John Hemmert
Member
Hi all,
Been "down" for a while, but still working on "Republic". In my free time, I was going over the transcripts of the US "Titanic" Inquiry, and reading other pertinent works.
Kind of weird. You read a book twice, and until you see something that puts a paragraph in context, you don't think about it. I read it a third time with the testimony of Capt. Lord fresh in my mind, and things got interesting...
Commodore Sir James Bisset's book "Tramps and Ladies" (1959, Angus & Robertson Ltd., London, UK) holds the key to this poser.
In 1912, James Bisset was the 2nd Officer of the "Carpathia". He was on "lookout" duty, (Port bridge wing) keeping an eye out for bergs, as "Carpathia" ran hell bent for leather towards "Titanic's" sinking position. They arrived at the position of "Titanic's" lifeboats just as dawn was breaking.
Visibility was clear, the sea was only slightly choppy, as a breeze was kicking up.
As Captain Lord would testify, "Californian" would not get under way until 6:30. (About 6:00AM "Carpathia" time. - A discrepancy of 20-30 minutes between ship's times is fairly regular, depending on the various ship's positions at the start of an "event", and whether or not someone remembered to adjust them for partial time zone movement during an emergency.)
Here's the pertinent quote, (I've capitalized the important bits) from an eye-witness never called to the stand in either inquiry:
("Tramps and ladies", Chapter 24, Page 291)
"While we had been picking up the survivors, in the slowly increasing daylight after 4:30 a.m., we had sighted the smoke of a steamer on the fringe of the pack ice, TEN MILES AWAY from us to the Northwards. She was making no signals, and we paid little attention to her, for we were preoccupied with more urgent matters; BUT AT 6 a.m. WE HAD NOTICED THAT SHE WAS UNDER WAY and slowly coming towards us.
When I took over the watch on the bridge of the 'Carpathia' at 8:00 a.m., the stranger was little more than a mile from us, and flying her signals of identification. She was the Leyland Line cargo-steamer 'Californian', which had been stopped overnight, blocked by ice."
The implications of the above statement are enormous. "Californian" was sighted 10 mile from "Carpathia's" Southerly approach to the lifeboats BEFORE "Californian" had gotten underway from being stopped by ice all night.
"Californian" would have drifted at the same rate as the lifeboats for the time before she was sighted, and her relative position to the "patch of water" that "Titanic's" lifeboats were deposited into would not have changed. The only variables would be that a few boats "pulled" North towards her, and that "Carpathia" came in from the South. The approximate distance from "Titanic's" sinking and the "Californian" could be "guessed" as being about 10 miles.
Keep in mind, that the "Titanic", seen at 10 miles, and mistaken for a "tramp", would seem to be much closer to "Californian".
James Bisset, 2nd Officer to the "Carpathia", in 1912, held both an "Ordinary" and an "Extra" "Master's certificate" as issued by the British Board of Trade. He was deemed able enough to follow in Captain Rostron's footsteps, and ascend to the position of "Line Commodore" for Cunard Line.
Has anyone else brought this bit up before?
Best regards,
John.
Been "down" for a while, but still working on "Republic". In my free time, I was going over the transcripts of the US "Titanic" Inquiry, and reading other pertinent works.
Kind of weird. You read a book twice, and until you see something that puts a paragraph in context, you don't think about it. I read it a third time with the testimony of Capt. Lord fresh in my mind, and things got interesting...
Commodore Sir James Bisset's book "Tramps and Ladies" (1959, Angus & Robertson Ltd., London, UK) holds the key to this poser.
In 1912, James Bisset was the 2nd Officer of the "Carpathia". He was on "lookout" duty, (Port bridge wing) keeping an eye out for bergs, as "Carpathia" ran hell bent for leather towards "Titanic's" sinking position. They arrived at the position of "Titanic's" lifeboats just as dawn was breaking.
Visibility was clear, the sea was only slightly choppy, as a breeze was kicking up.
As Captain Lord would testify, "Californian" would not get under way until 6:30. (About 6:00AM "Carpathia" time. - A discrepancy of 20-30 minutes between ship's times is fairly regular, depending on the various ship's positions at the start of an "event", and whether or not someone remembered to adjust them for partial time zone movement during an emergency.)
Here's the pertinent quote, (I've capitalized the important bits) from an eye-witness never called to the stand in either inquiry:
("Tramps and ladies", Chapter 24, Page 291)
"While we had been picking up the survivors, in the slowly increasing daylight after 4:30 a.m., we had sighted the smoke of a steamer on the fringe of the pack ice, TEN MILES AWAY from us to the Northwards. She was making no signals, and we paid little attention to her, for we were preoccupied with more urgent matters; BUT AT 6 a.m. WE HAD NOTICED THAT SHE WAS UNDER WAY and slowly coming towards us.
When I took over the watch on the bridge of the 'Carpathia' at 8:00 a.m., the stranger was little more than a mile from us, and flying her signals of identification. She was the Leyland Line cargo-steamer 'Californian', which had been stopped overnight, blocked by ice."
The implications of the above statement are enormous. "Californian" was sighted 10 mile from "Carpathia's" Southerly approach to the lifeboats BEFORE "Californian" had gotten underway from being stopped by ice all night.
"Californian" would have drifted at the same rate as the lifeboats for the time before she was sighted, and her relative position to the "patch of water" that "Titanic's" lifeboats were deposited into would not have changed. The only variables would be that a few boats "pulled" North towards her, and that "Carpathia" came in from the South. The approximate distance from "Titanic's" sinking and the "Californian" could be "guessed" as being about 10 miles.
Keep in mind, that the "Titanic", seen at 10 miles, and mistaken for a "tramp", would seem to be much closer to "Californian".
James Bisset, 2nd Officer to the "Carpathia", in 1912, held both an "Ordinary" and an "Extra" "Master's certificate" as issued by the British Board of Trade. He was deemed able enough to follow in Captain Rostron's footsteps, and ascend to the position of "Line Commodore" for Cunard Line.
Has anyone else brought this bit up before?
Best regards,
John.