ICEBERGS!

"April 2nd’s chart show as many as 32 bergs in a quadrant right off the coast of Newfoundland, with a stray berg heading rather far South to 45 N."

One of the multiple reasons CARPATHIA Captain Arthur Henry Rostron decided to head directly to New York with the TITANIC survivors, rather than the closer city of Halifax, was due to the vast spread of ice that would be seen between the Canadian port and the rescue location.  Rostron felt it would be excessively traumatic for the survivors to see any more icebergs and ice floes than necessary.  A northward track would only go deeper into the ice. 




In contemplating the route of this upcoming TITANIC 100th Anniversary Memorial cruise on the Azamara Journey I started to wonder what ice conditions would be like for us in 2012, one hundred years later.  On a standard Great Circle Route between New York and Southampton ships can simply alter their course further south, if necessary, to avoid icebergs.  We, however, are purposely going to Halifax, then direct to TITANIC’s final resting spot of 41°43'57"N, 49°56'49"W, then back to New York.  If icebergs drift south this time of year, there would be no alternate route as we must be at a very specific location! 

A little research brought me to a fascinating Canadian website  http://ice-glaces.ec.gc.ca/ Canadian Ice Service  with endless data about ice coverage, icebergs and weather conditions throughout Canada’s navigable waters.  There you can see overview charts of where ice has spread and then click on regions for a closer look.  In addition, there is a special daily chart that illustrates in latitude and longitudinal squares an analysis of how many icebergs are within each grid.  There is a marked overall range limit for ice sightings.  April 2nd’s chart show as many as 32 bergs in a quadrant right off the coast of Newfoundland, with a stray berg heading rather far South to 45 N. This is still quite a distance away from TITANIC’s location, but there are still almost two weeks left to go until the anniversary when several ships will gather. 

Icebergs are each very unique, however there are some basic descriptive types: "Pinnacle" icebergs have a more mountainous appearance with sharp points or peaks. A "Drydock" iceberg may have two or more heads  above water with a center submerged area creating a lagoon or central area resembling a ship dry dock.  "Wedge" icebergs may be simply a giant wedge of ice with a sharp edge looming out of the sea. "Tabular" icebergs may have a large flat top with steep sides, typically these are massive chunks of ice that break away from ice shelves. 

Supposedly, this is the iceberg that TITANIC hit.

From various witness reports the iceberg that supposedly collided with TITANIC was a non-tabular, possibly  pinnacle type berg.  Some thought that a sailing ship was going past at a close distance because of three distinct peaks, one smaller on the left and right, with a taller peak in the middle which looked like the masts of a boat.  The following day, other witnesses claim that a berg matching this description had scrapings of red paint bearing the battle scars of an incursion. 


Personally, I think it would be incredible to see real icebergs. Even J Bruce Ismay testified that he had never in his life seen icebergs prior to the morning of April 15th 1912. However, no doubt everyone on board these anniversary voyages would be more comfortable if any drifting ice was at a very safe distance.  No one wants a repeat of the horrors from a century before.