Countdown to Disaster

The Last Days of the R.M.S. Titanic

Monday, April 1, 1912

 

 Monday, April 1st, 1912, was a cool, crisp morning for the old Irish shipping city of Belfast. A northwesterly wind was whipping up and heading toward the region, making the atmosphere feel wet that day though there was, in fact, no rain in the Belfast area. It was hoped, however, that this wind would not make it difficult for the magnanimous event that was scheduled for the docks that morning. That morning, the second ship of the old and venerable White Star Line's 'Olympic Class' series, namely the Royal Mail Steamer Titanic, would be making her sea-trials, before heading to the English port city of Southampton. The 'Big Three', as the Olympic Class vessels were called, were a series of triplet ships, larger than any ship built at any earlier time, that were guaranteed to secure the elusive prize for best ship, the Blue Ribband, which was continually being claimed by the Cunard Line, one of the White Star's top competitors, for their famed vessel, the Lusitania. These ships were built to be the finest in the shipping industry, outranking in quality most hotels. They were not only built to be fast, but most importantly they were built to be luxurious. Titanic was built to be the largest of the three vessels, though it was the second to be built and launched (it had been launched on the 31st day of May in 1911). It was also, by all standards, the most luxurious. Though the Olympic (Titanic's older sister) was not as large, it was better advertised, as it was, after all, the first of the three. But still, the owners of R.M.S. Titanic expected to turn a great profit from this sailing.

 The Titanic was scheduled to start her trials on the River Lagan at precisely 10 o'clock a.m. that morning. She was to be occupied and controlled by a skeleton crew of 79 crewmembers, who had signed on for the voyage on Saturday, March 29th. Besides these men (all of them the trimmers or stokers or boilermen) there were aboard 41 officers, engineers, and stewards. At about 9:00 a.m. the tugs from Liverpool (all made by the Alexandra Towing Company, and several already familiar with the new ship as they had assisted at the launch) arrived, and started to steam towards Titanic's berth, ready to assist her in her trials. At 10 o'clock, as scheduled, she slipped into the River Lagan, where she was greeted by the tugs. Unfortunately, as the giant vessel steamed towards the Victoria Channel, her crew found that the wind was making things too difficult for her to do much of anything, and so she was quickly sent back to Belfast, where she would rest for the remainder of the day. The wind and the narrow confines of the Lagan had proven too dangerous a combination for the new ship, and it would certainly be best to wait for better weather, so as not to risk damage to the ship before she even made a single Trans-Atlantic crossing. Hopefully there would be better conditions on the 2nd.

 

 Engineers and officers alike used the rest of the day to give the ship a final examination. They also took the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the ship. The trimmers, the fireman (at the time there was only one actual fireman aboard, that man was Mr. William McQuillan), the officers, able seamen, and the "Black Gang" (the Engineers and Boilermen) were paid an extra five shillings for the delay.

 

Countdown to Diaster has been prepared for ACT I by Titanic Researcher Addison Hart of DeKalb, Illinois.

 

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