97 Anniversary

Today is the 97th Anniversary of the Titanic's last day. According to my clock now, it's around 9:00 P.M. By now, some passengers would have retired to bed while the men in 1st class would have gone to the smoking room playing cards, smoking, drinking brandy, and talking about politics. In 2nd class, men would have been doing the same or in their cabins. Lawrence Beasely was reading in his cabin. In 3rd class, there would have been some dancing, music, and men would have played cards while smoking. The women probably would have sat on the benches talking while the children were dancing and playing. There is one account that says that a mouse ran across the floor which caused the women to scream and stand on the benches while the boys tried to catch it. At 11:40 P.M., Fredrick Fleet (a survivor) spotted an iceberg directly in the Titanic's path. He rang the bell and called the bridge. 6th officer James Moody (who perished) answered the phone and relayed the report to 1st officer Murdoch (who also perished), in charge of the bridge during that time. The ship tried to swing towards port and just as it looked like Titanic would clear it, it struck putting holes in the 6 compartments when it could only take damage to 4 compartments. This meant that the weight of the water would drag the Titanic down, spilling into the next compartment. After they realized the ship was doomed, they ordered the boats swung out. All the boats except for two were lowered. The two collapsibles on top of the officer's quarters. The water swept up as the boats came crashing down on the deck. Collapsible B was overturned and A was swamped. These two boats would save around 25-30. Soon after, the 1st funnel fell on men including the richest man on the ship, John Jacob Astor. After that, the heart of the ship, the Grand Staircase flooded. This was at 2:10 A.M. The 2nd funnel disappears underwater later to fall. The stern rose up, and then the lights went out, flickered, and went out for all eternity. The stern detached between the 3rd and 4th funnel and fell back almost even. The bow still a little attached to the stern, pulled the stern under. The stern was almost perpendicular like a finger pointing to heaven. Then, the stern very slowly disappeared from sight at 2:20 A.M. leaving 1,500 people in pitched dark and in the icy 28 degree waters. 705 people were in the lifeboats listening to the horrific cries as people died and only one came back 20 minutes later to save only 4 people.

Titanic Documentaries

Deep Inside Titanic 1

Deep Inside Titanic 2

Deep Inside Titanic 3

Deep Inside Titanic 4

Deep Inside Titanic 5


Titanic: The Legend Lives On 1

Titanic: The Legend Lives On 2

Titanic: The Legend Lives On 3

Titanic: The Legend Lives On 4

Titanic: The Legend Lives On 5

Titanic: The Legend Lives On 6

Titanic: The Legend Lives On 7

Titanic: The Legend Lives On 8

Titanic: The Legend Lives On 9

Titanic: The Legend Lives On 10

Titanic: The Legend Lives On 11

Titanic: The Legend Lives On 12

Titanic: The Legend Lives On 13

Titanic: The Legend Lives On 14

Titanic: The Legend Lives On 15

Titanic: The Legend Lives On 16

Titanic: The Legend Lives On 17

Titanic: The Legend Lives On 18

Titanic: The Legend Lives On 19

Titanic: The Legend Lives On 20


Last Mysteries of the Titanic 1

Last Mysteries of the Titanic 2

Last Mysteries of the Titanic 3

Last Mysteries of the Titanic 4

Last Mysteries of the Titanic 5

Last Mysteries of the Titanic 6

Last Mysteries of the Titanic 7

Last Mysteries of the Titanic 8

Last Mysteries of the Titanic 9


Last Secret of the Titanic 1

Last Secrets of the Titanic 2

Last Secrets of the Titanic 3

Last Secrets of the Titanic 4

Last Secrets of the Titanic 5

Last Secrets of the Titanic 6

Titanic Untold Stories 1

Titanic Untold Stories 2

Titanic Untold Stories 3

Titanic Untold Stories 4

Titanic Untold Stories 5

Titanic Untold Stories 6

Is the Titanic Disappearing?

Sadly, yes. The Titanic is already collapsing even as we are sitting here, and there's nothing we can do about it. The rust covered hull is slowly being eaten away by bacteria, and it eventually it'll be an orange spot on the bottom. The stern will no doubt, be the first to go. A-Deck where the Cafe Veranda once was has already collapsed, and there is increasing pressure on the superstructure. In the bow, the crow's nest that held Fredrick Fleet high above the decks is now gone, probably fallen into the cargo hold over which it fell with the mast. The mast itself is crumpling, and starting to collapse. The walls that were partially collapsed when discovered, are flat on what's left of the deck and you can see into the Captain's living quarters and the few remains of the chart room. The area around the Grand Staircase is mangled and collapsing because there have been too many submersibles landing on the weakening decks, and the decks all over are starting to collapse because of not only the years of lying on the bottom, but because there have been too many submersibles landing on them. We are speeding up the process of the Titanic's destruction, and there must be less visits to the legendary vessel, in order to slow the process. The sediment is fine, but the actual hull is going to be gone if we don't do something. Once the Titanic gone, it's gone and it won't be coming back ever again.

My Own Ocean Voyage

In 2004, my mother, brothers, and father sailed from Seattle, Washington, to different places in Alaska. Our ship was named the M.S. Amsterdam of the Holland American Line (a branch off of Carnival Line which owns Cunard). When the ship set sail, we didn't even feel the ship moving. The ship was beautiful with a nice staircase, of which had paintings on the landings (like the Grand Staircase on the TITANIC). We had a lifeboat drill around half an hour after we set sail. The lifejackets were bright orange, and they were not very well designed to be strapped to your person, especially in a short period of time. When we ate dinner, the dining room was a nice place with assigned seating, green carpet with elegant designs, and huge windows where we could look out to sea. In the middle of the room, was an opening that looked over the lower level of the dining room. Our cabins weren't very big. They had a double bed in the main room, and the hallway near the entrance had a bathroom and a closet. When-ever we ate breakfast, we ate in a room with a bar. It too had huge windows, and it opened up to the for-castle deck. It kinda reminded me of the Veranda Cafe. There were many decks and once, and I ran down all the decks in the stern and saw the engines. The engines were huge, seeming to tower around two stories. The voyage was nice, and we saw a few mountain goats occasionally. There was an observation platform, where we spent our mornings looking for sea-life. We did see a porpoise. One night, we went to see a magic show in the theatre. On the way there, we went up a nice staircase that had what looked like silver squares on the wall. Beside the stairway was a towering, 3 story clock that had a beautiful mural on the ceiling, surrounding it. The theatre was pretty good, and the magic tricks were all stunning of course. At Glacier Bay, we saw many icebergs and sometimes run over or hit them. Rough weather rocked the ship, and sent large waves across the ship's front decks. There were 5 pools. One was indoors, but the roof could open which let in sunlight. After a week of sailing, we arrived back in Seattle, Washington.

Discovery!

Today, September 2, is the anniversary of the discovery by Dr. Robert Ballard in 1975. They were up in the middle of the night looking at sediment for hours, hoping for some evidence of the fabled liner, TITANIC. Then, they started seeing small pieces of coal and rubble. Finally, they see something recognizable as belonging to the TITANIC. It was one of the massive, 29 boilers. They followed a trail of debris, until they saw the huge hull. It was rust-covered, and it was a little disoriented, but it was clearly recognizable. They monitored the ship's hull, and decks until some twisted metal that lead to nothing. In all the excitement of finding the wreck after 85 years of lying in complete darkness, one man looked at the clock on the wall and noted that it was near 2:20 which was around the time that the TITANIC sank on April 14. They held a brief moment of silence for the 1,500 people that bravely went to their deaths. The wreck had been found and the unknown stories were resurrected again. A lot of questions have been answered, and a lot of questions have been asked. One of the most important, was that the ship broke apart, which was under huge debate. There's many questions still answered, that were made. For instance, what happened to the Grand Staircase? It had gone down six flights, and now there's a gaping hole. We now know a lot about people's lives on board, and what she looks like today, with little hints and touches of elegance.

R.M.S. TITANIC vs. Titanic Movie

Here are just a few differences between the movie Titanic of 1997 and the real TITANIC:


1. The Grand Staircase:
The movie made the Grand Staircase almost perfectly except for the lower banister which was made bigger. In the real TITANIC, two people could barely go up it side by side. The movie made the dome above it collapse when all of my calculations say that the water met the dome inside at the same time the water met it outside. Plus, I don't think that the windows imploded until the ship reached the bottom.

2. The Dining Room:
The movie made the set smaller than the actual ship. The real TITANIC could support up to 554 passengers in the Dining Room. No glass was broken because when researchers went into the Dining Room, the windows were there in almost perfect condition.

3. Rose/Straus Suite:
In the movie, they added an extra room which contained a safe. In the real TITANIC, the Straus Suite had two bedrooms (like in the movie), a private bathroom, a sitting room (like in the movie), and a privately enclosed 50 foot long promenade deck. Instead of a Pablo Picasso painting, there was a mirror (Pablo was not as popular back then and his work was not widely distributed).

4. Jack Dawson and Rose Bukater
There is a J. Dawson but he was actually named James Dawson and he was a lamp trimmer and stoker. There was no Rose Bukater on the TITANIC.

5. The Heart of the Ocean
There is and was no Heart of the Ocean. There is however a Hope Diamond which looks very similar. It now rests in the Smithsonian and is said to be cursed.

6. The 1st class Smoking Room:
The Smoking Room was almost perfect in the movie except for the fact that the painting in the movie was of the entrance to New York instead of the entrance into Plymouth Harbor.

7. Passengers and Crew's Deaths:
There were many inaccurate deaths in the movie like John Jacob Asto8 of which is seen in the movie as being in the Grand Staircase when it sank but the real Astor was crushed by the forward funnel. The Strauses were depicted comforting each-other in bed as water swirled into their cabin but they actually sat in two deck chairs (Mr. Straus's body was later recovered). 1st officer Murdoch was shown in the movie shooting himself but all who knew him said he didn't and they have only two accounts and they could be of another officer (Murdoch's body was never recovered). It is unknown what happened to Captain Smith. The movie shows him in the bridge until the end and there are some accounts of him going into the bridge. However, some say that they saw Captain Smith in the water with a lifejacket on. It is unknown what also happened to Chief Officer Wilde of whom was depicted in the movie as the one in the water blowing a whistle.

Lego TITANIC

This Lego Titanic movie is great. It deals with fake people yes but it's great to watch. The movie deals with a character named James who meets a mysterious man and keeps a backpack in his care. He and another character names Alec battle the waters of the sinking ship. I don't like the sets of the Turkish Bath and Grand Staircase, but the rest is great.

The 1st class Reception Room

At the fifth level of the Grand Staircase, the Reception Room was a masterpiece of itself. Many passengers remembered eating there for any meal. It was also nice just to sit there and talk with the brightly lit room and white paneling. The wicker chairs with soft velvet padding. The Grand Staircase was the centerpiece with elegant oak railings, intricate balustrades, a wonderful painting at the landing, and a gigantic gold candle-holder. The windows were beautiful with blue stain around the beautiful windows. There was beautiful carpet as well. When the TITANIC sank, the room simply filled with water. However, the Grand Staircase and all five flights are missing. Almost everything recognizable to being the Reception Room is nearly gone. However, there are hints of white on some columns and window panes still intact.

The Grand Staircase

The Grand Staircase was one of the grandest places on the ship. There were two staircases; one towards the bow (front), and one towards the stern (back). They were made of oak and went from the Boat-Deck, to D-Deck, and continued E-Deck as plain stairs. The top had a cherub and a clock with Honor and Glory crowning Time with a huge dome above. The stairs were in the style of Louis 14's court. The whole flight of stairs had paintings on the landings and either bronze cherubs or candelabras at the feet. The stairs were usually the most used in the ship besides the cabins. During the sinking, it was the only way most passengers used to get to the lifeboats. It is unclear what happened to it. Jack Thayer thought he saw the bow float then sink which could have been the staircase. In the discovery of the TITANIC, they found a gapping hole where it used to be. It could have also dissolved. What happened to the famed stairs will remain a mystery forever.