The passenger and propeller

[Adam McGuirk]

Hey i was just wondering, according to survivors who were on the stern such as the baker is it true that a man jumped off the stern of the titanic and hit the propeller on the way down or is that something cameron just decided to add in there?
thanks

 

[Michael H. Standart]

I don't think there's really any way of knowing. The movie was just that...a movie...and there was quite a bit of dramatic license involved. About the only thing I can say was that if somebody fell off and hit the propellor, he wouldn't have noticed hitting the ocean.

Cordially,
Michael H. Standart

 

[Ben Holme]

It is known that assistant storekeeper Cyril Ricks jumped off the stern as it rose into the air for the last time following the breaking of the ship. Frank Prentice, who jumped immediately afterwards, disovered Ricks unconscious on the surface. It is possible that he struck a propeller, but a more likely explanation would be that he hit a piece of floating debris. Prentice stayed with his friend until he died. His body was later recovered, #100.

Whether Cameron was actually depicting Ricks is another matter...

Best Regards,
Ben

 

[Adam McGuirk]

thanks alot, i was just curioius,
Adam

 

[Daniel Klistorner]

I can't remember where I read or heard this, but recent research has shown that the Titanic's stern did not reach much more than 12 degrees during the sinking. So, Cameron's 45 plus was certainly incorrect in the movie, and thus it may have been unlikely in reality that anyone hit the propeller at all.

 

[Ben Holme]

Hi Daniel,

As I mentioned above, it is my understanding that Prentice and Ricks jumped *after* the ship split, i.e when the stern began to rise almost vertically into the air. The angle, at that stage, would have been significantly greater than 45 degrees, making the propeller a lethal obstruction to jumpers.

I agree, though, that Cameron's angle *before* the split was to great, although based on Abelseth's observations of passengers sliding down the tilting decks (Abelseth himself was forced to grab hold of an empty davit rope), I'm inclined to believe that it was more than 12 degrees.

Besr Regards,
Ben

 

[Sally Rothschild]

My dear Ben,

My feelings are somewhat divided on such a fascinating subject. Abelseth was indeed inclined to make such suggestions but it is my firm belief that they were not always justified. For example, according to a certain second class passenger (whose name has temporarily flown the nest of my memory!!!!!!!!) Abelseth was found in a drunken stupour on the poop deck. He had purportedly been sipping vapious quantities of absinth, smuggled in illegally.

Hope this of use

Best regards

Sally R

 

[Ben Holme]

Hello Sally,

Interesting. Peronally, I have never heard such a story, but I guess it could be true. I'd appreciate further details on this. The only real quibble I have with 2nd class passenger accounts of the sloping poop deck is that practically all of their claims to have survived in the water, with the exception of William Mellor who was nowhere near the poop, are incredibly dubious (see "Plucked From the Sea" under ET Articles). The only "poop-deck" survivors who had, by their own admission, consumed alcochol in order to increase their chances of survival were Baker Charles Joughin and Storekeeper Frank Prentice.

Abelseth's account is reinforced by the observations of others. Jack Thayer, close to the scene on overturned collapsibe B, was wary of being drawn toward the pivoting stern, and observed people falling "in masses, pairs or singly, as the after part of the ship rose into the sky" - or somethin to that effect. My apologies for not having the exact quotation at hand.

Hope this helps,

Regards,
Ben