The Journey Begins
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At 9:30 a.m. on April 10, 1912 the boat train from London's Waterloo Station arrived, and second-class
and third-class passengersbegan to come aboard. Two hours later, the special boat train from London
pulled up, carrying many of the first-class passengers. Before the ships departure, passengers and guests
explored the vast Titanic, inspecting her electric elevators, kitchens, libraries, and the gymnasium's
machanical camels and horses. Then at Noon, the Titanic's huge, triple-toned whistles blew. The visitors debarked, and the ship steamed into the River Test. As passengers waved goodbye from her decks and windows the Titanic narrowly missed colliding with the berthed liner New York, which had broken her moorings and drifted perilously toward the Titanic. After that close call passengers enjoyed a relaxing Channel crossing. That evening, the Titanic stopped in Cherbourg, France the second point of embarkation to take on about two hundred and fifty more passengers. Just after 8:00 p.m. the Titanic began her first night at sea, and continued towards Queenstown where she arrived the next morning to pick up more mail, and about half as many passengers as in Cherbourg. On the 11th of April, 1912 the Titanic was finally ready to set sail for New York. At about 1:30 in the afternoon with just over 2,200 passengers and crew, she began her departure from Queenstown Harbor. As the Titanic eased out of the harbor, the bagpipes of third-class passenger Eugene Daly could be heard at the Stern offering the somber tune of "Erin's Lament" as the Maiden Voyage began. During the first few days of the ocean voyage, passengers enjoyed an exceptionally calm crossing and a pampered routine. The Crew, however was coping with a number of difficulties including a smoldering fire in one of the ships coal bunkers and a breakdown in the Titanic's wireless system. Meanwhile, as Captain Smith was steadily increasing the Titanic's speed, ice warnings were coming in from La Touraine, the Rappahannock and other ships in the North Atlantic lanes. On Sunday April 14, 1912, the fourth day of the Titanic's Maiden Voyage, the sea was exceptionally calm but the weather had turned cold. At 10:30 that morning, in the First-class Dining Room, Captain Smith presided over Divine Services that was attended by all classes of Passengers. Normally Sunday services would be followed by a Lifeboat drill for Passengers and Crew, but for some reason, that day Captain Smith opted not to hold a Lifeboat drill on the Titanic. While passengers enjoyed their luncheon and spent much of the day indoors because of cold weather, the Titanic's Maeconi Operators, John Phillips and his assistant Harold Bride were very busy transmitting private telegrams for passengers. A backlog accumulated when the ship's wireless system malfunctioned on the night of April 12. Still whenever an ice warning came across the telegraph, Phillips and Bride halted their private transmissions and took the warning to the Captain or Ship Officers. Before 2:00 p.m. that day, they had received three ice alerts from the Coronia, the Noordam and the Baltic. When Captain Smith received the Baltic's warning he handed it to White Star Chairman J. Bruce Ismay. Ismay put the message in his pocket and later remarked to passenger, Mrs. Arthur Ryerson that he would let the Titanic run a grat deal faster and get out of the Ice Field. It was shortly after this that Ismay ordered Captain Smith to fire up the remaining engines. It was reported that Ismay wanted to get to New York on Thursday night instead of Friday morning, hoping to make the fastest Alantic crossing in history to help promote White Star Lines newest ship. Yet another ice warning came in at 5:03 p.m. from the Ocean Liner Amerika. At 7:30 p.m., Phillips and Bride intercepted an iceberg alert from nearby Californian. Captain Smith however never received the Californian's warning, because he was in the Titanic's restaurant at a Dinner Party hosted by the Wideners. Just before 9:00 p.m., the Captain left the party and stopped by the Bridge where he instructed Second Officer Charles Lightoller to inform him of sea conditions before it became hazy. At 9:40 p.m., another ship the Mesaba telegraphed an ice warning. Phillips however was preoccupied with private transmissions; by 11:00 p.m., he had still not delivered the Mesaba's warning to the Titanic's Captain and Crew, and he scolded the Californian's wireless operator for interrupting him with another ice warning. |
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| Last Updated 11/9/99 |
| Contact Forrest Gladden at : [email protected] |