Two questions to ask

[Paul Lee]

Hi all,
Just thought I'd query the great collective on a few issues:

Now that Leslie Harrison is no longer with us, do you think its possible that "The Ship That Stood Still" will be reprinted?

The other question conerns the unknown steamer seen near the disaster site by the Mount Temple on April 15th. She has never been identified. She had a black funnel with a device in a white band near the top. I know that in 1912, shipping companies were identifiable by the colours of their masts and funnels, so a black funnelled ship might be traceable to a company... I have an encyclopedia, published c.1920 at my parents home, which has some of their colour schemes. Unfortunately, I can't get access to the books right now.... can anyone provide a list of companies who had this colour scheme in use?
My guess is that its probably either the eastern or western coasts of the Atlantic

Best wishes

Paul

 

[Michael H. Standart]

>>Now that Leslie Harrison is no longer with us, do you think its possible that "The Ship That Stood Still" will be reprinted?<<

It's possible, but I just don't know if it's realistic. I understand the printing run was a tad on the short side so a lot would depend on who has the rights to the work and whether or not a market can be identified which would justify a reprint.

Personally, I'm not expecting it to happen anytime soon. Titanic isn't exactly fashionable now, but that may change in a few years...say 2012.

Regarding the "mystery steamer" you've alluded to. I understand an effort was made to identify the ship back in 1912, but that those attempts failed. I doubt that it would add much to the story beyond identifying a player as it appears she was a latecomer to the scene and had nothing to do with the events of the preceeding night.

 

[Paul Lee]

Hi,
Well, yes I knew that a limited search was done in 1912, but I thought this covered only the US and British ports. I recall one story of a BoT inspector suspecting that a funnel had been repainted recently and scratched it secretly with his penknife.

No, the real reason I am asking is not because they might have seen something that might add something to the story but because it plugs one of the more obvious mysteries in the Titanic saga. It would be nice to read a book that said that "SS Nova Scotia was nearby" (or whetever her name was), rather than a black and white funnelled ship.

 

[Dave Gittins]

The search in 1912 covered ports in Canada, the US and northern Europe. Much of it was done by checking with custom houses, especially in the US. They dug up records of funnel colours and were pretty thorough. For all that, they left a great deal of the world uncovered. If she was Enchilada Express, from Tampico to Iceland, she would have not been picked up.

 

[Paul Lee]

Hi Friends,
Well, if I got some clues, I would be willing to do some digging and find out what ship it was! Old crew records might reveal nothing new, but you never know...it would add to the store of info and as Avon said in Blakes' 7, "All knowledge is valuable".

I recall one discussion mentioning the Saturnia in relation to this mystery ship, as ISTR that she was in the area and has the correct funnel colours. However, why didn't she respond to the Titanic distress calls? This makes me think that the black funnelled ship either didn't have a very powerful wireless to pick up the CQD or didn't have wireless at all....?

Cheers to my chums
Paul

 

[Michael H. Standart]

Paul, if you have the patience and the legs for it, you would find that you would have to find out who used that particular funnel scheme (Not particularly difficult for a skilled researcher) and then do a systematic check of every single port where ships of that particular line or lines would have called in the spring to summer of 1912 timeframe.

On the question of wireless, one need not have a very powerful set to receive. In fact, one need not even have a transmitter of any kind to recieve...just a rig capable of listening in. More likely then not, any ship that didn't pick up the Titanic's signals either didn't have their set on-line or they had no wireless at all. It was a new technology and not very commonplace, although it was spreading.

Regarding claims for the Saturnia, I would have to say "not likely." Senan Molony...who is certainly among Captain Lord's supporters for all practical intents and purposes dismissed her with these observations:

It has been suggested that this vessel was the Anchor-Donaldson Line's Saturnia (8,611 tons), which indeed had a black funnel and a white band. She was westbound from Glasgow to St. John, New Brunswick, when she heard the Titanic's distress signal and turned around. She was later stopped by heavy ice, supposedly six miles from the scene.

It may have been a pointless hunt by the Britush authorities however, because Moore's steamer was to the west of the ice barrier whereas we know the Titanic sank to the east. Whomever she might be, if the black funnel steamer (with the device in a white band) was indeed heading east all the time as Moore said, then she is likely not the Titanic's mystery ship.

Source: A Ship Accused, by Senan Molony, page 224., Copyright Senan Molony, 2002.

 

[Andrew E. MacAskill]

Re the initial post's question, "Now that Leslie Harrison is no longer with us, do you think it's possible that 'The Ship That Stood Still' will be reprinted," I met Edward P. DeGroot at the memorial service for Walter Lord in 2002, and I raised the issue with him. He indicated then that such was a good idea, and the impression he gave me was that he would look into same forthwith. Well, it's been a year and a half and no reprint, no new edition, as yet. Let's hope one is in the works. The book is a "tour de force," without equal on the Californian (non)controversy.