Where were they rowing to?

[Elena Avila]

I didn't see this question posed yet. I've been wondering where they were rowing to in the lifeboats? Why did some boats focus on rowing, maybe to keep warm? Or trying to find help? Or perhaps get far away from the scene of the sinking? It seems that the boats that rowed a lot were some of the last to be rescued... probably because they were further away from the Titanic and thus futher away from the rescue point.

 

[Samuel Halpern]

Many were rowing toward the light of a vessel seen off Titanic's port bow.

 

[Mike Spooner]

Many rowing for a ship light about 5 miles away had plan to drop off the passengers and row back. Which quite frankly would of taken hours to the point Titanic had sunk. To find a ship with no lights now in the pitch dark and no compass, was truly a mission imposable.

 

[Samuel Halpern]

Many rowing for a ship light about 5 miles away had plan to drop off the passengers and row back. Which quite frankly would of taken hours to the point Titanic had sunk. To find a ship with no lights now in the pitch dark and no compass, was truly a mission imposable.

Yes, what was the esteemed Capt. Smith thinking about?

 

[Arun Vajpey]

Many rowing for a ship light about 5 miles away had plan to drop off the passengers and row back.

The lights (of the Californian) were more like 12 miles away. Even if all those who could row had tired their hardest, I think it would have taken at least 4 hours just to reach the other ship. Of course, that's only theory because there is no way even the fittest rower could have kept up for that long; in reality, had they tried it it would have taken them a lot longer.

So, if the very first lifeboat lowered, Lifeboat #7 at 12:40am or so had rowed straigt for the lights, they would only have reached the Californian around 5am theoretical Titanic time. By then the Titanic itself would have been at the bottom of the Atlantic for over 2 hours and all those not in a lifeboat would have been dead.

It does seem very odd that Captain Smith should have ordered his crew to perform such an impossible task. I have wondered if he actually told them to row towards the light and nothng more but the crew misunderstood the order to be "to the lights and back"? I mean, they had to row somewhere and so under the circumstances the most logical place would have been towards the other ship.

 

[Samuel Halpern]

The lights (of the Californian) were more like 12 miles away.

But it had the appearance of being much closer, and appearances is all they knew about the lights that were seen.

I mean, they had to row somewhere and so under the circumstances the most logical place would have been towards the other ship.

No they didn't have to row somewhere. Why row away from the place where a distress call would have been sent from? That would have been the surest way not to be found when rescue vessels arrive. Titanic was firing distress signals which had to be (and in fact were) seen by this apparently stationary vessel. Yet, this vessel showed no interest in coming to the aid of the stricken liner, but Smith had been informed by the W/Os that vessels were coming. Smith was not thinking too clearly when he sent those less than half filled boats away.

 

[Steven Christian]

I'm sure some of it was they wanted put some distance away from the ship because some knew what was coming. They were afraid of getting swamped by people in the water. I know it has been portrayed in various movies. Whether that was openly discussed in the boats at the time I'm not sure of. But I would guess the crew members in the boats knew what was about to happen.

 

[Samuel Halpern]

I'm sure some of it was they wanted put some distance away from the ship because some knew what was coming. They were afraid of getting swamped by people in the water. I know it has been portrayed in various movies. Whether that was openly discussed in the boats at the time I'm not sure of. But I would guess the crew members in the boats knew what was about to happen.

Afraid of suction was offered up many times as to why they rowed away from the ship instead of remaining very close by..
Afraid of being swamped was the excuse for not going back after the ship foundered.

 

[Steven Christian]

Afraid of suction was offered up many times as to why they rowed away from the ship instead of remaining very close by..
Afraid of being swamped was the excuse for not going back after the ship foundered.

That was an excuse that was given but doesn't mean they believed it. Sounds better than we didn't want to take the chance rescuing fellow passengers if it put us in danger.

 

[Mike Spooner]

Question: If rowing away and the Carpathia ship didn't turn up, what was the next nearest ship that might of come to there rescue?

 

[Samuel Halpern]

Question: If rowing away and the Carpathia ship didn't turn up, what was the next nearest ship that might of come to there rescue?

Carpathia accidentally found the boats coming up from the SE. All others who later showed up close came from the western side of the icefield. They all were heading for a location 13 miles from where the boats were. Mount Temple came to a stop on the western side several miles to the north around 4:30.

 

[Mike Spooner]

Carpathia accidentally found the boats coming up from the SE. All others who later showed up close came from the western side of the icefield. They all were heading for a location 13 miles from where the boats were. Mount Temple came to a stop on the western side several miles to the north around 4:30.

How lucky they where indeed.