Titanic's Lifeboats

[fanofall]

it is a great point regarding the lack of lifeboats. It didnt matter in the end as there simply wasnt enough time.

Agree that if there were more lifeboats, even if they ended up upside down after Titanic went down, there would have been a few people who could have managed to survive by sitting on top.

[Andrew Clarkson]

it is a great point regarding the lack of lifeboats. It didnt matter in the end as there simply wasnt enough time.

And manpower too - with every boat that left, the level of skilled and experienced hands decreased, probably making any future theorecal launches a little more fraught with danger.

[peter stephen richard howcroft]

Hi Fanofall.
Pulling yourself out of freezing water, up and on to a up turned lifeboat is no walk in the park. due to the air trapped under the boat it is very unstable and has the air comes out from under the boat it sinks lower into the water until water is lapping, awash across the upturned boat making staying on top impossible and a waste of time from the start.

You will also have to put up with panicking people in the water making for the same upturned boat and the venture would be doomed from the start due to swamping.
Regards Peter.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Come in boat number 10 Your time is up?

[Carpathia]

What if they had launched the boats in a different sequence? I mean, what if they launched the forward most boats first since they were close to the damage? I'm sure all boats would have been able to get away by then. Mind you it would have been steeper for the aft boats.

[Michael H. Standart]

>>What if they had launched the boats in a different sequence?<<

They could do that, but it still doesn't address the core problem of the lack of time and the dwindling resources in trained manpower. They needed both and didn't have it.

[Joshua]

It's clear, that not all 40 boats could have been launched. The officers were standing on the deck waiting for orders, before Ismay asked the Captain if the officers could lower the lifeboats. It's possible, that if they had been launched immediately, A and B might have had just enough time to be lowered. Even if she had enough and some were floated off, look at Collapsible A. A had many people in the swamped lifeboat but a majority of them died due to exposure according to Williams whom probably survived due to his then water-logged fur coat. As far as man-power, I notice many accounts were ladies of high society such as the Countess of Rothes rowed without any experience whatsoever, and she even took the tiller. Molly Brown did too, although she wasn't exactly what English society was. Men could row as well. However, I think that at least one maybe more crewmen should have been put in to be put in charge in which, 20-40 crewmen were available.

[fanofall]

I do believe thought that had the crew and officers put more emphasis on getting the passengers on the boats straight away, then more would definitely have been saved.

those reports of how many passengers stayed inside, even after the 1st lifeboat had gone etc., the crew should have add that drive to make sure the boats were loaded emmediately without delay.

[Andrew Clarkson]

I do believe though that had the crew and officers put more emphasis on getting the passengers on the boats straight away, then more would definitely have been saved.

I think a more pronounced collision might have done the trick, but not enough to cause a blind panic.

[peter stephen richard howcroft]

Hi Andrew
I was completely unaware of the info in your above thread.

what was the matter with people back in 1912?
They declare a ship unsinkable. Put enough lifeboats on it to save only half the folk on board, and put her to sea with a crew of whom only a handful were trained to lower a lifeboat.
I am completely bewildered by it all.
Christ no wonder Titanic sunk with the likes of such complacency & buffoonery
Clearly this story gets worse when I hear info like that.

1) so there was not enough lifeboats.
2) not enough crew to lower them,

I put it to you folk also that White-star continued to call there ships unsinkable has they did with the passengers aboard Britannic prior to her sinking.

Clearly none of White-stars liners were unsinkable and it was a daft godless publicity stunt to say they were and to continue to say they were while Titanic had been on the ocean floor for 6 years.

Titanic sank 1912.
Britannic sank 1918.

kind regards to all Peter Im both & Re untrained crew.

[fanofall]

Hi Andrew
I was completely unaware of the info in your above thread.

what was the matter with people back in 1912?
They declare a ship unsinkable. Put enough lifeboats on it to save only half the folk on board, and put her to sea with a crew of whom only a handful were trained to lower a lifeboat.
I am completely bewildered by it all.
Christ no wonder Titanic sunk with the likes of such complacency & buffoonery
Clearly this story gets worse when I hear info like that.

1) so there was not enough lifeboats.
2) not enough crew to lower them,

I put it to you folk also that White-star continued to call there ships unsinkable has they did with the passengers aboard Britannic prior to her sinking.

Clearly none of White-stars liners were unsinkable and it was a daft godless publicity stunt to say they were and to continue to say they were while Titanic had been on the ocean floor for 6 years.

Titanic sank 1912.
Britannic sank 1918.

kind regards to all Peter Im both & Re untrained crew.

White Star never called their ships unsinkable.

There WAS sufficient crew to lower the boats that night, the point is that there just wasnt enough time. Titanic wasnt even full, in terms of occupancy.

[Shamrock Sailor]

And Britannic was sunk in 1916.

[fanofall]

Also the majority of the crew WERE well trained, a lot of them came from other ships prior to being assigned to Titanic.

I know that some of the surviving ladies, who 'manned the oars' on 1-2 lifeboats, were quite angry that certain crew assigned to their lifeboats didnt know the first thing about how to navigate a lifeboat etc. These were mostly stewards i think. But a lot of them felt ashamed that they had left good men (pasengers) on the ship who would have done a better job.

[Andrew Clarkson]

I im new to forum so be gentle with me
what happened to titanics life boats
joe

[Andrew Clarkson]

Hi,

Welcome to the forum! A good place to start would be here;

Titanic's Lifeboats

[old salty]

That regardless to how many boats got away from Titanic. only for the assistance that came to there aid so quickly, given the temperatures and the panic and shock of these people, crew included, there may well have been no survivor's if they hadn't been fortunate enough to have been plucked from freezing conditions on the night. luckily for those who made it into a lifeboat. they were picked up relatively quick,clinker built lifeboats could sink to the gunwale's and still stay afloat. or to put it another way would not sink. the sea was very calm on the night. if there would have been a heavy swell and these boats did fill with freezing water to the gunwales, and they were exposed to those conditions for the same length of time, i dont think any of those in boats would have survived.the chap who mentioned clambering aboard an upturned lifeboat is quite right, it is very hard work indeed and i doubt weather many passengers would be fit enough to manage it, regards Salty.

[old salty]

I believe there is know such thing as a conspiracy theory in the case of anything that happens in life, its just another explanation, for something that took place, if a group of people conspire to carry out a wrong doing they are always caught out. a load of codswallop. regards Salty

[old salty]

I to have years of experience as a lookout there are two very important points to raise here. one, binoculars it was not possible to give the two lookouts binoculars,They were locked in a case on Titanics bridge and know one had a key to open the case the ship sailed without the key on board, By the time the iceberg was spotted it was pointless breaking open the case she was already destined to hit the iceberg. second, prevention is better than cure, Titanic was traveling far two fast at 23 knots, given her position and had received ice warnings as early as 9.30 pm on the tragic night.capt Smith should have reduced speed, And the event may never have taken place.Regards all Salty.

[peter stephen richard howcroft]

Hi Old Salty.
Why in Gods name did they not break open the case long prior to the collision so at least the look outs had binoculars?Common sense)this is whats makes me so irritated about Titanic is these simple little things. One of the lookout had never had a Eye test and the other had not had one in years behond recall.

Can you Imagine.

"I say you there you can not break open that case that White Star Property you wont need binoculars Man this Ships unsinkable Get back up aloft",
Im not mocking I am joking,
In ragards to Titanic Lifeboats they tested one filled with Sand bags to take the place of people before they left Belfast.

In regards to being unsinkable.
I work in large Museum in London and one of the Museums maintainance men said to me .
Im off home early tonight Pete I have things to do at home dont worry there wont be any Emergencies.

That night we had the worse flood in the Museums history where thousands of gallons of water was forced out a radiator at high pressure and there was nothiong we could do untill the Fire Brigade turned up.
Never say anything that may tempt fate.

[Dave Gittins]

The locked case in the crow's nest is a recent invention. The truth is in the 1912 testimony.

There was a box in the crow's nest that could be used for anything the lookouts liked to have, such as spare clothing. Archie Jewell testified that when he first went on watch he opened the box to see if there were any binoculars in it. He found none.

To cut a long story short, the lookouts were eventually told there were no binoculars for them. The original second officer, David Blair, had seen fit to lend the lookouts his binoculars on the way to Southampton. They were returned to his cabin by a seaman named Weller. The new second officer, LIghtoller, had the use of them.

The company provided five pairs of binoculars. Captain Smith had one pair. The senior officers had three pairs. Another pair was kept on the bridge for anybody who liked to use them.

It's all in the sworn testimony.