Day 6 - April 15th, 2012 - Sunday - The Day After TITANIC

"I imagine for so many on CARPATHIA it would have been a surreal, dreamlike state, unable to fathom what they just survived. The previous hours must have seemed like some sort of waking nightmare."

Literally this day has been a fog.  Besides getting very little sleep, the emotional exhaustion of last night has taken a toll.  The general mood around the ship has been somber. Lots of reflection. Much of the conversation among the guests has been sharing of what each person experienced. The reflections of what those souls endured a century ago. 

I spent a good chunk of Sunday writing down my thoughts and account of last night. My mind would wander off to a moment here or there, the sounds of the Marconi Signal recreated, the blast of the ship horns.. the sound of the water lapping the sides of our ship in the dark..the haunting music. I found it very difficult to concentrate.  


That evening the cruise staff entertainers, led by the wonderful vocal talents of our Cruise Director Tony Markey, presented a truly sensational mini Broadway/West End musical review. Featured numbers included LES MIS, RENT, CHICAGO, HAIRSPRAY and more.  The quality of the performances was truly professional and not the usual watered down cruise ship fare. Every performer dazzled, included a show stopping finale with our Cruise Director coming out in drag as Edna Turnblad to YOU CAN’T STOP THE BEAT.  Some may think this sort of presentation would have seemed inappropriate during a memorial voyage of this nature, but in all honesty I think everyone on board needed this mush appreciated infusion of life and joy to bring us back to present day.


But there was no way to forget why we are all here. Reflecting on this day 100 years ago, the survivors of TITANIC would be on CARPATHIA following the same New York bound track as we are on now. They would have almos four full days at sea, not arriving in New York in the pouring rain until late on April 18th, the same date we will arrived back at the West Side Pier. 




We had a much warmer day today with clear blue skies, in stark contrast to the freezing night before. I believe the CARPATHIA also experienced better weather and I could not help but look out at the  frothy wake behind us, feeling the warmth of the sun beaming across the dark blue waves and wonder what these survivors must have been thinking. The photos are faded black and white, but the sea and sky would be just as blue and the sun just as warm in 1912. 

I imagine for so many on CARPATHIA it would have been a surreal, dreamlike state, unable to fathom what they just survived. The previous hours must have seemed like some sort of waking nightmare. Even though so many knew they had lost husbands, children, wives, could they have still held on to the belief that maybe their loved one’s were still somehow on another lifeboat somewhere that was missed? Could their beloved family members be clinging somewhere to a piece of wood yet unfound? Maybe stranded on the ice floes? Without instant electronic data beaming through cyberspace, there was no way to be certain as of yet. How much hope did these people hold on to?  And they would have several days to contemplate these events. 


Coming soon, the remarkable presentations by Ken Marschall with his very personal and unique look at TITANIC during our last days at Sea before arriving back in New York.

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.