Hi Sam, not to put you on the spot, do you a have a feeling how far one could of seen any lights in miles, that if it was the Titanic?
I hate to say it the same question for Jim to, or any another seamen as well.
The only way anyone could be sure the vessel being seen was the
Titanic at almost any range, would have been if her side was broad-on or nearly broad-on to the observer.
Observing a normal ship at a distance and approaching is difficult if you are depending only on the visibility of her navigation lights. However, you should all keep in mind that the Olympic class vessels were the biggest, most brightly lit vessel on the ocean at that time. Apprentice Gibson described what an ordinary passenger ship looked like at night:
"I have seen nearly all the large passenger boats out at sea, and there was nothing at all about it to resemble a passenger boat. A passenger boat is generally lit up from the water's edge."
If any of you have ever seen a passenger ship at sea at night, you will immediately recognise what Gibson was describing. However, there was an extra bonus withe the Olympic boats...they had no less than five (5) rows of portholes on the side, which extended forward of and below, the masthead light, the red side light and the main deck to sea level.
Many of the forward cabins would have been in darkness before impact with the berg, but many... particularly in mess rooms and crew quarters... would be lit. The lit ones would be visible at about the same time the coloured sidelights were seen. After impact, the whole hull would be lit like a Xmas tree.
To answer your question: A passenger ship like
Titanic approaching the stopped
Californian on such a night, would have been very obvious at to those on
Californian's upper bridge, 11 minutes before she stopped. That is when the lowest row of lit portholes on the starboard bow would have been visible.
Incidentally, Captain Lord said he saw the nearby vessel approaching from a lower deck and saw her green light after 11 pm. He guessed it was about 7 miles away. If that ship had been
Titanic, he saw it at 11-22 pm, 8 minutes before she stopped. At that time there would be no possibility of mistaking a ship like
Titanic and even a half- blind beggar would have seen her starkly at 4 miles away when she did stop. To suggest otherwise is ridiculously absurd to say the least.
Does the foregoing help to clear the air?