Chalkie
Member
So Near Yet So Far Away
Captain Edward Smith ordered the first lifeboats on the Titanic to be lowered on the ship’s port side as he felt the ship closest to the doomed vessel and located just off the bow of Titanic, (widely believed to be the Californian under the command of Captain Stanley Lord), was close enough for some crew members to row over to, drop passengers off, and then row back to pick up some more. The lights of the Californian were visible from Titanic's lifeboats throughout the night and one lifeboat is known to have rowed towards them, but never seemed to get any closer. Indeed, at the subsequent United States Senate Committee inquiry which commenced on 19th April 1912, the day the Californian arrived in Boston, Massachusetts survivors from the Titanic disaster recalled seeing the lights of another ship that was spotted after Titanic had hit the iceberg. However, at the US Senate Committee Inquiry it was discovered that Fourth Officer Boxhall of the Titanic attempted signaling the Californian with a Morse lamp, but received no response.
Did You Know That?
The MMSA (Mercantile Marine Service Association), a union to which Captain Lord belonged, presented petitions to the UK Government in 1965 and 1968 but failed to reverse the findings of the original Inquiries into the Titanic disaster which were critical of Lord’s inaction after Titanic struck the iceberg.
Captain Edward Smith ordered the first lifeboats on the Titanic to be lowered on the ship’s port side as he felt the ship closest to the doomed vessel and located just off the bow of Titanic, (widely believed to be the Californian under the command of Captain Stanley Lord), was close enough for some crew members to row over to, drop passengers off, and then row back to pick up some more. The lights of the Californian were visible from Titanic's lifeboats throughout the night and one lifeboat is known to have rowed towards them, but never seemed to get any closer. Indeed, at the subsequent United States Senate Committee inquiry which commenced on 19th April 1912, the day the Californian arrived in Boston, Massachusetts survivors from the Titanic disaster recalled seeing the lights of another ship that was spotted after Titanic had hit the iceberg. However, at the US Senate Committee Inquiry it was discovered that Fourth Officer Boxhall of the Titanic attempted signaling the Californian with a Morse lamp, but received no response.
Did You Know That?
The MMSA (Mercantile Marine Service Association), a union to which Captain Lord belonged, presented petitions to the UK Government in 1965 and 1968 but failed to reverse the findings of the original Inquiries into the Titanic disaster which were critical of Lord’s inaction after Titanic struck the iceberg.
