Rescue Boats - 9/11 & Titanic Connection

“C.Q.D” was the initial and internationally accepted distress call sent out by the White Star Liner TITANIC the evening of April 14th 1912. “C.Q.” is a preface indicating “All Ships/All Stations” or “General Call” alerting other vessels and receiving stations that the message is of great urgency.  The next letter “D” meant “Distress”.  There have been misconceptions that CQD meant “Come Quick Distress” and, although the ultimate interpretation would be the same, this simply was not the case. This code was adopted by the Marconi Company in 1904 for the concise purpose of seeking urgent assistance.

The more familiar “SOS” was originally adopted in 1905, signed as a new Worldwide standard by the second International Radiotelegraphic Convention in 1906, becoming effective on July 1, 1908.  To some, “SOS” may bring to mind the ABBA chart topping song with images of Frida and Agnetha in outlandish 70's costumes.. or perhaps Meryl Streep writhing on the roof of a greek cottage in Mamma Mia. "Oh, Ms. Streep...!" Others may assume SOS meant “Save Our Ship” or “Save Our Souls”, however as with CQD these digits are simple morse code dots and dashes with an international recognition.  SOS was still accepted until 1999 when it was replaced by the Global Maritime Distress Safety System, which takes advantage of modern communications and satellite operations. No one, however, would misinterpret a call of SOS.

Cunard Liner CARPATHIA

That cold but crystal clear night in 1912 dozens of ships altered their course to make a direct line for TITANIC.  History bears witness to the Cunard Liner CARPATHIA who was the first to arrive on the scene at 4:00am, racing at top speed through massive fields of ice, carefully maneuvering and dodging icebergs all the way.  By 8:30am CARPATHIA, guided by the skilled hands of Captain Arthur Henry Rostron, had picked up the last survivors of TITANIC, plus lifeboats, and was already turning back towards New York. The Leyland Liner CALIFORNIAN, located mere miles away and still today under a cloud of controversy, arrived at the scene of the disaster just as CARPATHIA was nearly done with the rescue.

TITANIC's sister ship OLYMPIC

TITANIC’s sister ship OLYMPIC was steaming to the rescue until a message came from White Star Line chairman J Bruce Ismay on CARPATHIA saying the TITANIC survivors should not see an exact duplicate of TITANIC. It was agreed that the sight of the sister ship would be too much to bear after the horrors they all had experienced. Convinced that nothing more could be done, OLYMPIC continued on her original course.  


Other ships in the general vicinity include the BALTIC, MOUNT TEMPLE, PARISIAN, VIRGINIAN, ASIAN, BIRMA, CINCINNATI and FRANKFURT.

Via Facebook a friend had sent me a link to a recent 11 minute documentary called BOATLIFT, narrated by Tom Hanks. This short film tells the deeply emotional story of all the various boats on 9/11 that came to the rescue as hundreds of thousands sought to evacuate lower Manhattan as the twin towers crumbled in a massive storm of fire and concrete dust.   Hanks points out that this heroic modern day maritime operation evacuated over 500,000 souls, larger that the famous Dunkirk evacuation when over 300,000 soldiers were rescued during World War II.

I could not help but think of the parallels of these rescue boats of September 11, 2001 and the night of April 14/15 1912.  The humanity was the same, the need to help, the fear of the unknown, and a desire to survive.  I have included a link to this moving documentary. If you don’t have time to watch it now, please bookmark the clip and be sure to catch it later.