COUNTDOWN TO DISASTER
14 APRIL 1912
09:00
Having left Southampton four days earlier on its maiden voyage, Titanic’s radio operators receive their first warning about drifting ice in the area to which the ship is heading. The message, delivered by RMS Caronia, tells of the presence of “bergs, growlers and field ice” (growlers being smaller, hard-to-spot bergs) a day or so’s sailing from Titanic’s current position. A little more than an hour later, a telegraph arrives in the hands of Titanic’s captain, the highly experienced Edward J Smith, a man with more than 40 years at sea under his belt and who had previously captained Titanic’s sister ship, Olympic. Smith thanks Caronia, part of the fleet of the rival Cunard Line, for the warning.
11:00
Due to high winds, Captain Smith decides to cancel Titanic’s first lifeboat drill. This will prove to be significant when the evacuation of the ship becomes frantic almost 13 hours later.
13:42
Another warning comes way, this time from the Greek ship , relayed via RMS . It cautions the crew about “passing icebergs and large quantities of field ice” in the area. The chairman of the White Star Line, J Bruce Ismay, is on board ; he always travels on the maiden voyages of his ships. Smith informs Ismay that a sharp lookout will be kept and that ice will be seen in time to avoid it, given the calm and keeps to the longer steamer track to New York, which is advised during the iceberg season.
