Not all that complicated Cam. If she really departed Belfast at exactly 8pm and arrived at the Nab at exactly midnight the next day, that's a run of 28 hours 0 minutes. Then, using a distance of 492 nautical miles (Reeds table), to get the average speed one simply divides the mileage by the time, 492/28 = 17.6 knots, which is almost 18. See, not very complicated. The problem is how could they be secured at the dock 1.5 hours later if they had about 28 more miles to get to the dock through a twisting and turning channel? One should be questioning the data that was given.
Not all that complicated Cam. If she really departed Belfast at exactly 8pm and arrived at the Nab at exactly midnight the next day, that's a run of 28 hours 0 minutes. Then, using a distance of 492 nautical miles (Reeds table), to get the average speed one simply divides the mileage by the time, 492/28 = 17.6 knots, which is almost 18. See, not very complicated. The problem is how could they be secured at the dock 1.5 hours later if they had about 28 more miles to get to the dock through a twisting and turning channel? One should be questioning the data that was given.
As you know, Sam, WSL time of arrival was not the time the ship was safely secured alongside. I refer to your article concerning the maiden voyage of
Olympic. That was not a rule exclusive to WQSL but was a rule on board every ship. The voyage time and voyage statistics referred to the time between Pilot disembarked - Full Away On Passage and End of Passage - Engines on Standby i.e. passing a specific reference point or ready to slow down to embark the pilot.
Titanic's voyage round from Belfast to Southampton would be no different and that is where Lightoller would have got his "about 18 knots" speed from.
As usual, the extensive research done by Dr. Paul Lee (as alluded to by Brad) gives specific evidence obtained from Lloyd's List. I quote :
"April 3rd Titanic: 150 miles E of Fastnet - Lizard 10.30am" That is plainly nonsense. It is 293 miles from Belfast to Lands end and 27.5 miles from Land's End to abeam Lizard Point - a total of 320.5 miles If
Titanic left Belfast at 8 pm the previous evening and Lizard Point was abeam at 10-30 am the next morning then she had steamed for 14.5 hours and averaged a speed of 22 knots.
At the Lizard, she still had at least 172 miles to steam. I suggest the addition of
"Lizard 10-30am" was the position of the ship that reported
Titanic being east of Fastnet at that time
However the Marconi Archive evidence supplied by Dr. Lee state:
"Olympic's PV for April 3rd:.35p "TR Titanic" off Lizard Gd [Good, or GLD- Lizard?] sigs & fairly strong. Nil." That being so, then
Titanic had 172 miles to steam from 1-30 pm to reach the pilot station where she would stop to pick up the pilot and at that time have a bridge conference to discuss next moves up the East Solent. She most certainly would not have charged past the pilot cutter trailing a rope and turning the latter into a ski boat.
If I am correct, then if
Titanic averaged 18 Knots from Lizard point to the pilot station then she did not arrive there any earlier than about 11-40 pm. Not only that, but if I remember rightly. first high water at Southampton was near to 2 am April 4. If so, then High Water at Dover was about 3 pm on April 4th. This means that
Titanic would have had a strong westerly current against her from about 2 pm up until 8 or 9 pm that evening. It follows that she could not possibly have reached the pilot station before Midnight. (Southampton has a double High Water and a lengthy slack tide)
As for the newspaper reports? I did not know that Hans Christian Andersen was also a newspaper reporter
Incidentally, a vessel did not enter into Southampton Port Authority jurisdiction until she was abeam of Cowes I.o.W. that being so If
Titanic took about an hour and a half to transit the distance from The Nab to the entrance to the port then she did so at about 10 knots which seems just about right, given the conditions. Thereafter, she had another 12 miles of even narrower channel and 2 sharp bends to go to be off the berth. This would put her in the River Tess off the entrance to the dock at or near to 2-45am -3 am and close to slack water. Then they would have to make the tugs fast and turn her. The time would be almost 4 am before they started that last part of the operation and by then, the sky would be beginning to get lighter in the east. Do you get my drift?
