Parks Stephenson
Member
I've done quite a bit of thinking about the Titanic wreck over the past couple of years, thanks to work that brought me close to it. Last year, I was fortunate to be able to review all of the NOAA 2004 imagery in support of their ongoing analysis effort. Earlier this month, I was doubly fortunate to view the wreck up close with my own eyes, thanks to the generosity of Jim Cameron. What I have experienced has deeply affected me. I have been asked to publicly share my feelings about the wreck, but have been reluctant to do so because I know that what I have to say will alienate some people. Then again, it serves no purpose to keep my opinions to myself. Ultimately, I am only one person among many and my opinions are just that -- just another voice in the howling mob -- so why not share the conclusions that I derived from my experience?
Although my statement of opinion may start a debate, I am not interested in debating my stance. I’m simply throwing my perspective out there for people to take or dismiss as they choose. I don’t mind if people disagree with my opinions, just don’t tell me that I have no right to express them. If nothing else, I can honestly say that I’ve earned that right.
So much for my disclaimer, which may at first blush seem unwarranted, but that experience in Titanic-related online forums has taught me is necessary.
I would like to start my stream of consciousness with the subject of the crow’s nest. I may be wrong, but I believe that I have found the remains of the crow’s nest, lying on A Deck atop the fallen bridge bulwark, directly forward of the telemotor. I first saw it in the 2004 HD imagery, and then examined it in person during my dive to the wreck. The artefact in question is a badly-corroded remnant of curved steel, with a row of rivet holes along one edge. If my assessment is correct, then it must have been caught by a vehicle and yanked aft and upward from its original location on the mast. It probably ended up on A Deck after hitting the forward edge of the Boat Deck...that’s my guess.
So, until someone comes up with a better analysis, let’s say for the sake of argument that this artefact is the remains of the crow’s nest. There has been a lot of a lot of discussion about the fate of the crow’s nest and fingers have been pointing in all directions, seeking out responsibility for its "disappearance." I have to ask...why? What’s the big deal about the crow’s nest? When we first saw it in 1985, it was flattened against the fallen mast and hanging at a crazy angle. I have since learned from Dr. Cullimore and Lori Johnston that once metal has been distorted, corrosion proceeds at an accelerated rate. In all probability, the crow’s nest would have fallen of its own accord not too many years after it was first imaged. Surely, given the sad state that the mast is in today (the forward half of the mast has split from the after half and collapsed inward along the mast’s entire length), no one could reasonably expect the crow’s nest to still be affixed to the mast. So, why do people anguish over its loss?
In my view, the subject of the crow’s nest is more about assigning blame than the aesthetic or historical importance of the actual artefact. Some have used it as an example of man’s destruction of the wreck and demanded accountability. Why? What purpose does that serve, other than possibly deflecting criticism from the accuser? Isn’t it better to simply admit that it was torn off the mast by accident, one of the many sacrifices that have to be made to bring images of this famous shipwreck to the public? And why is the crow’s nest of such interest? What about the sole surviving gooseneck vent and nearby thermotank behind the #1 funnel? What about the stokehold vents on either side of the #2 funnel boiler casing? These, too, have been damaged since the discovery of the wreck by various explorers, but you don’t hear anyone agonising about them.
I just don’t understand the hoopla concerning the crow’s nest. From what I can ascertain, the thing was knocked off the mast by accident, but would have fallen off on its own, anyway. I just don't get it.
Some people talk about the wrecksite as a graveyard. To my mind, a graveyard is a place where bodies are deliberately laid into the ground to rest. I see the Titanic wrecksite as more the chaotic scene of an accident. What’s more, there are no bodies lying around. If anyone wanted the bodies to be left undisturbed, they should have talked to the organisms that devoured any human remains that settled in the area. There’s nothing left to disturb now.
Once upon a time, I read a thriller entitled, "There’s Something Alive on the Titanic," by Robert Serling. The overall plot hasn’t stayed with me, but a few isolated images have...that of Captain Smith’s ghost pacing the remains of the Bridge, the ghost of 1/O Murdoch in his cabin and all the glowing eyes down in the First-class Dining Saloon. When I dove down to the wreck, I briefly wondered (after having decided if I would eat my Russian chocolate bar during the descent or save it for the ascent) if I would see anything like that. Well, if Smith were walking the Bridge today, he would be too busy trying to avoid tripping over the row of memorial plaques and plastic flowers left at the front of the wheelhouse. Murdoch’s cabin no longer exists except as a gaping hole. There’s no hint of a metaphysical presence in the Dining Saloon or anywhere else, for that matter. In fact, there was no sense of life at all in the wreck. Sure, crabs crawl hither and yon, rat-tails glide by unconcernedly and the rusticles continue to grow as they consume the steel, but overall, the place feels silent and not particularly "watchful."
Yes, I’m aware of the shoes. I’m also aware of the slicker with boots sticking out from underneath it (would that have been a Titanic crewman, or an unfortunate who fell overboard from some other ship?) found last year. Not to sound uncaring, but I’m not going to worry about bodies until I actually see one. As long as there are more people wanting (and paying) to see the wreck than those who want the wreck to be left to the darkness of the abyss, people will continue to visit and film the wreck (incidentally, that rule holds true for all shipwrecks). If there were any of Titanic’s dead littering the wrecksite, those remains were consumed by the deep-ocean’s occupants long before man found the wreck. So why worry about disturbing the dead as we explore?
And why is it that the crewmen of the CSS Hunley could be exhumed and their personal artefacts recovered in the name of historical research without any fuss from self-proclaimed moralists? Or, to look at it another way, why is there so much concern about bodies during explorations at the Titanic wrecksite when none have been encountered?
And why would the ghosts of Titanic’s dead haunt the wreck, anyway? The ship was not their cherished home, but rather the instrument of their doom. I know that if I placed my trust in a ship to bring me safely to my destination and that ship instead left me to die alone in freezing water, I wouldn’t hang around it for eternity. I’d leave it to those who were far enough removed from the tragedy to love it. But, I digress for no good reason...who can say what a ghost thinks? The point is, the wrecksite better fits the definition of an accident scene than a graveyard. From what I understand, accident scenes are meant to be analysed so that the events leading up to the accident can be better understood.
Speaking of loving the ship, though, reminds me of something that I want to touch on before moving on. The wreck cannot be raised; at least, not in my reality. I don’t think too many people will argue for raising the stern section, so I’ll confine my comments to the bow section only. Do you know that the bow section is essentially broken into two major pieces? The two pieces haven’t physically separated yet, which gives the illusion that the bow section is intact. Truth be told, the downward angle of the bow forward of the superstructure is increasing. For that matter, so is that of the crushed decks aft of the #2 funnel. At the same time, the middle part of the bow section still sits atop the ocean floor...you can still see the keel in some places. It won’t be long before a chasm opens up in the deck either underneath or aft of the cranes on the forward well deck.
The deckhouses atop the Boat Deck are literally falling to pieces. I’ve already described the beginning of the final collapse of the Marconi Room roof and you may have seen the continuing "unzipping" of the walls on both sides of the Officers’ Quarters. The portions of roof that remain are so fragile that they undulate in the current. The Boat Deck itself is peppered throughout with holes caused by corrosion. Years ago, the port side of the Boat Deck was firm and straight. As I looked out my viewport of the Mir just 2 weeks ago, it looked now to be made more of rotting cheese than steel.
Raise the Titanic? Not on your life. It’ll fall apart if you try, and the pieces you do get won’t be recognisable.
By now, you might have gotten the idea that I don’t care for the wreck. You would be wrong in assuming that. What I don’t care for instead are the myths and petty jealousies that have attached themselves to the wreck since it was discovered in 1985 (I’m staying away from the "wreck was found earlier" speculation, because the exploitation of the wreck didn’t begin until the IFREMER/WHOI expedition stumbled across that boiler). I am very interested in the forensic value that the wreck has, the information that can help us understand what the ship was like and how it broke apart and sank. For this reason, my dive was the high point of my research into the disaster, as well as up there in the Top 10 events of my life.
So what is my point? I’ve been steering this monologue to this point...after all the books, movies, photos, dive footage and now personal observation of the wreck, I’ve come to the conclusion that the wreck of Titanic is not a memorial, gravesite, corpse, or embodiment of a dream. Rather, it’s a shipwreck. Arguably the most famous and well-known shipwreck in human history, but still a shipwreck. This may seem obvious to most, but I mention it here for the benefit of the few who fail to see that. I mention it because I want to continue with my forensic evaluation of the wreck without having to deal with people who insist that the wreck is anything other than what it truly is.
Why was I compelled to speak on this now? Because I am about to cross a line that has been previously considered taboo...that of recovering artefacts from inside the wreck. Thanks to the emotion stirred up by those who consider the wreck to be something more, the courts have decided to draw a distinction between artefacts inside the wreck and those on the outside. This was boundary line is arbitrary and the decision was made for political reason. Regardless, it now stands to frustrate attempts to preserve Titanic’s legacy. I’ll use the Marconi transmitting apparatus as a prime example of why salvage from inside the wreck should be considered. Here, we have a unique artefact of enormous historical value that is in imminent danger of being lost forever. There is no other known 5-kW wireless telegraph transmitter in existence. The Marconi archives hold only a few contemporary photographs of a similar apparatus and no blueprints or other detailed information that tell us much about the system. Most of what we know about this apparatus comes from Jim Cameron’s exploration of Titanic’s Silent Room. Soon, however, the imagery that Cameron captured will be all that we will ever have, because the roof over that room is in the final process of collapse. Not long after that, the deck underneath the room will give way and that machinery will fall into the depths of the wreck. I would like to see as much of the Marconi transmitting apparatus recovered as is possible. To do that will destroy what is left of a disintegrating roof, but I consider that a small price to pay for salvaging the history of this device which played such a critical role in the disaster. I don’t want what happened to the exercise equipment in the Gymnasium happen to the Marconi apparatus.
In order for this to happen, though, we must first understand that we are dealing with a shipwreck filled with clues about its previous life as an ocean liner, not some fantasy dream ship that is merely lying peacefully in slumber on the ocean floor. The wreck is not in peace...it is under constant, daily attack by the organisms and creatures that are even now, as you read this, consuming the steel and defecating it in rusticles that eventually end up as heaps on the interior decks and ocean floor.
I fully support the effort to document the exterior and interior of the wreck before it fully deteriorates, capturing in images what the wreck and surviving artefacts looked like in situ. After that has been accomplished (by section), I would support the recovery of artefacts that are threatened with imminent loss or destruction. Because the superstructure will be first to give way, I would give the recovery of artefacts there the highest priority. Leave what you can in the wreck until it is about to be lost, then recover it in the nick of time...a tricky proposition, at best. The technical solution to this problem would not be an easy one. It may very well be an impossible task, making this entire discussion academic. But if there’s a way, I intend to explore and/or support it.
Seeing the wreck firsthand has strengthened my resolve on this. It’s a bittersweet thing...the beauty of the ship can still be seen in the wreck, but so too is a glimpse of the wreck’s inevitable end. Hovering near the retracted #1 lifeboat davit, I was overwhelmed with emotion as I was reminded of Murdoch’s last moments as he fought desperately to launch the last collapsible. And then I saw the first indication of collapse in the Silent Room overhead and knew that time was getting short for the valuable artefact underneath. There is so much history there in the wreck...so much that we have learned and so much that we could potentially learn. I mentioned earlier in this post that the wreck is devoid of the living presence of those who sailed in her...ghosts, if you will. However, there remain physical indicators of that presence that are capable of telling us stories about the life and times of Titanic. We need to look for those artefacts that we haven’t yet found and protect those that we have found, even if that means removing them from their decaying surroundings. The tragic event that caused the shipwreck and resulted in the loss of over 1500 souls should be treated with the utmost respect, but I believe that prohibiting all forms of salvage is too extreme a measure. In searching out and preserving those items that tell the story of Titanic and the people who sailed in her, I believe we are honouring the victims of the disaster. We are, in effect, telling their story. If we don’t look, don’t probe, don’t recover, we will in effect be turning away from any stories that the wreck as yet to tell. Then those poor people really will have died in vain.
That’s my opinion, anyway.
Parks
Although my statement of opinion may start a debate, I am not interested in debating my stance. I’m simply throwing my perspective out there for people to take or dismiss as they choose. I don’t mind if people disagree with my opinions, just don’t tell me that I have no right to express them. If nothing else, I can honestly say that I’ve earned that right.
So much for my disclaimer, which may at first blush seem unwarranted, but that experience in Titanic-related online forums has taught me is necessary.
I would like to start my stream of consciousness with the subject of the crow’s nest. I may be wrong, but I believe that I have found the remains of the crow’s nest, lying on A Deck atop the fallen bridge bulwark, directly forward of the telemotor. I first saw it in the 2004 HD imagery, and then examined it in person during my dive to the wreck. The artefact in question is a badly-corroded remnant of curved steel, with a row of rivet holes along one edge. If my assessment is correct, then it must have been caught by a vehicle and yanked aft and upward from its original location on the mast. It probably ended up on A Deck after hitting the forward edge of the Boat Deck...that’s my guess.
So, until someone comes up with a better analysis, let’s say for the sake of argument that this artefact is the remains of the crow’s nest. There has been a lot of a lot of discussion about the fate of the crow’s nest and fingers have been pointing in all directions, seeking out responsibility for its "disappearance." I have to ask...why? What’s the big deal about the crow’s nest? When we first saw it in 1985, it was flattened against the fallen mast and hanging at a crazy angle. I have since learned from Dr. Cullimore and Lori Johnston that once metal has been distorted, corrosion proceeds at an accelerated rate. In all probability, the crow’s nest would have fallen of its own accord not too many years after it was first imaged. Surely, given the sad state that the mast is in today (the forward half of the mast has split from the after half and collapsed inward along the mast’s entire length), no one could reasonably expect the crow’s nest to still be affixed to the mast. So, why do people anguish over its loss?
In my view, the subject of the crow’s nest is more about assigning blame than the aesthetic or historical importance of the actual artefact. Some have used it as an example of man’s destruction of the wreck and demanded accountability. Why? What purpose does that serve, other than possibly deflecting criticism from the accuser? Isn’t it better to simply admit that it was torn off the mast by accident, one of the many sacrifices that have to be made to bring images of this famous shipwreck to the public? And why is the crow’s nest of such interest? What about the sole surviving gooseneck vent and nearby thermotank behind the #1 funnel? What about the stokehold vents on either side of the #2 funnel boiler casing? These, too, have been damaged since the discovery of the wreck by various explorers, but you don’t hear anyone agonising about them.
I just don’t understand the hoopla concerning the crow’s nest. From what I can ascertain, the thing was knocked off the mast by accident, but would have fallen off on its own, anyway. I just don't get it.
Some people talk about the wrecksite as a graveyard. To my mind, a graveyard is a place where bodies are deliberately laid into the ground to rest. I see the Titanic wrecksite as more the chaotic scene of an accident. What’s more, there are no bodies lying around. If anyone wanted the bodies to be left undisturbed, they should have talked to the organisms that devoured any human remains that settled in the area. There’s nothing left to disturb now.
Once upon a time, I read a thriller entitled, "There’s Something Alive on the Titanic," by Robert Serling. The overall plot hasn’t stayed with me, but a few isolated images have...that of Captain Smith’s ghost pacing the remains of the Bridge, the ghost of 1/O Murdoch in his cabin and all the glowing eyes down in the First-class Dining Saloon. When I dove down to the wreck, I briefly wondered (after having decided if I would eat my Russian chocolate bar during the descent or save it for the ascent) if I would see anything like that. Well, if Smith were walking the Bridge today, he would be too busy trying to avoid tripping over the row of memorial plaques and plastic flowers left at the front of the wheelhouse. Murdoch’s cabin no longer exists except as a gaping hole. There’s no hint of a metaphysical presence in the Dining Saloon or anywhere else, for that matter. In fact, there was no sense of life at all in the wreck. Sure, crabs crawl hither and yon, rat-tails glide by unconcernedly and the rusticles continue to grow as they consume the steel, but overall, the place feels silent and not particularly "watchful."
Yes, I’m aware of the shoes. I’m also aware of the slicker with boots sticking out from underneath it (would that have been a Titanic crewman, or an unfortunate who fell overboard from some other ship?) found last year. Not to sound uncaring, but I’m not going to worry about bodies until I actually see one. As long as there are more people wanting (and paying) to see the wreck than those who want the wreck to be left to the darkness of the abyss, people will continue to visit and film the wreck (incidentally, that rule holds true for all shipwrecks). If there were any of Titanic’s dead littering the wrecksite, those remains were consumed by the deep-ocean’s occupants long before man found the wreck. So why worry about disturbing the dead as we explore?
And why is it that the crewmen of the CSS Hunley could be exhumed and their personal artefacts recovered in the name of historical research without any fuss from self-proclaimed moralists? Or, to look at it another way, why is there so much concern about bodies during explorations at the Titanic wrecksite when none have been encountered?
And why would the ghosts of Titanic’s dead haunt the wreck, anyway? The ship was not their cherished home, but rather the instrument of their doom. I know that if I placed my trust in a ship to bring me safely to my destination and that ship instead left me to die alone in freezing water, I wouldn’t hang around it for eternity. I’d leave it to those who were far enough removed from the tragedy to love it. But, I digress for no good reason...who can say what a ghost thinks? The point is, the wrecksite better fits the definition of an accident scene than a graveyard. From what I understand, accident scenes are meant to be analysed so that the events leading up to the accident can be better understood.
Speaking of loving the ship, though, reminds me of something that I want to touch on before moving on. The wreck cannot be raised; at least, not in my reality. I don’t think too many people will argue for raising the stern section, so I’ll confine my comments to the bow section only. Do you know that the bow section is essentially broken into two major pieces? The two pieces haven’t physically separated yet, which gives the illusion that the bow section is intact. Truth be told, the downward angle of the bow forward of the superstructure is increasing. For that matter, so is that of the crushed decks aft of the #2 funnel. At the same time, the middle part of the bow section still sits atop the ocean floor...you can still see the keel in some places. It won’t be long before a chasm opens up in the deck either underneath or aft of the cranes on the forward well deck.
The deckhouses atop the Boat Deck are literally falling to pieces. I’ve already described the beginning of the final collapse of the Marconi Room roof and you may have seen the continuing "unzipping" of the walls on both sides of the Officers’ Quarters. The portions of roof that remain are so fragile that they undulate in the current. The Boat Deck itself is peppered throughout with holes caused by corrosion. Years ago, the port side of the Boat Deck was firm and straight. As I looked out my viewport of the Mir just 2 weeks ago, it looked now to be made more of rotting cheese than steel.
Raise the Titanic? Not on your life. It’ll fall apart if you try, and the pieces you do get won’t be recognisable.
By now, you might have gotten the idea that I don’t care for the wreck. You would be wrong in assuming that. What I don’t care for instead are the myths and petty jealousies that have attached themselves to the wreck since it was discovered in 1985 (I’m staying away from the "wreck was found earlier" speculation, because the exploitation of the wreck didn’t begin until the IFREMER/WHOI expedition stumbled across that boiler). I am very interested in the forensic value that the wreck has, the information that can help us understand what the ship was like and how it broke apart and sank. For this reason, my dive was the high point of my research into the disaster, as well as up there in the Top 10 events of my life.
So what is my point? I’ve been steering this monologue to this point...after all the books, movies, photos, dive footage and now personal observation of the wreck, I’ve come to the conclusion that the wreck of Titanic is not a memorial, gravesite, corpse, or embodiment of a dream. Rather, it’s a shipwreck. Arguably the most famous and well-known shipwreck in human history, but still a shipwreck. This may seem obvious to most, but I mention it here for the benefit of the few who fail to see that. I mention it because I want to continue with my forensic evaluation of the wreck without having to deal with people who insist that the wreck is anything other than what it truly is.
Why was I compelled to speak on this now? Because I am about to cross a line that has been previously considered taboo...that of recovering artefacts from inside the wreck. Thanks to the emotion stirred up by those who consider the wreck to be something more, the courts have decided to draw a distinction between artefacts inside the wreck and those on the outside. This was boundary line is arbitrary and the decision was made for political reason. Regardless, it now stands to frustrate attempts to preserve Titanic’s legacy. I’ll use the Marconi transmitting apparatus as a prime example of why salvage from inside the wreck should be considered. Here, we have a unique artefact of enormous historical value that is in imminent danger of being lost forever. There is no other known 5-kW wireless telegraph transmitter in existence. The Marconi archives hold only a few contemporary photographs of a similar apparatus and no blueprints or other detailed information that tell us much about the system. Most of what we know about this apparatus comes from Jim Cameron’s exploration of Titanic’s Silent Room. Soon, however, the imagery that Cameron captured will be all that we will ever have, because the roof over that room is in the final process of collapse. Not long after that, the deck underneath the room will give way and that machinery will fall into the depths of the wreck. I would like to see as much of the Marconi transmitting apparatus recovered as is possible. To do that will destroy what is left of a disintegrating roof, but I consider that a small price to pay for salvaging the history of this device which played such a critical role in the disaster. I don’t want what happened to the exercise equipment in the Gymnasium happen to the Marconi apparatus.
In order for this to happen, though, we must first understand that we are dealing with a shipwreck filled with clues about its previous life as an ocean liner, not some fantasy dream ship that is merely lying peacefully in slumber on the ocean floor. The wreck is not in peace...it is under constant, daily attack by the organisms and creatures that are even now, as you read this, consuming the steel and defecating it in rusticles that eventually end up as heaps on the interior decks and ocean floor.
I fully support the effort to document the exterior and interior of the wreck before it fully deteriorates, capturing in images what the wreck and surviving artefacts looked like in situ. After that has been accomplished (by section), I would support the recovery of artefacts that are threatened with imminent loss or destruction. Because the superstructure will be first to give way, I would give the recovery of artefacts there the highest priority. Leave what you can in the wreck until it is about to be lost, then recover it in the nick of time...a tricky proposition, at best. The technical solution to this problem would not be an easy one. It may very well be an impossible task, making this entire discussion academic. But if there’s a way, I intend to explore and/or support it.
Seeing the wreck firsthand has strengthened my resolve on this. It’s a bittersweet thing...the beauty of the ship can still be seen in the wreck, but so too is a glimpse of the wreck’s inevitable end. Hovering near the retracted #1 lifeboat davit, I was overwhelmed with emotion as I was reminded of Murdoch’s last moments as he fought desperately to launch the last collapsible. And then I saw the first indication of collapse in the Silent Room overhead and knew that time was getting short for the valuable artefact underneath. There is so much history there in the wreck...so much that we have learned and so much that we could potentially learn. I mentioned earlier in this post that the wreck is devoid of the living presence of those who sailed in her...ghosts, if you will. However, there remain physical indicators of that presence that are capable of telling us stories about the life and times of Titanic. We need to look for those artefacts that we haven’t yet found and protect those that we have found, even if that means removing them from their decaying surroundings. The tragic event that caused the shipwreck and resulted in the loss of over 1500 souls should be treated with the utmost respect, but I believe that prohibiting all forms of salvage is too extreme a measure. In searching out and preserving those items that tell the story of Titanic and the people who sailed in her, I believe we are honouring the victims of the disaster. We are, in effect, telling their story. If we don’t look, don’t probe, don’t recover, we will in effect be turning away from any stories that the wreck as yet to tell. Then those poor people really will have died in vain.
That’s my opinion, anyway.
Parks
