THE TALE OF TWO SHIPS - I
July 11 2013
Once upon a time there were two ships sailing happily on the ocean. One was called Carpathia the other Titanic, both were on a journey yet their destinies were fated to cross.
The Titanic was the largest ship in its class the most opulent and well appointed. It was on its Maiden Voyage over 4 days out on the way to the New World. The seas were so calm it was described as like glass so much so that one could see the the stars reflected in the ice cold waters. Already trouble was brewing six warnings had been received about dangerous ice floats. 'Do not worry we are unsinkable, full ahead, put a lookout to calm the fear mongers' came orders from above.
'We are heading on the right path, trust us. I can not imagine any condition which would cause a ship to founder. Modern shipbuilding has gone beyond that', says our Valiant superior. It was the 14th of April, the 11th hour at 20 minutes to midnight the Sun was gone and the Moon shed not her light.
'Our ship is on the way to a new beginning' we heard it said. Suddenly there is a call 'Iceberg to the right'. calls the lookout. 'What shall we do we have recklessly been powering ahead and now we face sure disaster?' 'If I keep going and hit the iceberg straight on the passengers will surely all wake up to my incompetence.' thought the Captain. 'We can not go full astern, she was not made to go back. The ship is to big and moving too fast, to turn away! If we can just turn a little, scrap by, maybe no one will notice and I will be the saviour, turning her from disaster' thought our Captain. 'All stop engines,' was the call. 'Maybe we can steer out of this, after all this boat is tough.' Hard left rudder.........phew! We have missed the iceberg just a few bumps on the side. Do not worry! Go back to sleep! No damage is visible, just a bit of ice on deck...
We are taking on water...hmm, the pumps will manage, or will they??
Now here is a description of the Captain of Titanic after he scrapped the berg and knew they were doomed. " As Smith began to grasp the enormity of what was about to happen, he appeared to have become paralysed by indecision. He did not issue a general call for evacuation, failed to order his officers to load the lifeboats, did not adequately organise the crew, withheld crucial information from his officers and crewmen, and gave sometimes ambiguous and impractical orders. Even some of his bridge officers were unaware for some time after the collision that the ship was sinking; Fourth Officer Joseph Boxhall did not find out until 01:15, barely an hour before the ship went down, while Quartermaster George Rowe was so unaware of the emergency that after the evacuation had started, he phoned the bridge from his watch station to ask why he had just seen a lifeboat go past. Smith did not advise his officers that the ship did not have enough lifeboats to save everyone. He did not supervise the loading of the lifeboats and seemingly made no effort to find out if his orders were being followed." Wikipedia.
Titanic named after the most powerful of the Greek gods, would sink in 2 hours, with the loss of more than a thousand lives. The side of the ship was compromised just enough to fill the bow beyond what its designer had envisaged and what the pumps could manage. No matter what they tried, it was going down, and most on board, officers, crew, passengers, were unaware until it was too late....
Think of another ship sailing along on the 4th decade of its maiden voyage. It has grown opulent, the waters seem so calm all the signs were good, the sea of the world was getting better. Warnings were received to watch out, this smooth water is strange, is it not caused by the icebergs that still surround us? No, all is fine you see, all is good, the signs are good, full steam ahead, obey, we know what we are doing, say our commanders, God does not want to sink OUR ship!
The 14th of April of that fateful year, this 'ship' also hit her iceberg, and like Titanic, the compromise to her structure was out of sight, way below the water line but filling fast, shall she stay afloat? Her captain still remains silent as to the true evil of 'IceBergs'. Now out goes the call from the faithful stewards, "Life jackets on, up on deck, man the life boats"
Veni Domine
July 11 2013
Once upon a time there were two ships sailing happily on the ocean. One was called Carpathia the other Titanic, both were on a journey yet their destinies were fated to cross.
The Titanic was the largest ship in its class the most opulent and well appointed. It was on its Maiden Voyage over 4 days out on the way to the New World. The seas were so calm it was described as like glass so much so that one could see the the stars reflected in the ice cold waters. Already trouble was brewing six warnings had been received about dangerous ice floats. 'Do not worry we are unsinkable, full ahead, put a lookout to calm the fear mongers' came orders from above.
'We are heading on the right path, trust us. I can not imagine any condition which would cause a ship to founder. Modern shipbuilding has gone beyond that', says our Valiant superior. It was the 14th of April, the 11th hour at 20 minutes to midnight the Sun was gone and the Moon shed not her light.
'Our ship is on the way to a new beginning' we heard it said. Suddenly there is a call 'Iceberg to the right'. calls the lookout. 'What shall we do we have recklessly been powering ahead and now we face sure disaster?' 'If I keep going and hit the iceberg straight on the passengers will surely all wake up to my incompetence.' thought the Captain. 'We can not go full astern, she was not made to go back. The ship is to big and moving too fast, to turn away! If we can just turn a little, scrap by, maybe no one will notice and I will be the saviour, turning her from disaster' thought our Captain. 'All stop engines,' was the call. 'Maybe we can steer out of this, after all this boat is tough.' Hard left rudder.........phew! We have missed the iceberg just a few bumps on the side. Do not worry! Go back to sleep! No damage is visible, just a bit of ice on deck...
We are taking on water...hmm, the pumps will manage, or will they??
Now here is a description of the Captain of Titanic after he scrapped the berg and knew they were doomed. " As Smith began to grasp the enormity of what was about to happen, he appeared to have become paralysed by indecision. He did not issue a general call for evacuation, failed to order his officers to load the lifeboats, did not adequately organise the crew, withheld crucial information from his officers and crewmen, and gave sometimes ambiguous and impractical orders. Even some of his bridge officers were unaware for some time after the collision that the ship was sinking; Fourth Officer Joseph Boxhall did not find out until 01:15, barely an hour before the ship went down, while Quartermaster George Rowe was so unaware of the emergency that after the evacuation had started, he phoned the bridge from his watch station to ask why he had just seen a lifeboat go past. Smith did not advise his officers that the ship did not have enough lifeboats to save everyone. He did not supervise the loading of the lifeboats and seemingly made no effort to find out if his orders were being followed." Wikipedia.
Titanic named after the most powerful of the Greek gods, would sink in 2 hours, with the loss of more than a thousand lives. The side of the ship was compromised just enough to fill the bow beyond what its designer had envisaged and what the pumps could manage. No matter what they tried, it was going down, and most on board, officers, crew, passengers, were unaware until it was too late....
Think of another ship sailing along on the 4th decade of its maiden voyage. It has grown opulent, the waters seem so calm all the signs were good, the sea of the world was getting better. Warnings were received to watch out, this smooth water is strange, is it not caused by the icebergs that still surround us? No, all is fine you see, all is good, the signs are good, full steam ahead, obey, we know what we are doing, say our commanders, God does not want to sink OUR ship!
The 14th of April of that fateful year, this 'ship' also hit her iceberg, and like Titanic, the compromise to her structure was out of sight, way below the water line but filling fast, shall she stay afloat? Her captain still remains silent as to the true evil of 'IceBergs'. Now out goes the call from the faithful stewards, "Life jackets on, up on deck, man the life boats"
Veni Domine
