A Night To Remember page 4

A Night To Remember page 4 by ric Gustafson


On the bridge of the Titanic, First Officer William M Murdoch had pulled the engine room telegraph handle to ' Stop'. After Fleet phoned his warning, Murdoch gave Quartermaster Hitchens an order to turn the wheel hard a starboard. Then the telegraph was quickly changed to full speed astern. Then the watertight doors were quickly closed. Then 37 seconds of waiting.
All of a sudden, Captain Smith rushed in. " Mr Murdoch, what was that?".
" An iceberg sir". He stared at the Captain. " I hard a starboarded, reversed the engines but it was too close to do any more".
Captain Smith thought for a second. " Close the emergency doors".
" Sir, the doors are already closed".
In boiler room no. 6, Fireman Fred Barrett and Second Engineer James Hesketh heard the warning bell and then saw sea water rushing in from above pipes and valves. They made it through the watertight door before it closed. In boiler room no.5, a gash about two feet beyond the closed watertight door was forcing seawater through the hole.
About ten miles away, Third Officer Charles Victor Groves was watching the lights of another ship. From the bridge of the liner Californian at 11:10 pm, he could see the lights of this ship on their starboard side. At 11:30, he woke up Captain Stanley Lord about the lights of another ship. At 11:40, he was just about to use their Morse lamp when he noticed the ship suddenly stop and put out most of it's lights. He did not know that the ship he was observing was no longer broadside but had veered sharply to port.


research help: ' A Night To Remember' by Walter Lord


Peace and God's blessings. Love Ric