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| A Quiet Sunday - Part 3 |
| Not long after 9:30pm, wireless opperator Phillips was interupted by a message from the steamer Mesaba, addressed to all east bound ships, including the Titanic. "Ice report. In latitude 42 degrees north to 41.25 degrees north, longitude 49 west to longitude 50.3 west. Saw much heavy pack ice and great number of large icebergs, also field ice. Weather good, clear." Phillips had worked much of the day, and had delivered many ice warnings to the bridge, and this one seemed unimportant to him added with all the others. He simply replied "Received, thanks" to Mesaba's wireless opperator and continued with his passenger telegrams. Had he bothered to check the message, he would have realised that there was a huge ice belt 78 miles across ahead of the ship, and Titanic was steaming straight towards it. At just after 10:00pm, a crowd in the first class smoking room was trying to figure out the speed of Titanic when an elderly steward suggested that they bet on a higher figure. When questioned about what he knew, the steward led the men out int the corridor outside the smoking room. One man, whose cabin was right below where they stood was convinced, feeling a much stronger viabration that he had before in the voyage. The ship was obviously making good speed. Also at 10:00pm, lookouts Frederick Fleet and Reginald Lee replaced the two that had preceeded them. One of the lookouts, Symons was careful to note the messages that had come through that night from the bridge. On the bridge, First Officer William Murdoch replaced Lightoller as Officer of the Watch. As Murdoch's eyes grew accoustemed to the dark, the two of them spoke of the weather conditions. They later began talking about when they would reach the ice judging from warnings received throughout the day, and from what Sixth Officer James Moody had told them. When Lightoller had finished his report, he left on his quick rounds marking the end of his watch. Shortly afterward, Jack Phillips was still hard at work when a message burst into his head set at what must have been full volume. The message from was from the steamer Californian, less than twenty miles away. "Say old man, we are stopped and surrounded by ice". Overworked and annoyed at being interupted, Phillips replyed with "Shut up! Shut up! I am busy! I am working Cape Race! You're jamming my signal!" cutting the wireless opperator Cyril Evans off before he could give his position. Evans listened as Phillips sent "Sorry. Jammed. Please Repeat" to the land station at cape race, and at 11:35pm, Evans shut down and went to bed. On the starboard open bridge wing, Murdoch stood alone staring into the darkness. In the crowsnest, Fleet did the same. Only a few minutes earlier, he had seen a haze ahead, but didn't report it. Now, he began to make out a black shape right ahead. He looked again, and there was no mistaking it, there infront of him was all his fears and nightmares summed up in one black menacing shape. "There's ice ahead," he said to Lee as he reached for the crowsnest bell which he rang three times, indicating something right ahead. After what seemed like eternity, Sixth Officer Moody picked up the phone in the wheelhouse. As soon as Fleet heard the phone being picked up, he spoke. "Is anyone there?" "Yes, what do you see?" "Iceberg right ahead!" "Thankyou" came Moody's responce, and he automatically hung up the phone. "Iceberg right ahead!" he called loudly to Murdoch, who by now had seen the shape emerge from the gloom. Murdoch ran to the telegraph and while signalling 'Stop' then 'Full speed astern' he ordered "Hard a' Starboard!" (which means the ship will turn to port, a quaint referal to the days of sail) to Quartermaster Robert Hichens at the wheel, who promptly spun the wheel hard over. Murdoch now ran back to the bridge wing to see if what he said would work. The berg loomed closer as the bow began to turn to port and just as it seemed the berg would miss, the bow came level and from below there was a strange scraping noise. |
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| First Officer William Murdoch |
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| Lookout Frederick Fleet |
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