This is what I have to the best of my knowledge, after the ship sank, from about 2:20-2:45 there were the screams of people who where in the water, and apparently this took some people by surprise, those in lifeboats 5,7, 13 and probably more were under the subconscious impression that people had all gotten off the ship, and that nobody was in the water at the time. There where however the lucky few who made it aboard Collapsibles A and B, the occupants of these boats where all made up of people who where on titanic during the final plunge and had swam to them and gotten aboard. This included 2nd Officer Charles
Lightoller, Harold Bride, Jack Thayer, and Archibald Gracie. On
collapsible B, there where about 25-30 men who managed to get up on to its top, as it was upside down in the water. About 4 men died after reaching
collapsible B because there clothes where probably soaked.
Collapsible A was, however, half flooded full of water, causing many of the the original occupants, about 20-25, to be reduced to only 12. The people on the boats, having trouble surviving, did not know when rescue would come, and they where on the clock, because air was escaping the air pocket under collapsible B, and because of all the men onboard, was causing it the sink lower and lower into the water. All this while, 5th Officer Harold Lowe had rounded up lifeboats 10, 12,
collapsible D, and another one which he could not recall, possible lifeboat 16. He had distributed the women and children into his boat into the other 4 boats, which where already pretty filled up, and he decided to go back for survivors in the water. He did wait until "the screams had died down" or waited until most of the people in the water had passed on, so they do not swamp the boats. At about 3:00 in the morning lifeboat 14, filled with only 5 people, Officer Lowe included went back to search for survivors, by the time they got to where the bodies where, it was quiet and unlike in the Cameron movie, they did not have any flashlights, so they had to rely on sound to try to find people, they aged to find 4 men, one of which died in lifeboat 14, and the found one man I believe, native to Japan, though I am not sure, named Fang Lang who survived on a floating door, Lowe was at first reluctant to save him as he said "there are people better worth saving than a j-p" but once they got him in the boat he was such a good rowing that Lowe said "I would have saved him 6 times over if I knew how well he could row". When they rowed away from the site they happened upon
Collapsible A on the they about 12 survivors from that boat onto boat 14. Also, lifeboat 4 picked up people in the water. I think about 8. At about 3:40 the lights of the
carpathia where finally spotted. And as carpathian sailed nearer and near the people of collapsible B where found by lifeboats 4 and 12 and taken board. The first lifeboat the be picked up out of the water was lifeboat 2. Hope you found this helpful.
