage would indeed be memorable, a half-dozen of the world's richest men were on board, their net worth over $300,000,000. Her passenger list was a veritable who's who of American millionaire club:
Benjamin Guggenheim, Steel magnate. Ida and Isidor Strauss, founder and part-owners of Macy's Department store. Major Archibald Butt, military aide to President Taft. William T. Snead, editor of the Pall Mall Gazette and founder of the Review of Reviews. Interestingly, Snead was interested in the occult and had penned a fictional tale of an ocean liner sinking in the N. Atlantic. Last, but not least, the Chairman of White Star himself, J. Bruce Ismay was onboard and would play a crucial role in the drama that would unfold. But not all of "Titanic's" passengers were of the rich and powerful. A crippling coal strike had caused the cancellation of several other White Star's transatlantic crossings. Although the strike had ended on April 3rd, coal shipments had not caught up with demand. However, White Star was determined to meet "Titanic's" sailing schedule so several other of their ships found their sailing's cancelled and coal allocations diverted to "Titanic's" bunkers. Along with the coal, many of the cancelled ships' passengers were also diverted to the "Titanic". The rich and famous boarded via special gangplanks to be met by stewards directing them to their cabins, the poor immigrants, "steerage," had to be cleared by the ships surgeon as not carrying communicable diseases before being allowed on board. All told, the "Titanic" had 2,207 passengers and crew on board...and lifeboat space for 1,178. Ironically, this amount exceeded the law of the day. Using a complex formula, the British Board of Trade regulations mandated that the "Titanic" carry lifeboat space for 962 persons. White Star had added four Englehardt collapsible boats, increasing the ship's lifeboat capacity by over 20%. However, the consensus of the day was that the ship itself was the safest place to be and lifeboats were only useful for ferrying passengers to or from other ships. At 12 noon, Wednesday April 10th, 1912, the "Titanic's" whistle echoed across the docks to signal the tugs to stand by. The harbor pilot, George Bowyer, then issued the orders necessary to guide the Titanic into the River Test and out to sea. As the "Titanic" headed down the channel at a leisurely 6 knots, it passed the American liner "New York" which was tied up at the dock due to the coal strike. The immense amount of water the Titanic displaced was too much for the smaller ship as the suction of the "Titanic's" passing caused the mooring lines holding the "New York" in place to snap. The stern of the "New York" swung out toward the "Titanic," a collision an almost certainty. Quick thinking by "Titanic's" Capt. E.J. Smith and the tug "Vulcan" averted disaster as the "New York" was restrained a mere 3-4 feet before striking the "Titanic's" immense iron hull. Many of the superstitious aboard regarded this event, as well as the appearance of the soot-blackened face of a stoker who, as a joke, had snuck up the fake 4th funnel and peeked over the edge, as portents of doom. Indeed, several passengers and crew debarked an/or deserted from the "Titanic" at its first stop at Cherbourg, France. Go To Page: 1 2 |
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