TITANIC DECEPTION by Joe Loesch part6 Mixed Messages
When the Titanic came to a stop, Captain Smith instructed 4th Officer Joseph Groves Boxhall to determine its position. However, records show that the navigator miscalculated their location by 12 miles, which turned out to be a critical error. The actual wreckage site confirmed this discrepancy. The position provided by Boxall would have placed the Titanic within sight of the Californian.
It’s unclear if Boxhall believed they should have been in that location. Nevertheless, Captain Smith inexplicably ordered the Titanic to move at half speed for an additional 5 minutes before stopping the engines for the final time. It’s possible that he was heading towards the ship whose lights were faintly visible on the horizon, assuming it was the Californian. Several survivors mentioned sighting a ship approximately 5 or 6 miles away from the Titanic. Although the Titanic could have easily reached that ship, Smith seemed to believe the other vessel would come to their aid, the one he mistook for the Californian.
It appears highly probable that the ship spotted from the Californian was a wooden sailing barque named the Samson, engaged in illegal seal-fishing activities on the ice floes at that time. The white rockets it fired, reaching only mast height, were intended to signal its small rowing boats. Months after the disaster, the captain of the Samson claimed to have also seen a large liner firing rockets but did not investigate due to his own illegal activities.
The Californian's apprentice, Gibson, later testified that he observed only eight white rockets fired from the ship. On the other hand, the Titanic had launched at least 18, possibly even 22, rockets, including some in red and blue. Titanic survivor Miss Edith Russell stated that the officers reassured everyone, stating that the Californian would rescue them if they did not return for breakfast. How they could have known it was the Californian is difficult to comprehend, especially in such a dire emergency. Believing that they intentionally allowed lifeboats to depart only partially filled is implausible.
The Californian was 19 miles away, where Captain Stanley Lord awaited the sight of colored rockets. At approximately 1 a.m., it likely dawned on Captain Smith that the anticipated rescue, upon which the survival of so many depended, would not materialize.
How he could have known this is unclear since he claimed to have been in his cabin then. Lightoller also stated during the American inquiry that there was no fog ten minutes before the ship collided with the iceberg, directly contradicting the testimony of the two lookouts.
Again, it is unclear how he could have known this if he was in his cabin. He also lied about the number of ice warnings received on the bridge, attempting to convey that the iceberg was a surprise. "I do not remember any ice warnings being posted on the bridge," he claimed. Moreover, Lightoller and Second Radio Operator Harold Bride and Ship's Baker Charles Joffin asserted that they remained in the water for up to an hour after leaving the Titanic. This is clearly impossible since we know that the night's sea temperature was between 2 and 3 degrees below freezing, with an average life expectancy of only 3 to 4 minutes under such conditions. This testimony would not hold up under scrutiny today and appears to be a fabrication.
Just before 5:30 a.m. on that tragic morning, Captain Stanley Lord woke his radio operator, only to discover that the Titanic had already sunk. He immediately set off at full speed towards the wreck site, but unfortunately, he arrived too late. The Carpathia had already reached the scene and was in the process of rescuing survivors. Among them was J. Bruce Ismay, who had managed to enter a lifeboat at the last moment. His decision would forever be met with public shame.