John Sohl

The Unsinkable Ship of Dreams

A Historical Overview:

• Rescue and Aftermath• Historical Impact• Discovering the Legend• Approaching a Century

• Fulfilling the Dream• Her Maiden Voyage• That Fateful Sunday• A Deadly Encounter• Death of a Titan

• Plan formed: Summer 1907 • J. Bruce Ismay and Lord Pirrie• 3 ships devised: Olympic, Gigantic, and Titanic• Construction began 3-31-09

• Titanic largest of its time, weighing 26,000 tons• Olympic was damaged in accident with BRN cruiser• Delayed Titanic • Over 15,000 Irish shipyard workers

Under Construction

• Thomas Andrews designed blueprints• 16 watertight compartments; unsinkable• $7.5 million to build, $123 million today• 4 funnels, one was fake

• Captain Edward Smith – last voyage, retirement• 892 crew members – sea men, firemen, engineers, saloon stewards, bedroom stewards, and chefs

Under Construction

• Deemed “Unsinkable” by many• Departed South Hampton 4-10• Near collision with the New York; Bad Omen?• Traveled to Cherbourg, France for passenger pickup• Left Queenstown, Ireland on April 11, embarking on

its Maiden VoyageTickets - $430 first; $65 second; $35 third class• About 2,207 people on

board; inaccurate

Titanic at it’s Finest

• Church services began peaceful Sunday• Ice warnings via Morse Code; ignored• Significant warnings Sunday until as late as 11 PM

Captain Edward J. Smith

• Strong cold breeze; Lifeboat drill cancelled• Last 2 boilers lit Sunday morning; 22 knots• Captain Smith altered course; did not slow down• A clear night; hard to see icebergs

Captain Edward J. Smith

• 45 minutes after last warning• lookout Frederick Fleet spots berg at 11:39• First Officer Murdoch: “Stop! Full speed astern!”• Closed watertight doors ordering hard a’starboard• Only 37 seconds passed from sighting to impact

First OfficerWilliam Murdoch

• Riveted plates popped open; not 300 foot gash• First 6 compartments flooded; only 4 would stay afloat• Better if Titanic had impacted berg head on

• Iceberg over 60 feet tall

• Thomas Andrews – confirmed ship was doomed• Would sink within two hours• CQD & SOS distress signals were sent: 12:10 AM• Only Carpathia, at 58 miles, responded; no hope for rescue

Thomas Andrews

• Only enough lifeboats to save half• Ordered Women and Children First: 12:25 AM• As little as 12 people in a Lifeboat• Only 2 boats filled to capacity• Third Class locked down below deck

• Bow sinks below waterline: 1:15 AM• Unknown steamer seen on horizon; never responded• 1500 people still left on board: 2 AM• SOS messages sent as late as 2:17 AM; never gave up• Orchestra played to the end

Approximately 2:15 AMStern at highest point

• Stern plunged into ocean, dozens crushed• Lights went out 2 minutes before it sank• Weight of boilers too much for steel keel; broke in half

• Stern bobbed for a couple minutes; sank at 2:20 AM• Hundreds left screaming in water; • By 3 AM all was quiet

• Only one boat returned to sight

• Carpathia came to aid as fast as possible

• Only 706 people survived

• Mystery Ship seen by both Titanic and Californian

• Radio turned off on Californian

• Newspaper headlines next day: “Titanic Sunk, No Lives Lost”• Ship to Ship Wireless; inaccurate• Bodies buried at sea or recovered

• J. Bruce Ismay survived, called to Inquiry and Full Investigation on Titanic disaster• US and British recommendations and requirements• Men were shunned for surviving• Ismay lost job of director of White Star Line; disaster “ruined his life”

J. Bruce Ismay

Rescued by Carpathia and

later Californian

• Lifeboats required to carry 25% more than passengers on board• Ice warnings never ignored again• No ice disasters since• Regular Lifeboat drills• SOS - standard distress signal; importance of wireless realized• Theories of raising the Titanic soon formed; none practical• Movies, like James Cameron’s Titanic attempt to portray that terrible night

• 73 years passed• 1985 Dr Robert Ballard• Debris Field easier to search• Learned that Ship was in two pieces and lost all funnels

Alvin shines its light on the long lost Ship of Dreams

• Over 2 ½ hrs descending with Submarine Alvin• Stern section almost 2,000 feet away; unrecognizable

• Titanic discovered at 12,460 feet deep• About ten minutes for ship to sink to bottom

• Bodies long gone; shoes left in their place• Over 13 miles away from sinking position• Piece of hull plating was raised in 1998• Plaque left, declaring wreckage a grave site

The Memorial Plaque The Titanic’s Journey until finding it’s eternal resting place

• Almost 100 years have passed since that fateful night in April• Story of Titanic has captivated the interest of millions• History feels more like fiction with this event• The dignity and true value of the human being was shown so much On April 15, 2012, the Titanic Quarter in

Belfast will be completed to memorializethe 1500 who lost their lives a century before.

• Bravery and Self-sacrifice gave the world a new perspective of humanity• As time passes, the story of the Titanic strengthens• Fascination for this tragedy will not die out anytime soon• Eventually, the ship will decay, but its story will remain with us forever On April 15, 2012, the Titanic Quarter in

Belfast will be completed to memorializethe 1500 who lost their lives a century before.