Here's another "trauma" for you, Sam
In your article " They Were Gradually Working Her Up". you observe:
"Taking an average between 75 and 76 rpm from 12 noon up until 11:40 p.m., we get an average speed of 22.3 knots through the water, a result which happens to match very well with the taffrail log reading of 260 nautical miles through the water observed by QM George Rowe at the time the accident happened.
Let's use that same taffrail log again.
First: As you know, I believe that Boxhalls's distress position error was simply one of using too much runtime and combining it with the wrong speed. But how did he calculate the runtime? Here's what I think.
When he entered the chartroom, he saw the notation..."11-46...struck iceberg...All stop." He knew that a clock change was due at midnight. However, since Moody and Pitman were on the boat deck he would not know if the partial or full one had been allowed for in the 11-46 time recorded. My contention is that Boxhall made the mistake of assuming the time recorded was either fully retarded or unaltered time when in fact, it was partially retarded time. He therefore either duplicated an allowance already made for a partial clock change or allowed for a full clock change and converted that time to what he thought was the equivalent GMT then applies the result to the GMT for 7-30 pm sights. I use GMT throughout.
Time of Stop/impact...11-46 pm....3-31 am GMT
Time of sights..............................10-36 pm GMT
Runtime ...................................... 4rs - 55 minutes.
4 hours 55 minutes at 22 knots = distance steamed 108.2 miles.
Now we use the Patent Log.
When at 49-56 West, the patent Log read 260 miles. If Titanic had reached 50-13 west, it would have read 272.6 miles. This means that at 10-58 pm GMT. (8 pm ship time), 4 hours 33 minutes earlier, it should, according to Boxhall, have been reading 272.6 minus 100.1 miles run = 172.5 miles. But what was it reading at 8 pm?
Titanic was making 22.5 knots during that period, so she would have covered a distance of 102,4 miles since 8 pm...2.1 miles more. So instead of 172.5 miles; it follows that at 8 pm the log would have been reading 170.1 miles.
170.1 subtracted from the Impact time patent log reading of 260 miles suggests that at 8 pm, Titanic had another 89.9 miles left to run until impact. At 22.5 knots this would take her almost exactly 4 hours...until the unaltered clock read 12 o'clock Midnight.
What was it Colonel Gracies said?
" I was awakened in my stateroom at 12 o'clock. The time, 12 o'clock, was noted on my watch, which was on my dresser, which I looked at promptly when I got up. At the same time, almost instantly, I heard the blowing off of steam, and the ship's machinery seemed to stop."
We can test this. by runnin back from the true impact positon for 4 hours at 22.5 knots.
Then there is the effort made by Captain Smith. Let's use the same thought process.
If the Patent Log read 170.1 at 8 pm and Smith's DR for 8 pm was 20 miles too far ahead, the Patent Log reading for 20 miles ahead would have been 190.1 miles
If the Patent log read 260 miles at 49-56'W at impact, then at 50-24'W it would have read 280.9. This would Give Smith a distance run of 90.8 miles between his 8 pm DR and the place where he reckoned Titanic had stopped.
He would have made allowance for westward drift, so let's say he used full speed distance of 90 miles. If he did then if he used a runtime of 3 hours 40 minutes as you believe he did, then Titanic would have made 24.6 knots. However, if he used a 4 hour run time, then she would have averaged exactly 22.5 knots.
In rest my case.
