Patrick -- My research shows that Captain Smith to an active role in the navigation of Titanic from the moment he arrived on the bridge. That took place about 8:58 p.m. by April 15th time which was being kept in the wheelhouse. However, it was really 9:45 p.m. in April 14th hours still being used by passengers. This is what allowed Daisy Minihan to apparently see the captain depart the ala carte restaurant after he arrived on the bridge.
Smith departed the restaurant at 9:30 in April 14th hours, which was 8:43 in wheelhouse time.
The captain arrived on the bridge at 9:45 p.m. in April 14th hours, which was 8:58 p.m. in wheelhouse time. This is when he first spoke to Lightoller about the cold and the ice.
Boxhall saw the captain on the bridge shortly after the hour, say 9:08 p.m. in wheelhouse time or 9:47 p.m. in April 14th hours being kept by passengers like Minahan.
There are several curiosities about Smith's return to the bridge. He arrived just about the time that Lightoller said the ship might be coming up to the ice. In other words, the captain's departure from dinner appears to have been motivated by knowledge of the ice conditions and not serendipity. Secondly, Smith was on the bridge during the period of time when the famous Mesaba ice message was received by Jack Phillips in the Marconi office. Smith did not personally acknowledge receipt of this message, but that does not prove he never saw it. According to Boxhall, officers returning from the rounds routinely delivered unopened messages to the master. I fear Lightoller's paperweight story about the Mesaba messages may be a sea story.
After arriving on the bridge Boxhall described how the captain commenced to plotting on one of the ship's two chart tables. We don't know whether he used the one in the officers chartroom or the table in his private navigation room. Boxhall provided some of the needed information for this plotting.
Boxhall also testified that the captain was on the bridge the whole time until the accident. By "the bridge," Boxhall meant the open forebridge, the wheelhouse, or the chart rooms.
I have found evidence of at least three occasions when Captain Smith ordered the ship to divert from the "Outbound Southern Track" on the night of April 14, 1912. These diversions were to the south and would have placed the ship east and south of its dead reckoning position based on the steamer route. One of the diversions occurs a short time after receipt of the Mesaba message by Titanic.
Curiously enough, Captain Turner of Lusitania also elected to go south of ice on his westbound trip.
Based on the speed of the ship (37 feet per second), the iceberg had not passed QM Rowe on the poop when Boxhall noticed Captain Smith standing next to him on the forebridge. This early appearance of Smith indicates he was already up an about at the time of the accident. Most likely, he was actively working in one of the chartrooms.
Most people who claim the captain was in bed cite his statement to Lightoller that he would be "just inside." A cursory examination of Titanic's bridge shows that the captain would have been "just inside" had he been in the wheelhouse, officers chartroom, or his personal navigation room. Smith's use of the word "just" indicates he did not plan to go into his personal quarters which were deeper inside, beyond his personal navigation room.
Prior to the accident an initial ASTERN FULL engine order was sent on a single set of telegraphs. Immediately following the accident an ALL STOP was sent down on both the emergency and the standard engine order telegraphs. The first order could have been done by one man. Sending the second order required two men, one for each set of telegraphs. Boxhall and Olliver were both on the bridge with Murdoch. Neither man testified to working the telegraphs. That leaves only Captain Smith to have assisted Murdoch in sending ALL STOP.
Summed up, I believe Captain Smith discharged his hospitality duties only insofar as they did not interfere with the safety of his ship. As the hour neared when Titanic might enter known ice danger the Captain returned to the bridge. Upon his return, Smith took an active role in the conduct of the voyage to the extent of diverting from the designated steamer track on more than one occasion. He was "on the bridge" at the time of the accident and may have participated in the last order issued in conjunction with the iceberg, the order to stop the engines.
Any of the legendary discussions between Andrews and Smith about damage to Titanic could not have taken place prior to midnight. First, the ship had not been properly sounded during that period of time, so the extent of the damage remained unknown. Second, Titanic resumed making way. No one but a lunatic would have restarted the engines on a ship if the builder said it was sinking. So, until around midnight the evidence is strong that Captain Smith did not know the extent of damage. If he and Andrews spoke after that, the conversation would only have been to confirm what was obvious.
-- David G. Brown
Smith departed the restaurant at 9:30 in April 14th hours, which was 8:43 in wheelhouse time.
The captain arrived on the bridge at 9:45 p.m. in April 14th hours, which was 8:58 p.m. in wheelhouse time. This is when he first spoke to Lightoller about the cold and the ice.
Boxhall saw the captain on the bridge shortly after the hour, say 9:08 p.m. in wheelhouse time or 9:47 p.m. in April 14th hours being kept by passengers like Minahan.
There are several curiosities about Smith's return to the bridge. He arrived just about the time that Lightoller said the ship might be coming up to the ice. In other words, the captain's departure from dinner appears to have been motivated by knowledge of the ice conditions and not serendipity. Secondly, Smith was on the bridge during the period of time when the famous Mesaba ice message was received by Jack Phillips in the Marconi office. Smith did not personally acknowledge receipt of this message, but that does not prove he never saw it. According to Boxhall, officers returning from the rounds routinely delivered unopened messages to the master. I fear Lightoller's paperweight story about the Mesaba messages may be a sea story.
After arriving on the bridge Boxhall described how the captain commenced to plotting on one of the ship's two chart tables. We don't know whether he used the one in the officers chartroom or the table in his private navigation room. Boxhall provided some of the needed information for this plotting.
Boxhall also testified that the captain was on the bridge the whole time until the accident. By "the bridge," Boxhall meant the open forebridge, the wheelhouse, or the chart rooms.
I have found evidence of at least three occasions when Captain Smith ordered the ship to divert from the "Outbound Southern Track" on the night of April 14, 1912. These diversions were to the south and would have placed the ship east and south of its dead reckoning position based on the steamer route. One of the diversions occurs a short time after receipt of the Mesaba message by Titanic.
Curiously enough, Captain Turner of Lusitania also elected to go south of ice on his westbound trip.
Based on the speed of the ship (37 feet per second), the iceberg had not passed QM Rowe on the poop when Boxhall noticed Captain Smith standing next to him on the forebridge. This early appearance of Smith indicates he was already up an about at the time of the accident. Most likely, he was actively working in one of the chartrooms.
Most people who claim the captain was in bed cite his statement to Lightoller that he would be "just inside." A cursory examination of Titanic's bridge shows that the captain would have been "just inside" had he been in the wheelhouse, officers chartroom, or his personal navigation room. Smith's use of the word "just" indicates he did not plan to go into his personal quarters which were deeper inside, beyond his personal navigation room.
Prior to the accident an initial ASTERN FULL engine order was sent on a single set of telegraphs. Immediately following the accident an ALL STOP was sent down on both the emergency and the standard engine order telegraphs. The first order could have been done by one man. Sending the second order required two men, one for each set of telegraphs. Boxhall and Olliver were both on the bridge with Murdoch. Neither man testified to working the telegraphs. That leaves only Captain Smith to have assisted Murdoch in sending ALL STOP.
Summed up, I believe Captain Smith discharged his hospitality duties only insofar as they did not interfere with the safety of his ship. As the hour neared when Titanic might enter known ice danger the Captain returned to the bridge. Upon his return, Smith took an active role in the conduct of the voyage to the extent of diverting from the designated steamer track on more than one occasion. He was "on the bridge" at the time of the accident and may have participated in the last order issued in conjunction with the iceberg, the order to stop the engines.
Any of the legendary discussions between Andrews and Smith about damage to Titanic could not have taken place prior to midnight. First, the ship had not been properly sounded during that period of time, so the extent of the damage remained unknown. Second, Titanic resumed making way. No one but a lunatic would have restarted the engines on a ship if the builder said it was sinking. So, until around midnight the evidence is strong that Captain Smith did not know the extent of damage. If he and Andrews spoke after that, the conversation would only have been to confirm what was obvious.
-- David G. Brown