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The Titanic and The Californian |
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By: Damon Shabeldeen, Aimee La Pointe, Tracy Hunter, and Beth NicholsIs it possible that more passengers could have survived the horrific Titanic shipwreck? Well, according to several documents and expert testimonies, another ship named the Californian, was in the area and had the opportunity to assist in the rescue efforts. The details of whether or not the Californian tried are still being debated. The distance that seperated the Californian from the Titanic at the time of the wreckage is one of the kay facts that remains unanswered. Some analysts claim that the Californian could not have been any further than six to eight miles away. This would have been a close enough distance that the Californian could have helped saved more passengers. However, the captain of the Californian, Stanley Lord, reported being no closer than seventeen to twenty miles to the Titanic. This distance would have limited his visibility and not allowed him to reach the sinking vessel in time. But does distance really matter? A third ship in the area named the Carpathia was fifty-eight miles away and was able to reach the Titanic three and a half hours before the Californian. It is also reported that the Californian was aware of the iceberg and tried to warn the Titanic at 11:00 pm. The Titanic ignored the warning by telling the Californian, "Keep out! I'm working Cape Race!"(Titanic.acknown.html). Cape Race was a wireless station on shore. The Titanic was trying to exchange the passenger messages of the day and since the Californian did not start the message with "MSG", they didn't know it was specifically for them. The Titanic also gave out incorrect directions as to where they were sinking. This would also cause the Californian to be delayed. Deciding whether or not the Californian did try to help the Titanic is not an easy thing to do. However, with some crucial testimonial accounts, books, and documented facts, a decision is not that far away. After researching the following web-sites thoroughly, we have been able to gather an accurate timeline of the events that occurred April 14th, 1912. It all started around 11:00 pm when the Californian radio operator, Cyril Evans, attempted to warn the Titanic about the iceberg. As you know, the Titanic ignored the message and Evans shut down his radio for the rest of the night. At 11:40, the Titanic hit the iceberg. Distress signals ordered by the Titanic's Captain Edward Smith, began twenty minutes later. Lifeboats began to get uncovered at five minutes after midnight. Ten minutes later the German ship, Frankfurt, received the first distress signal. The Titanic gave out incorrect latitude and longitude positions of 41.44 North and 50.24 West. At 12:25, the Carpathia contacted the Titanic. They were fifty-eight miles southeast of the Titanic. It will take four hours for the Carpathia to reach the Titanic while traveling full speed at twenty knots. Captain Smith ordered the men and women to start getting into the lifeboats. A total of eleven rockets were fired from the Titanic at 12:45 am. Second Officer Herbert Stone and Apprentice James Gibbson, from the Californian, reported seeing the rockets. The last radio message from the Titanic was sent at 2:17 am after all of their power went out. The Titanic finally sank at coordinates 41.46 North and 50.14 West at 2:20 am. Carpathia's rockets were launched at 3:30 am and were seen by the Californian. A half-hour later, Carpathia picks up the first Titanic lifeboat. The Californian learns about the wreck and heads to the incorrectly reported location wasting even more time. At 7:40 am the Californian finally reaches where the Titanic went down. The Carpathia was among the wreckage, waiting. (All the times were combined from the following sites to ensure accuracy: http://titanic.acknown.html, www.bannerministry.com, www.SOS_Titanic.com, http://members.aol.com/SORTMed/Titanic, http://ourworld.compuserv.com, www.starwy.org) The controversy lies between two opposing sides. The Titanic, Carpathia, and several crew members of the Californian testify that the Californian could have reached the Titanic wreck site in enough time to save hundreds of victims. Captain Lord and several of his crew members claim that there was no reason for them to believe that the Titanic was in trouble. Both ships account for sighting a ship (each other) on the horizon that evening. Charles Herbert Lighttoller, a surviving officer from the Titanic, claims "We were trying to call the attention of the ship nearby, as we could not get her with wireless. That ship was the Californian" (Wenocour 289). The Californian definitely saw the rockets that the Titanic fired around 12:45 am. Testimony from April 18, 1912 written by Second Officer Stone to Captain Lord states, "About 12:45, I observed a flash of light in the sky just above that steamer [the Titanic] . . . shortly after I observed another distinctly over the steamer which I made out to be a white rocket" (Reade 355). In defense of Captain Lord, in the early 1900's, company signals were used for communication at sea. The ship that was claimed to have been seen from the Titanic was moving, whereas the Californian had chosen a stationary position for the night. It is possible because of the long distance between the Titanic and the Californian that there may have been another ship in-between the two. It is thought by many anti-Californian researchers that Captain Lord was giving false coordinates because he didn't want to be blamed for not helping the Titanic. According to the web-site http://www.users.senet.com.au/~gittins/calpos.html, Captain Lord had no reason to lie because his coordinates were given before he knew of any shipwreck. Also, at 1:00 am, Captain Lord received the distress position of the Titanic but is puzzled because those coordinates put the Titanic on the other side of the ice field. He knew this was wrong, however he ordered his crew to get ready to help anyway. So, after stumbling upon this information, maybe Captain Lord was trying everything he could. Even with that small bit of information helping Lord's argument, there is still a substantial amount of evidence showing that Lord is at fault. Basically, Captain Lord says he couldn't see where the Titanic was so he he couldn't provide any assistance. Well, according to the same sight, http://www.users.senet.com.au/~gittins/calpos.html, the distress rockets fired from the Titanic could be seen from thirty miles away and the lights from the deck of the Titanic were visible from up to sixteen miles away. If these distances are correct, then there is no reason that Captain Lord wouldn't have been able to see the distress flares and not been able to help. Some evidence of Lord giving wrong coordinates is apparent when he gives his 10:30 pm location of 50.7 West. This degree would have put him in the middle of the icefield (www.users.senet.com.au/~gittins/calpos.html). Since nobody can go back and re-live what happened that awful night, nobody will ever know exactly what took place. Why would Captain Lord purposely not help a fellow vessel? Maybe the fear of his boat going down with the Titanic made him too scared to help. So instead of admitting he was wrong to have abandoned the efforts to help the Titanic, he would just lie about his ship's position and visibility. A very coward thing to do. Pointing out the facts that the Californian was only eight miles away from the ship at the very furthest proves that Captain Lord could have heard the panic screams, the breaking of the huge boat, and the explosions of the flares. In our opinion, with quick reaction and proper respect of other vessels the Californian could have saved several hundred more people. Works CitedReade, Leslie. The Ship That Stood Still. Marcus, Goeffry. The Maiden Voyage. Winocour, Jack. The Story of Titanic. Lightoller, Charles Herbert. "Titanic", Bride, Harold. "The Thrilling Tale by Titanic's Surviving Wireless Man". www.users.senet.com.au/~gittins/calpos.html Titanic.acknown.html www.bannerministry.com www.SOS_Titanic.com http://members.aol.com/SORTMed/Titanic http://ourworld.compuserv.com www.starwy.org |
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