Captain Smith Believed Titanic To Be Unsinkable

[Arun Vajpey]

As some here have previously stated the question is how accurate were the quotes being reported

Precisely. For example, Andrews could have been saying that the Titanic could remain afloat with the first 3 watertight compartments flooded but to the untrained listeners or feckless reporters it could have meant that the ship could have split into 3 parts and remained afloat.

 

[Steven Christian]

I have read that certain small merchant vessels designated as refrigeration ships in the 1940s and 50s were practically unsinkable because of the amount of cork lining they had. One such was the famous (or infamous, depending on the way you look at it) MV Joyita which disappeared on the night of 3rd-4th October 1955 in the South Pacific, only to be found adrift over a month later on 10th November with the entire crew and passenger complement missing. Its bilge and lower decks were flooded due to a substantial leak and the boat had a heavy port list but had drifted for 4 weeks without sinking. Apparently, due to the cork lining in the hold the boat was actually unsinkable.

Interesting. Never heard of her before. Had to go look her up. Sounds like pirates to me. But I guess still a mystery.

MV Joyita: The Ghost Ship that Couldn’t Sink - Historic Mysteries

In 1955, the MV Joyita disappeared in the South Pacific. Five weeks later she was found, but without her crew. What happened on board and where did they go?

www.historicmysteries.com

 

[Arun Vajpey]

Interesting. Never heard of her before. Had to go look her up. Sounds like pirates to me. But I guess still a mystery.

I first read about the Joyita in 1975 in the Readers' Digest publication Strange Stories, Amazing Facts. That book got me interested in several historical mysteries that I still look-up. I already knew about a few like the Oak Island Mystery, Mallory & Irvine's 1924 Everest attempt, Mary Celeste etc but the book inspired me into others like MV Joyita, Kaspar Hauser, the 1889 Paris Exposition disappearance, Paula Welden & the Long Trail etc.

Incidentally, or rather coincidentally, after its "disappearance" for over a month, the Joyita was found drifting on 10th November 1955, the day I was born.

 

[Steven Christian]

Precisely. For example, Andrews could have been saying that the Titanic could remain afloat with the first 3 watertight compartments flooded but to the untrained listeners or feckless reporters it could have meant that the ship could have split into 3 parts and remained afloat.

"untrained listeners"...I guess that would be me to some extent. I didn't know having never been in the journalism field that the people who write the articles don't usually write the headlines of the articles. Thats why the headlines that some say only 80% read don't often line up with what's actually in the article. Editors write the headlines. They'er high enough in the food chain to be bought off. Cheers.

 

[Arun Vajpey]

"untrained listeners"...I guess that would be me to some extent

I did not mean it that way. What I was saying was that people often hear what they want to hear. A worried passenger listening to Andrews wants to be reassured whereas a journalist looking for a story will want to sensationalize anything he/she hears.

 

[Steven Christian]

I did not mean it that way. What I was saying was that people often hear what they want to hear. A worried passenger listening to Andrews wants to be reassured whereas a journalist looking for a story will want to sensationalize anything he/she hears.

Ok. I got what you said. Maybe I should have said "untrained readers too". Cheers.