Bill Miller Interview - Part II

"This is not the 92nd anniversary, this is the 100th anniversary where we are going right to the very spot where it happened. "

In Part 2 of my interview with Maritime Historian and Author Bill Miller, “MR. OCEAN LINER”, we continued to discuss the the Costa CONCORDIA incident and then talked more about our upcoming voyage on the AZAMARA JOURNEY to the site of the TITANIC disaster on the 100th Anniversary of her sinking. Below is a preview clip from MR OCEAN LINER - The Life And Times of Bill Miller, available online from www.MrOceanLiner.com

RNM - So Bill,  we talked about what has changed in light of the CONCORDIA accident. What do you think has NOT changed in 100 years since TITANIC?


BM - It's a combination of the mechanical and the human element, just like any form of transport -  hideous accidents can occur and today a ship can sink, just as we've seen with the CONCORDIA or other disasters that have occurred within the last last 50/60 years or so. Also, the fact that human error will continue until the very end of time. There will always be that element of miscalculation, simple mistakes, simple things that could have been so easily avoided. Not even a major or highly technical area, just simple things.  This will always be the case and that has not changed.  So, although ships are no longer being described as “unsinkable,” they are still - just like the TITANIC was - very subject to the elements and all the things that go with travel and voyages.


RNM - What do you think you're looking forward to most about this upcoming TITANIC 100th Anniversary sailing?


BM - I'm looking forward to two things:  One, it's taking part in what I consider to be a very historic event. This is wonderful for someone like me because it's useful for future writings,  for lectures.  It’s taking part in a pivotal event, something that's very significant.  This is not the 92nd anniversary, this is the 100TH anniversary where we are going right to the very spot where it happened.  The second part is participating with all the fellow speakers and passengers who are all all interested in the topic.  It's sort of like going to the bowling club - You don't have to ask “Do you bowl?” You know they bowl! They are all there for that reason, so we all share, in an indirect or direct way, an interest in ocean liners and TITANIC. So, to spend 8 days with them I think is fascinating.


RNM - What do you think you will take away from this voyage?


BM - The memory of being there and experiencing this event.  You know,  I can't predict how I will feel 11:40 at night, or over the spot at 2:20 am when we are standing on the deck. It might be chilly,  just as it was 100 years ago. In a way it’s going back, but at the same time bringing it forward. I'll always be able to say I was somehow directly connected the TITANIC because I was on the 100th anniversary cruise.  So I think that's what I'll bring back. It’s also a kind of spiritual feeling, perhaps, and as I said earlier the connection to it will intensify.  Commodore Ronald Warwick [of the QE2 and Queen Mary 2] told me that when he went down in the diving submersible he felt so much closer to the whole thing because he was right there next to the wreckage... next to the TITANIC on the bottom of the Atlantic. I'm not going down to the bottom, but this will be getting as close as most ordinary folks can get by being on the very site, on the very moment, 100 years later.


RNM - Would you want to go down in a submersible to TITANIC if you could? Would you go?

BM - I would go, yes.  I would certainly go.  I'm not an adventurer, someone who would hike up the Himalayas or jump out of planes,  but I would take a chance and go because of the value of doing something like that would be tremendous. Think of the experience!  You can relay that to others through lectures and writing. I think it would be very fascinating and I’d make a big issue about it if I went down. I'd make a big issue of telling people about it.


RNM - Many have commented over the years that many similar elements and artifacts from TITANIC’s time are in existence today because of her sister ship OLYMPIC - much of the same  woodwork,  the design, plus other historical items of that era, clothing, dishes,  memorabilia.  Peoples ask “Why do we need to go to TITANIC?” when most everything that was on TITANIC can be found elsewhere.  What are your thoughts on this?

(Cristoforo Columbo 1st Class Lounge Source: Brochure)

BM - I suppose when it comes down to the bottom line it's because it's not the real McCoy.  Some items exist from the OLYMPIC, but it's the items directly connected to the TITANIC that people want.  They push the envelope a little further, I think.  If someone had a chair from the CRISTOFORO COLOMBO, the sister of the ANDREA DORIA, they might say “Well it's not from the ANDREA DORIA ... that's the ship I wanted it from.” Some people want exactly the real thing. Some would be quite happy with something from the OLYMPIC or the COLOMBO, but many people want the real thing.”

RNM - Any closing thoughts?

BM - It's now about three weeks before the voyage and I can feel my own sense of excitement mounting. I'm looking forward to it. It will be special, unique.  And, it’s because I'm doing three special trips this year -  the second is the Queen's Jubilee sailing on the QUEEN MARY 2 and the QUEEN ELIZABETH. Then P&O's 175th anniversary in July when their seven liners all sail from Southampton all at the same time.  So, I feel I'm very lucky this year to participate in the top three ocean liner events. This is a year of celebrations. I feel, not in the same way as the Titanic which is much more spiritual and emotional, but I feel connected with these pivotal links to ships and other aspects their history. It intensifies the link to these sorts of things.   Plus we will relay this, share it, get new insights into TITANIC from people on board like Ken Marschall, John Langley, and Günter Bäbler, others like that.  People can look forward to scribblings, future writings.  I will write about it. I’ll be able speak more afterwards through my lectures, perhaps in book form. To tell the story with clarity, once I've been there, and then bring it to the podium or with a word processor.


RNM - I want to thank Bill Miller, once again, for his time and wonderful insights. There will be much more to come as we get closer to the April 10th 2012 departure of AZAMARA JOURNEY from the New York West Side piers and as we set sail on a course to rendezvous with history.