Tag Archives: Bob Ballard

Historic Ships, Titanic, Titanic Miscellaneous

Sunday Titanic News

1. Bideford Blacksmith Is A Walking Titanic ‘Encyclopaedia‘(2 Aug 2014,North Devon Journal)
A former shipbuilder is creating “fireworks” with iron in a workshop at Bideford’s Pannier Market. Michael Burton, 56, is part of a long line of his family to work in the shipbuilding industry and has worked in some of the major shipyards in the UK and now runs his own blacksmithing business. Before Michael took up residency at the Pannier Market, he worked at Appledore Shipyard for years as well as Belfast Harbour – where the Titanic was built. The self-professed Titanic “encyclopaedia” has always had a passion for the ill-fated ship and has even hand-crafted 3ft models of the vessel. Through research, he also found out one of his relatives, John Edward Burton, worked in the furnaces and died on the ship.

2. Long-Lost Anchor May Soon Be Identified(28 Jul 2014,Discovery.com)
After decades, possibly centuries, at the bottom of the sea — and a 2,200-mile-long (3,540 kilometers) road trip wrapped in damp blankets in the back of a pickup truck — a barnacle-crusted anchor arrived in Texas this week for a major cleaning.The men who raised the object from the floor of the Puget Sound hope conservation efforts will uncover proof that they found the long-lost anchor from a historic British voyage around the world.

3. Hall Things Considered: God’s Faithfulness Is Our Anchor(30 Jul 2014,TheTimes Tribune)A review of Titanic Pigeon Forge.
Once you enter the museum, you are given a passenger boarding ticket. The ticket has the name of an actual Titanic passenger telling you which class they were traveling. At the end of the museum, you enter the Titanic Memorial Room to find out if your passenger survived. But before you get to the end, you get to take part in a two-hour self-guided tour designed to give guests the sensation of being an original passenger on the Titanic’s 1912 maiden voyage. There are about 20 different galleries of actual items salvaged from the ship after it sank. The items included old photos, letters, clothing, silverware and many other personal effects from the folks who were aboard the Titanic. You also get the chance to place your hand in a little pool of water that was the same temperature as the water the ship sank in.

War Decorations awarded to Father Francis Browne for his service in World War I. The decorations shown are, from left to right, the Military Cross and Bar, and miniatures of the Military Cross and Bar, the British War Medal, the Victory Medal (US) and finally the Croix de Guerre (France). Photo:Bjørn Christian Tørrissen(Wikipedia)
War Decorations awarded to Father Francis Browne for his service in World War I. The decorations shown are, from left to right, the Military Cross and Bar, and miniatures of the Military Cross and Bar, the British War Medal, the Victory Medal (US) and finally the Croix de Guerre (France).
Photo:Bjørn Christian Tørrissen(Wikipedia)

4. “The Bravest Man I Ever Met” Father Brown In World War I(29 Jul 2014,IrishCentral.com)
Ministering to soldiers in the thick of the action, Father Browne was wounded five times and badly gassed. “Father Browne’s First World War” gives an account of his wartime experiences and contains 100 photos from his remarkable collection. There are also extracts from his letters home describing his experiences, and from his messages to the families of the fallen. The book includes a moving account of the time he spent working alongside fellow chaplain, Fr Willie Doyle, killed by a shell.

5. Slumbering Off Louisiana Coast: Sunken Nazi Sub(16 Jul 2014,Fox News)
Many never knew how close German U-boats came to US soil during World War II, but new high-def footage reveals several wrecks on the floor of the Gulf of Mexico. Robert Ballard, known for discovering the Titanic, is now mapping some of these wrecks, including the SS Robert E. Lee that was torpedoed by the German U-166 in 1942 and sank 45 miles off the coast of Louisiana. While most of the Lee’s 286 passengers survived, the U-166 was hit by the Lee’s Navy escort and sank less than a mile away with all 52 still aboard; it now slumbers as a protected war grave.

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Miscellaneous, Titanic Exhibitions, Titanic II

Friday Scramble

*Push back against Titanic II is going on right now. Most dislike it being called Titanic II saying it dishonors the memory of those who died in 1912. Others call it ghoulish. The pictures of what the inside will look like are erie to say the least. After all we have already had one Titanic that was unique. Titanic II would seem to take that away, at least in some people’s minds. Some object to the fact he will recreate First, Second and Third class. Palmer says it will give people the opportunity to experience what it was like in 1912.

Now I look at this as a gimmick. Cruise ships ply the waters of the globe selling spots to all kinds of people, from adventurers to eco-tourists. They go to the warm tropical waters and the icy cold of the north. Palmer wanted to do something radically different by recreating a historical cruise ship. He is onto something there. Riverboats are coming back, not as means to transport people up and down rivers or across lakes, but a tourist attractions. Cruise ships for rivers, if you prefer. The old paddle wheel driven boats have a following and are neat. So Palmer, sensing money to be made from Titanic, goes big. Really big. And he thinks he will make good money. He is probably right. A lot of people would take a cruise to see what it was like in 1912.

But it is Titanic! Well no. It is a replica. Unlike salvaging Titanic, which had many detractors since it was considered by many a grave, this merely recreates the ship but only in outward appearance. It will be a fully modern ship (except in the old fashioned gym) with all the bells and whistles except for a few things. No television and no internet for the passengers (one assumes the bridge officers though have access to it for urgent communications) in their rooms. Of course you can bring your mobile equipment aboard but there will be no wi-fi to hook up to (unless you have satellite).

I fully understand why people are not happy with Titanic II but remember you go on board by choice. No one is forcing anyone to take the ship. In fact, it could be a bust if it makes no money. There is no guarantee it will succeed. And as of this writing, no actual build contract has been signed. It could go all up in smoke and be nothing more than lots of talk in the end.

*Titanic:The Artifact Exhibition will be at the Lexington Center Museum & Gallery (Lexington, KY) from Oct 5 , 2013 – Jan 26 , 2014. You can get information about it here.

*While watching one of the early episodes of Seaquest, Dr. Ballard at the end commented about fiber optics and how they would change communication. That was back in 1993. Now in 2013 we see how accurate he was. Back then slow dial-up Internet was the norm (remember Prodigy anyone?) and Internet streaming was just a futuristic dream. Today many of us have switched to DSL for faster downloads and Internet streaming. A lot of this is possible because of fiber optics. A lot of kids born today will never know the real old days before cable (and remote controls), rotary phones, and telegrams. Email has become so common that the Post Office has lost money.

* Speaking of the old Post Office, it is in a terrible mess. It has crushing debt from pensions and declining revenues because more people use Internet that regular mail. For instance I get my credit card statements downloaded each month rather than by mail. Many of my bills I pay online as well (though not all). The day is coming when most catalogs will no longer be sent by mail but available (and personalized) from a their websites. Now I still send Christmas cards via regular mail and I get packages (usually small ones like books or other items from Amazon) via the Post Office. That is still cheaper than shipping by the private shippers like UPS. It comes as no surprise that a politician has suggested taxing email as a means to keep the Post Office afloat. It is already getting criticized but it was just a trial balloon. I suspect the plan is to surcharge every parcel shipment through a private carrier, lets say 15% of the shipping cost or a flat fee of perhaps $5.00. Since these guys cannot ever charge less than the Post Office, you are sure to bring in money. And no doubt the government could require all its contractors to ship (except for heavy freight) through the Post Office. So do not be surprised if discussion of Internet charges to fund the U.S Post Office or surcharges for using private parcel carriers gets louder.