RMS Titanic ready for launch(1911) Public Domain (U.S. Library of Congress, digital id#cph.3a27541)
Due to the immense size in constructing the Olympic class vessels for White Star Line, Harland & Wolff had to demolish three existing slipways on Queen’s Island in Belfast Harbor. The two new ones, the largest ever built at that time, would be where both Olympic and Titanic would be constructed. The keel for Olympic was laid on 16 December 1908 and Titanic on 31 March 1909. Both ships would be constructed parallel to each other. Queen’s Island became known as Titanic Quarter and an enormous gantry was built to hold the cranes needed during construction. Expedited completion for each ship was 26 months. The base of both ships had a double bottom of 5 feet 3 inches deep supporting 300 frames (each were 24 and 36 inches apart and measured up to 66 feet) which terminated at the bridge deck (B deck). These were covered with steel plates which provided the outer skin of both ships. Both ships were floating box girders with the keel as the backbone of the ship.
Behe, George TITANIC: SAFETY, SPEED AND SACRIFICE, Transportation Trails, Polo, IL 1997
Eaton John P. & Haas Charles, TITANIC TRIUMPH AND TRAGEDY, SECOND EDITION, W.W. Norton & Company, New York, New York, 1995 First American Edition
Lord, Walter, A NIGHT TO REMEMBER, Holt Rinehart and Winston, New York, New York, 1955. Multiple revisions and reprints, notably Illustrated editions (1976,1977,1978 etc)
Lord, Walter, THE NIGHT LIVES ON, Willian Morrow and Company, New York, New York, 1986 (First Edition)
Lynch, Don & Marshall Ken, TITANIC AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY, Madison Press Books, Toronto, Ontario Canada, 1992
RMS Titanic pictured in Queenstown, Ireland 11 April 1912 Source:Cobh Heritage Centre, Cobh Ireland/Wikimedia Commons
James Cameron’s Titanic was a wonderful presentation and got the atmosphere right but had some inaccuracies says Claes-Göran Wetterholm, the Swedish historian and curator of the London Titanic exhibit. He gave an interview recently where he debunks many of the myths. There is nothing new here, but it is interesting to read.
Swedish historian Claes-Göran Wetterholm, the curator behind a new immersive Titanic exhibition in London, tells The Sun: “The Hollywood movie, ‘Titanic,’ directed by James Cameron is the best movie ever to be made about what never happened. “There are so many things I cannot agree with in it and when I met Cameron at the premiere I told him this. But the film’s theme is fantastic and perfectly captures the atmosphere on the ship. “I have spent many years researching what really happened that night and have spoken to survivors and family members of survivors to help uncover the real story.”
2. Titanic Themed Airbnb
I have read of many things done to redecorate a home with a Titanic theme. It seems someone over in Belfast, who rents out space he decked out in such a theme, through Airbnb. Judging from the pictures though, it may be a bit much for some.
But if exceptionally bright colours, a lot of images of couples kissing and dozens of paintings of weird-looking crowds is your kind of thing, who are we to judge? The rest of the rental leans heavily into the romantic image of Titanic (rather than, y’know, the mass death bit), featuring a nautical-themed breakfast bar, ambient sea sounds and even a ‘kissing room’ hot tub. So, what about the other amenities? Well, Rose has three bedrooms and can fit up to five guests. It’s got Wi-Fi, a flatscreen TV and all your usual kitchen and bathroom stuff. The host, David, has a pretty impressive 4.88 star rating, with guests generally praising his rental as ‘unique’, ‘comfortable’ and ‘hospitable’.
OceanGate Expeditions announces its second annual expedition to the wreck of the Titanic, the 2022 Titanic Expedition. OceanGate Expeditions will charter the Cyclops-class carbon fiber and titanium submersible, Titan, to carry crewmembers to the historic maritime heritage site which sits at 3,800 meters on the floor of the North Atlantic Ocean. Citizen explorers, trained as Mission Specialists, will join a cadre of archaeologists, marine biologists, and Titanic experts on the second annual expedition to study and document the Titanic in more detail than ever before. The Titan submersible is outfitted with the latest camera technologies to capture ultra-high-resolution imagery that will help determinethe wreck’s rate of decay and assess the marine life that dwell on the wreck.
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Collapsible lifeboat D photographed by passenger on Carpathia on the morning of 15 April 1912. Public Domain(Wikipedia)
Firstly, she looked at CS Mackay-Bennett, a recovery boat that ended up finding the majority of the victims of the tragedy. She continued: “The recovery boat didn’t leave Nova Scotia until three days after the wreckage and didn’t arrive at the site until a full week later. By this time, bodies had scattered and been exposed to the elements like sea life and birds, so the men didn’t find pristine preserved corpses floating on the surface.” According to Caitlin, many of the bodies did cluster together “like a flock of seagulls in their white life jackets”. The first day, they recovered 51 bodies, and in total, the Mackay-Bennett recovered 306 bodies. She continued: “Another boat recovered 17, another boat recovered three, yet another boat recovered three people in a lifeboat a month later over 200 miles away.” Because of this, it would be impossible to figure out how many people sank to the bottom of the ocean or floated away.
They belong to Bruce’s grandson whom Clifford visited and spoke to at his home in Scotland – and, he says, they tell a very different story about this so-called cowardly man. One thing they redress is the criticism Bruce received for resigning from the White Star Line after the disaster “Documents show Bruce had actually planned to retire before Titanic sailed and had found a successor in Harold Sanderson,” says Clifford. “Also he wanted to give up the presidency of International Mercantile Marine Company – the White Star’s American parent company – but actually continue as chairman of the White Star Line, but the remaining directors didn’t want him to remain as chair in the end.” Clifford explains he hadn’t really wanted to be president of IMM in the first place and only accepted the post reluctantly after his colleagues persuaded him. So it wasn’t as if he had jumped ship after the disaster like a coward.
The historic Titanic pump-house is set to become a whiskey distillery and new tourist attraction. Titanic Distillers have been given the green light for the redevelopment of the listed building by Belfast City Council planning committee. Based in the heart of the Titanic Quarter, it first opened in 1911 alongside its neighbouring dock and the distillery will also feature a visitors attraction so that people will be able to see the authentic Titanic landmark. Titanic Distillers Director Richard Irwin, said the company was excited that the application had been approved.
Now, a hundred years since Northern Ireland was born, this industrial site has been transformed into one of the country’s main tourism draws, home to the Titanic Belfast attraction and several historic maritime sites. The slipways where the Titanic was built are now a top outdoor performance venue in Belfast, which has just been awarded UNESCO City of Music status in recognition of its dynamic live music scene. The yards also grace the big screen in Kenneth Branagh’s new movie, Belfast, inspired by his childhood here during the turbulent 1960s.
And for your Thanksgiving Day. Here is an excerpt from the now infamous Turkey Drop episode of WKRP.
We’re so used to hearing tales of doom and tragedy about the sinking of the Titanic that’s it’s surprising to find a funny story about it. As a major exhibition prepares to open in London next year at an as-yet-undisclosed location to mark the 110th anniversary of the 1912 tragedy, MyLondon is investigating the lives of the Londoners who were aboard the ill-fated ship. In the process, MyLondon came across the rather incredible yet touching story of the 22-year-old signalman who was cracking up in fits of laughter while sending SOS signals from the freezing ship.
He’s infamous as the sailor who was blamed by some for the sinking of the Titanic, but the collection of medals which belonged to David Blair reveal his true heroism. In his haste to disembark, however, he forgot to leave a key which was needed in the crow’s nest to access binoculars and a telescope. As such, Blair is known to history for his unwitting part in the sinking – but the officer had in fact won a series of prestigious medals for his bravery and military service. Roughly a year after the Titanic sank, Aldridge was serving as first officer on the SS Majestic – another White Star ocean liner – when he swam to the rescue of a drowning man who had thrown himself overboard. For his bravery, King George V awarded Blair a Sea Gallantry Medal at Buckingham Palace. He earned further medals during the First World War, when he served with distinction in the navy.
The Titanic Centre in Belfast is one of the island’s most popular attractions. Located next to the Titanic slipways and the former shipyard Drawing Offices, the centre is at the heart of where the Titanic was planned, designed, built and launched. It took Belfast a long time to come to terms with the Titanic’s fate. The Titanic Centre was opened to mark the centenary of the sinking. The long gestation was due to a mixture of shame and embarrassment surrounding the ship’s tragic end. For a long time, the city’s tour guides quipped “she was all right when she left here” but ultimately it was realised that other cities around the world such as Halifax, Nova Scotia and Orlando, Florida were telling a story, through exhibitions, that could really only be told properly in Belfast.
A ship’s bell donated by a Bempton man has gone on display on the restored SS Nomadic vessel, which has close connections to the Titanic. This month he received a message from its Chief Executive Officer Kerrie Sweeney saying the display on the Nomadic was complete with all three of his nautical items on show. The Nomadic was a Tender to RMS Titanic and is the last remaining White Star Line ship in the world. It is located near the Titanic Quarter attraction at Belfast’s historic Hamilton Dock.
In 1857, just before the beginning of the Civil War, the sinking of the S.S. Central America 200 miles off the North Carolina coast caught so much attention it could be called the 19th century’s Titanic. But unlike the Titanic, a hurricane was to blame for this shipwreck that resulted in the loss of hundreds of lives and significant amounts of gold. The amount of gold lost was in fact so great that it could be directly associated with the economic downturn that took place in 1857. It was a very short crisis that was sparked by a loss of public trust in financial institutions after gold payments were suspended. The crisis, along with the shipwreck itself, has been greatly overshadowed by the Civil War that began just a few years later. That said, both events were major news stories at the time.
Despite being located at either end of the island of Ireland, the ports of Belfast and Cork (Cobh) are connected by one of the world’s most infamous shipping disasters. Told many times in books, theatre performances and movies, the story of the Titanic is one that is indelibly etched in people’s minds. However the story can really only be understood once you have visited the places the Titanic was created.
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Collapsible lifeboat D photographed by passenger on Carpathia on the morning of 15 April 1912. Public Domain(Wikipedia)
But a dramatic new book explodes that fantasy. “Every soul on the Titanic could have been saved,” says historian William Hazelgrove, author of One Hundred and Sixty Minutes: The Race to Save The RMS Titanic, published this month. “The myth says the Titanic was alone out on the Atlantic, but two ships – the SS Californian and the SS Mount Temple ?were so close that they saw the Titanic sinking, only failing to act out of cowardice and incompetence.
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And for those Lego fans hoping for the Titanic set to come out:
However, Instagram user exabrickslegogo_ now claims that 10294 Titanic will consist of ‘only’ 9,090 pieces, a part count that would probably seem way more impressive if it wasn’t coming back down from 12,000. As it stands, though, it would still be the biggest non-LEGO Art set in the portfolio by 54 bricks, just eking past 10276 Colosseum.
The Titanic was the most luxurious ship afloat and food onboard was a big part of the liner’s appeal. Meals were included in the ticket price for nearly all passengers, with the exception of those in the à la carte restaurant. There was enough to cater for 2,200 people on what should have been a week-long voyage. Hefty provisions included 75,000lbs of meat, 11,000lbs of fresh fish, 40 tons of potatoes, 40,000 eggs, 7,000 heads of lettuce, 10,000lbs of sugar, 250 barrels flour, 36,000 apples, 1,500 gallons of milk and 15,000 bottles of ale.
Officials in Sweden announced their intentions on Friday to allow for a new investigation into the sinking of the MS Estonia after new evidence emerged from a documentary more than 25 years after the disastrous incident. Sweden’s Home Affairs Minister Mikael Damberg revealed during a news conference that the country’s Accident Investigation Authority, along with counterparts from Finland and Estonia, would be sending divers down to the wreck site to further investigate claims made about damage to the vessel’s hull.
The documentary at the center of renewed interest in the wreck came from the Discovery Channel network, and it was released in September to coincide with the wreck’s 26th anniversary. The five-part broadcast provided new underwater footage that showed a previously unrecorded 13-foot gaping hole in the ship’s hull. After the documentary was aired, Sweden, Finland and Estonia announced that a joint investigation to assess the new finding would be undertaken. An official report in 1997 ultimately concluded that the sinking was caused by a faulty door lock on the vessel’s bow.
(Note-This looks more like a press release than a news item. But the gingerbread house they showed in the photo looks pretty good.)
Sail into Christmas by visiting Titanic Hotel Belfast to marvel at the only life-sized gingerbread house in a hotel in Northern Ireland and chill out with a Christmas cocktail while enjoying a festive feast in the Wolff Grill. If you are dreading the fuss of being joyful and merry while cooking the Christmas lunch on Christmas Day, let Titanic Hotel Belfast do all the prep for you in advance. Relax and enjoy time with your family after decorating the tree with baubles knowing that your only task is serving your guests with an exquisitely prepared festive feast by award winning chefs of the Wolff Grill.
TITANIC could have “got out of the way” of the iceberg it would eventually collide with if the crew had access to a vital cabinet key, according to claims made nearly 100 years after it sank.But YouTube channel ‘Bright Side’ claimed it could have been avoided had the chief officer had access to a single key during their ‘A man who failed to save the Titanic’ series.’ The narrator said: “Titanic was a catastrophe to come out of a long chain of unfortunate events. “The chain that would decide its cruel fate started with a tiny key. “It seems like such an insignificant little thing, so trivial that the man who had it on him completely forgot to hand it over to the person who needed it at a critical moment.
Even over a hundred years ago, the Belfast Telegraph was first with the news. In 1912 the newspaper reported the sinking of the Titanic on the same day that the liner went down in the north Atlantic — an amazing feat for the time. The Tele was the first newspaper in Europe to report the collision with an iceberg, after a telegram was sent to the newsroom alerting it of the disaster in what remains the earliest documented notification of the disaster.
Titanic House (former Harland and Wolff Drawing Offices), Queens Road, Belfast, Northern Ireland, 2012. After several years and lots of money, it is has become a Titanic hotel. Image: Adfern/Wikimedia Commons
The newly opened Titanic Hotel in Belfast has been getting positive buzz. Conde Nast Traveler paid it a visit and it looks pretty spectacular. Formerly the drawing offices for Harland & Wolff, it is now a window to the past with a style for people of our time. The 119 room hotel features modern amenities while showing off the history of Belfast and Titanic.
“It is not quite a museum, but this is so much more than a hotel,” hotel manager Adrian McNally told The Irish News. “It is a unique guest experience and a journey into how the building would have looked when the Titanic designers sat here, working in the drawing offices—one of which is now a ballroom and the other a restaurant and bar.”
The Grand Staircase of the RMS Olympic Photo:Public Domain (Wikipedia)
Clive Palmer’s plan to build Titanic II appears dead but a Chinese full size replica is on course to be built. According to China.org.cn a full size replica will be assembled at the end of this year. The replica will be the exact size of the original Titanic and will cost 1 billion yuan. Everything from door knobs to menus will look as if it was on the original Titanic (except some modern necessities as needed of course). The replica will also employ the use of a Titanic Sinking Simulator so that visitors will experience what it was like to be aboard when the ship was sinking. The replica will be permanently docked at a theme park in the Qi River in Daying County, Sichuan. It is scheduled to open in 2018.
Source:Life-Size Replica Of Titanic To Be Assembled Late This Year(China.org.cn,17 Aug 2016)
Titanic Belfast just celebrated its three millionth visitor recently. Since it opened in 2012, Titanic Belfast has seen a steady stream of tourists from all over the world. They recently had their busiest day when 4,200 people came through the doors beating down previous numbers. Titanic Belfast chief executive Tim Husbands notes “We have spent over £1m refurbishing and refreshing three or four of the galleries because obviously Titanic is a story that can be told in so many different facets.”
Source: Titanic Belfast Welcomes Its Three Millionth Visitor(Irish Times,15 Aug 2016)
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