Name of Pilot Boat: Southampton or Isle of Wight

Martin Tyne said:
So your suggesting Jim Currie that the Yawl is NOT the Pilot boat?
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First: Georges is correct..it is a Yawl, not a ketch. However I based my observations of the wake of the Titanic. The wake tells me that the altered course to starboard when the yawl was ahead of her. The wavelets tell me that the sailing boat was on the starboard tack... perhaps even a little 'free'. The only alternative is that Titanic altered round the object seen almost right astern of her or that it was a way point then resumed her original heading. Otherwise, why would she have bothered to alter her course at all. If the Pilot mother vessel was originally right ahead then all that was needed was for Titanic to slow down and almost stop with the pilot dingy and mother vessel both on her starboard side and affording a lee for disembarkation of the pilot in his wee row boat? Just some thoughts. Look here:
Yawl
 
Jim Currie, Georges G stated it IS a Ketch...

Georges G: ''The photograph rather shows a Ketch as the mizzen mast is «forward» of her rudder stock (post).''

In terms of why she's might have turned to Starboard, much like what caused the Olympic / Hawke collision was that the Olympic was trying to prevent running aground in the Solent shallow banks.

As this map from google shows, exiting the Solent from it's Eastern Side isn't easy for a 46,000 ton ship and Titanic likely turned to Starboard so not to get stuck. The Ketch on the other hand could easily go though the shallows and so wasn't going have any problems.
IMG 3197

Interesting fact: when the Carrack Mary Rose turned and then capsized in the Solent in 1545, one reason for this was the ship turning to avoid crashing into the Spitbank Sandbank.
 
True, Martin, but if that is the Pilot "mother ship" then before the turn came, Titanic had a Pilot on board.

I am curious as to the large rectangular shape astern of Titanic. At that time, she should have been heading southward toward toward Cherbourg.
 
Titani15

Just to give an idea of what would’ve been a pilot disembarkation maneuver. The pilot assuming the conduct of the vessel for the safety of the navigation, spot the Ketch Pilot Boat. He reduces the speed to bare steerageway. He then performs the first stage of a Williamson Turn by altering the head first to Stb’d and afterward to Port. The Port turn is made by clutching the Port propeller Astern. The purpose is to kill the speed to Dead Stop and to provide a Leeward Side shelter to the Row Pilot Boat. The pilot disembarkation must have been made by a Stb’d shell side door and a short Jacob’s ladder. Pilot Away! Lower the Pilot Flag, Salute & Bon Voyage…
 
Jim Currie said:
True, Martin, but if that is the Pilot "mother ship" then before the turn came, Titanic had a Pilot on board.

I am curious as to the large rectangular shape astern of Titanic. At that time, she should have been heading southward toward toward Cherbourg.
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That's one of several forts dotted along the Solent which were meant to act as defences.

Solent Forts - Wikipedia

This picture shows just a few.
SolentFort
 
Thanks for your Titanic Pilot Disembarkation picture Martin ! Very interesting...
 
The picture was taken by Francis Browne and I just needed to know what happened as I writing (what I hope is) a unique book on the Titanic. You can find more great photos here: http://www.titanicphotographs.com

When you think about it, we now accurately know what Pilot George Bowyer did on his brief time on Titanic since his memoirs conveniently don't acknowledge one of only 2 times a ship he was in command of was involved in a near disastrous collision. whether he did this out of embarrassment or respect of the sinking is unknown, but now we know:

1) George Bowyer boards RMS Titanic at Berth 44 and helps usher ship out of dock.

2) passing Berth 38, the Shallow Canal Effect sucks the SS New York into the ships path, but the Tugboats and quick acting by Captain Smith avert calamity.

3) after an hour's delay, the ship departs Southampton and slowly winds her way though the Solent.

4) Having avoiding any further collisions (I wonder if Bowyer was having flashbacks to the Olympic's Collision with the HMS Hawke) Titanic stops at the St Helen Pilot Boarding Area and Bowyer disembarks from her Starboard side into a Rowing Boat.

5) Titanic steams away to Cherbourg while the Rowing Boat moves towards and picked up by the Ketch pilot vessel heading back to Southampton.
 
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That was quite a pilotage mission for Pilot George Bowyer. Titanic was rather a very large size and deep draft vessel. She carried a tremendous sail area. Titanic was very powerfully, so you had to be extremely careful of her propeller wash effect. Interaction was betrayal. Whistle communications with harbor tugs was rather difficult and orders hoped to be understood. Pilot George Bowyer must have felt a lot of pressure to handle that titan, surrounded by officers keeping a close watch on him. However, I think that Capt. Smith was very cooperative and an easy going person. Two qualities needed to assure a calm and serine bridge team work management and endeavor. Nevertheless, a pilot job is very demanding and risky. You need constant concentration and eyes all around the head. But at the end of the day, a judge would say; «If a Pilot can’t do it, who can?» or «A Pastor can’t make a pilotage mishap» …
 
Mark Baber said:
Sail area?
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Wind Thrust on a «Vessel’s Lateral Surface Area» :)

Wind Thrust (metric tons) = V²/18 per 1000m² of Lateral Surface Area or Sail Area
V = Wind Speed in meters per second or in Knots ÷ 1.85
 
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