Weekly Meeting - Paul Barnett - A Titanic Effort!

Paul has spoken our club on numerous occasions. This talk explored the facts around the events before and after the tragic sinking of the Titanic on her maiden voyage across the Atlantic Ocean in April 1912.  

With the passage of time and speculation, a number of ides and theories have been put forward as to possible or probable reasons why the tragedy happened with so many lives being lost. Paul attempted to dispel some of these theories with his own facts and reasoning. 

Paul began his talk with a potted history of The White Star Line including a brief history of Titanic’s two sister ships the Olympic, which was scrapped after 25 years service and the hospital ship Britannic which sank after an explosion. Following this he moved on to consider and contest some of the theories and statements that have been made and published over the intervening years. 

The Titanic had capacity to carry 2435 passengers and 892 crew. It had 4 funnels and 3 engines. The fourth funnel was used as a staircase for the engine room workers to get to their accommodation at the rear of the ship and thereby avoid being seen by the passengers. 

The following are four statements that have subsequently been aired through various mediums including the press;  

1.RMS Titanic was the largest man made structure on planet earth when it was launched. 

2.Titanic was unsinkable. 

3.The Captain was travelling at 22knotts in the dark because he was attempting to gain the “Blue Ribbon” for the fastest crossing of the Atlantic Ocean. 

4. There were not enough lifeboats onboard. 

The timeline of events on the night of April 14th and 15th 1912; 

23.40 Lookouts reported “Iceberg right ahead”. 

23.45 Titanic strikes an iceberg. 

12.45 1st lifeboat lowered. 

O2.00 Waterline reaches the forward deck. 

02.10 The ship’s stern rises out of the water. 

02.20 RMS Titanic sinks. 

02.24 The forward section hits the sea bed. 

02.27 The stern hits ocean floor. 

The Californian was 19 nautical miles ahead of Titanic and aware of the ice threat. Paul said that her radio operator Cyril Evans stayed on after his shift sending out warnings. At 23.35 Titanic’s radio operator told Evans to “Shut up” because he was sending Cape Race, the messaging system of the day. Evans turned his radio off and went to bed thus leaving the Californian deaf to  

subsequent distress calls for a period of time. 

When Titanic sent out it’s distress call the Carpathia, which was 58 nautical miles astern, was the first to respond arriving at 03.30 on April 15th.  

Captain Edward Smith had captained the Olympic and Britannic on their maiden voyages. He came out of retirement, for a final time, to be captain for Titanic’s maiden voyage of with the intention of retiring again and being a passenger on the return journey. 

With reference to the four statements above; 

Titanic was recorded as being 882 feet 9 inches in length. Her sister ships were 883 feet long, thus contradicting the idea that she was the largest man made structure of the time.  

Shipbuilders Harland and Wolfe never mentioned that Titanic was unsinkable neither did the owners White Star Line. Apparently, the press printed it two days after the sinking. 

The Blue Ribbon for the Atlantic crossing was held by Mauritania. Her maximum speed was 26 knots whereas Titanic’s was only 23 knots. Paul maintained that it was impossible for her to be attempting the fastest recorded Atlantic crossing. It is a matter of conjecture as to the reason that Captain Smith was travelling quickly at night. It was said that due to a bunker fire, the coal reserves had been depleted and Captain Smith wanted to ensure that Titanic did not run out of fuel on her maiden voyage and have to be towed into New York. 

There were 20 lifeboats onboard Titanic, legally she was only obliged to carry 16 lifeboats. Whilst the law was not broken, it is unlikely that all the passengers could have been accommodated in her 20 lifeboats. 

Paul is an accomplished speaker who has researched his topic fully. In his entertaining talk he explored many theories and left us all with plenty to think about and discuss.  

Thank you Paul. 

John Barnes.