by Tim Maltin
We know from Captain Lord that Californian’s Compass North was 22 degrees west of True North: 6782. (The Attorney-General.) What variation? – “The variation that day at noon was 24 3/4. She was about 24 when we were stopped; the deviation would be about 2E, making an error of 22W”. Given that Titanic and Californian were both drifting south together in the Labrador Current, Titanic’s true bearing from Californian would remain about the same; and so it is possible from these observations of Titanic’s relative bearing from Californian to build a complete picture of the Californian’s headings, or swing pattern, that night. In the following summary, True bearings are shown around the outside, with Californian’s compass bearings shown in the centre:
Diagram of Californian’s (blue) and Titanic’s (red) headings and bearings (bold), and showing magnetic north and south (yellow).
The graph below uses the above data to plot Californian’s swing rates. It reveals that Californian was swinging slightly more rapidly between 12.08am (107 minutes after 10.21pm) and 1.40am (199 minutes after 10.21pm), as we would expect, with the most rapid swinging occurring when she was heading between 39° True and 140° True, broadside on to the south going Labrador Current:
Where was the Californian?
That Titanic was heading north, with Californian on her port bow all night, puts Californian northwest of Titanic’s wreck site; and we have seen that this agrees with observations from the Californian which put the ship she saw at SSE by compass, which is about SE True from Californian. But how far northwest was she?
In the morning, when the breeze which sprang up with the dawn had dispersed the thermal inversion, restoring normal refraction, it was clear from the rescue ship Carpathia that the Californian was about 10 miles away. The Carpathia’s Second Officer, James Bisset, records the following on page 291 of his memoirs, “Tramps and Ladies”:
“While we had been picking up survivors, in the slowly increasing daylight after 4.30am, we had sighted the smoke of a steamer on the fringe of the pack ice, ten miles away from us to the northwards. She was making no signals, and we paid little attention to her, for we were preoccupied with more urgent matters; but at 6am we had noticed that she was under way and slowly coming towards us”. “When I took over the watch on the bridge of the Carpathia at 8am, the stranger was little more than a mile from us, and flying her signals of identification. She was the Leyland Line cargo-steamer Californian, which had been stopped overnight, blocked by ice."
The SS Carpathia, which arrived at Titanic’s wreck site at 4am on the 15th of April 1912 and rescued all of Titanic’s 712 survivors © Topfoto Picture Library
The SS Mount Temple, saw the Californian and the Carpathia at dawn on 15th April 1912
© Sain-Patric Enright
And Bisset’s observation of the Californian being 10 miles north of Titanic’s wreck site until 6am on 15th April 1912 agrees with the following evidence of Captain Moore of the Mount Temple, who raced to Titanic’s distress position but found himself on the west side of the ice barrier which Titanic sank on the east side of:
JHM276. “…when I got the position in the morning I got a prime vertical sight; that is a sight taken when the sun is bearing due east. That position gave me 50° 9 1/2' west. [10 miles west of Titanic’s wreck site at 49.46W]
JHM 281. My fourth officer took two observations, and of course, he is a navigator, and also, an extra master's certificate is held by him, which is a better certificate than mine, and he took those observations both times, and both of them tallied. One came 50° 9 1/2' west and the other came 50° 9 3/4'. Of course, it proved afterwards when, after coming southward and trying to find some place I could get through, on the way back again - I suppose about 6 o'clock in the morning - that I sighted the Carpathia on the other side of this great ice pack, and there is where I understand he picked up the boats. So this great pack of ice was between us and the Titanic's position.
JHM289. On which side of the ice pack was the Californian?
- The Californian was to the north, sir. She was to the north of the Carpathia…
JHM290. And you were also cut off from the Carpathia by this ice pack?
- Yes, sir; by this ice pack. He [Californian] was then north of the Carpathia, and he must have been, I suppose, about the same distance to the north of the Carpathia as I was to the westward of her.
Diagram showing relative positions of the Californian, Titanic and Mount Temple.
Californian had remained about 10 miles NW of Titanic since Titanic’s collision, as the two stopped ships had then drifted southward together in the Labrador Current. This position, 10 miles NW of Titanic’s wreck site at 41.43N 49.56W, put Californian at 41.51N 50.7W at 2.20am on 15th April 1912.
Pilot chart of the North Atlantic showing steamer tracks to New York and Boston, respectively. Where Titanic sank, these tracks are only thirteen miles apart.
This position for Californian, 10 miles NW of Titanic, is therefore confirmed as to direction by the eye witness evidence that night and as to distance by the eye witnesses evidence in daylight; and it also agrees with the navigational evidence.
Captain Lord of the Californian was aiming to make 42N in 51W, as Lord tells us in his 1959 Affidavit:
“On 14th April, the noon position by observation was 42° 05' N., 47° 25' W. [sic 47.34W - 25 miles was the departure distance from The Corner at 47W, where the almost 11 knot Californian was at 9.40am, so actual distance travelled at that latitude was 34 miles by noon], and course was altered to North 61° West (magnetic) to make due West (true) [sic S89W true]. I steered this course to make longitude 51° West in latitude 42° North on account of ice reports which had been received… Allowing S.89.W (true) 120 miles from my noon position…”
Lord: 6710. Where had you been heading before [you stopped for the night at 10.21pm]?
- S. 89, W. true.
This course and distance from Californian’s actual noon position would have brought Californian to a dead reckoning position of 42.2N 50.7W, 17 miles NNE from Titanic’s incorrect final distress position, which is where Lord told the Virginian he was, the next morning, according to Captain Gambel of the Virginian:
“She [the Californian] was 17 miles north of the Titanic, and had not heard anything official of the disaster. I sent a Marconigram to her as follows: “Titanic struck iceberg, wants assistance urgently, ship sinking, passengers in boats, her position lat. 41.46, long. 50.14.”
Lord confirms that he gave his position to Captain Gambel and the distance from Titanic’s incorrect distress position in a letter sent to the Board of Trade on August 10, 1912:
“April 15 about 6:30 am [sic 5.50am] gave my position to S.S. Virginian before I heard where the Titanic sunk, that also gave me 17 away.”
However, Captain Lord’s actual position was further south than he thought, because he had entered the south-going Labrador current just after his noon observation was taken, when Californian was in the same longitude as the Titanic was by 7pm, when she also entered the freezing water and Lightoller noticed the dramatic drop in temperature, when Titanic was in longitude 47.38W. Californian had therefore been set south by this current for almost 10.5 hours, before she came to a stop at 10.21pm, and for a further hour before Titanic’s collision and stop at about 11.40pm [about 11.30pm on Californian], when the two ships then drifted south together in the Labrador current.
This southerly set would not affect Lord’s dead reckoning longitude, which was therefore correct at 50.7W and we know that Californian was on a bearing of northeast from Titanic, which is 315 degrees true, and that the relative bearings of the two ships would not change appreciably whilst they drifted together, in the same current between Titanic’s collision at 11.40pm and sinking at 2.20am, which we now know was at exactly 41.43N 49.56W. A line northwest from this position, towards Californian, cuts the longitude 50.7W at 41.51N, 10 miles NW of Titanic and about 10 miles south of Lord’s 10.21pm real dead reckoning latitude of 42.2N. This 10miles difference in latitude
from Lord’s Dead Reckoning latitude is not surprising, as Californian had been under the influence of the south-running Labrador Current for just over 14 hours by the time Titanic sank at 2.20am.
Looming Californian
Californian did not move her engines all night:
Lord 6713: “…5.15 we moved the engines for a few minutes and then we stopped on account of the news we received, and waited till 6 o'clock.
STL066. I will read this from the log book:
6.00, proceeded slow, pushing through the thick ice.
But witnesses on the Titanic said the Californian seemed to gradually approach and approach, and then recede again, before vanishing completely at dawn. Part of this was due to Californian’s slow swing to starboard, throughout the night, as this would have had the effect of first opening out and then shutting in again her high masthead lights, as can be seen in the below diagram of the arcs of visibility of ships lights:
Diagram of arcs of visibility of ships lights. © Peter Padfield
This turning action would tend to make the stationary Californian appear to be approaching, and then turning away from, the Titanic; but Californian’s slow swing to starboard was made an even more confusing spectacle from Titanic because of the variable nature of mirage effects. As the night wore on and the air at Titanic’s wreck site became colder and more dense, the looming increased, making Californian appear to approach from hull-down, as the light rays bent further down, around the curved surface of the earth, effectively raising up the Californian. Similarly, as the air at Titanic’s wreck site began to warm slightly with the approach of dawn, this warmer air would bend the light less, causing Californian to appear to retreat again, creeping back below the horizon. And this is exactly what happened that night, where Californian was seen to approach until about 1.30am, as the strength of the thermal inversion increased and as Californian was swinging towards Titanic, and then gradually recede again, as Californian turned away from Titanic, until her lights disappeared completely when the thermal inversion was broken by the breeze which sprang up with the Dawn.
Initially, the stationary Californian, heading northeast, as we have seen, could not be seen at all from the Titanic:
Colonel Archibald Gracie, Titanic 1st Class Passenger, from “The Truth about the Titanic”, published in 1912:
From the first cabin quarter, forward on the port side, we strained our eyes to discover what struck us. From vantage points where the view was not obstructed by the lifeboats on this deck I sought the object, but in vain, though I searched the horizon near and far and discovered nothing. If another ship had struck us there was no trace of it, and it did not yet occur to me that it was an iceberg with which we had collided. Not satisfied with a partial investigation, I made a complete tour of the deck, searching every point of the compass with my eyes. Having gained no satisfaction whatever, I descended to the glass enclosed deck A…
Frederick Fleet, in the lookout until midnight, did not see any ship anywhere on the horizon either:
FRF278. Were there lights of any other vessels in sight when you came down from the crow's nest?
- There was no lights at all when we was up in the crow's nest. This is after we was down and on the boats; then I seen the light.
FRF279. Where did you see it?
- On the port bow. The other lookout reported it.
FRF280. How far ahead?
- It was not ahead; it was on the bow, about four points.
FRF281. I am not speaking of that. I wanted to know whether you saw ahead, while you were on the watch, on the lookout, Sunday night, after the collision occurred or before, any lights of any other ship.
- No, sir.
FRF282. You saw no lights at all?
- No, sir.
FRF316. You saw some light on the horizon that night?
- Not on the lookout, sir.
FRF317. Not on the lookout?
- The only thing we saw was the iceberg. We had no light on that watch.
FRF326. You saw it before you got off the Titanic?
- Yes, sir.
As Boxhall testifies, it was not until the order was given to clear Titanic’s lifeboats, that Californian’s lights were first seen by anyone on Titanic, when the air was colder and Californian had swung further towards the Titanic, opening out her high masthead lights:
15384. When the order was given to clear the boats what did you do; did you go to any particular boat?
- No, I went right along the line of boats and I saw the men starting, the watch on deck, our watch.
15385. Which side of the ship?
- The port side, I went along the port side, and afterwards I was down the starboard side as well but for how long I cannot remember. I was unlacing covers on the port side myself and I saw a lot of men come along - the watch I presume. They started to screw some out on the afterpart of the port side; I was just going along there and seeing all the men were well established with their work, well under way with it, and I heard someone report a light, a light ahead. I went on the bridge and had a look to see what the light was.
15386. Someone reported a light ahead?
- Yes; I do not know who reported it. There were quite a lot of men on the bridge at the time.
Titanic was continually visible from Californian, however, because her 150 feet high masthead light, fully opened out, was in full view of the Californian the entire time, because, as we have seen, Titanic had been approaching Californian from the eastward and southward, before her collision, after which she then turned to starboard (right), northwards and came to a stop heading almost directly towards the Californian.
When the stationary Californian was first seen from the Titanic she was hull-down, below the horizon, with only her two masthead lights visible, but then Boxhall noticed her gradually approach and approach, until her sidelights – and even the porthole lights in her hull – were visible with the naked eye. Boxhall’s dramatic account, transcribed from a BBC radio interview he gave in 1962, accurately describes the turning Californian, as well as her apparent approaching, before turning away:
And I worked on the boat covers, taking off the boat covers, on the Boat Deck, when I heard the Crow’s Nest report a light on the Starboard Bow. Well I went on the bridge right away, and I found this light with my own glasses but I wanted the telescope to define what it was and I realized then it was two masthead lights of a steamer below the horizon [Author’s note, the ‘false horizon’ caused by the mirage did not alter the actual sea horizon, where Californian first appeared hull-down, as the bottom of the duct was above the level of the observers on the Titanic] and the lights were very close [together] and I went back and told the captain, “There is a steamer in sight very nearly ahead but slightly on the Starboard Bow and if she continues on her course she’ll pass close to us down the Port Side.” Well I asked the captain, “Shall I send up some distress rockets, sir?” Then we started sending off these distress rockets, the Quartermaster and I on bridge, but I never knew how many I had fired. I knew very well that there were some in the box. The box holds a dozen and when, I told the captain I said, “There are still some in there, sir, but I don’t know how many I fired.” I didn’t see any reply. Some of the passengers that was on the bridge said that they did see a reply.
We also called up this ship as she grew closer with a, with a Morse Lamp, a very powerful Morse Lamp that we had, and eventually this steamer approached and approached until you could [see it with the na]ked eye and I should say that she must have been within five miles off, you could not only see her lights with the naked eye but you could see the lights in her portholes. So I reckon that she, she must have been within five miles. And then eventually she turned away and showed her stern light. And about that time the captain came across the bridge and said, “Mr. Boxhall, you go away in that boat,” pointing to the Port Emergency Boat number two. And he said, “Now hurry up Mr. Wilde is waiting to lower it.” So I said, “You see that white light over there, sir?”
pointing it out to him. He said, “Yes,” I said, “that is the stern light of that ship.”
And Boxhall confirmed this turning and apparent approaching of the Californian at the British and American Inquiries into the disaster, in 1912:
Boxhall:15401: I saw her green light and the red. She was end-on to us. Later I saw her red light. This is all with the aid of a pair of glasses up to now. Afterwards I saw the ship's red light with my naked eye, and the two masthead lights. The only description of the ship that I could give is that she was, or I judged her to be, a four-masted steamer.
15409. (The Commissioner.) What distance did you suppose her to be away?
- I judged her to be between 5 and 6 miles when I Morsed to her, and then she turned round - she was turning very, very slowly - until at last I only saw her stern light, and that was just before I went away in the boat.
15415. After a time you saw what you took to be the stern light of a ship?
- It was the stern light of the ship.
15416. Did you infer from that that the ship was turned round, and was going in the opposite direction?
- Yes.
15417. When you first saw her, I understand you to say she was approaching you?
- She was approaching us, yes.
JGB522. What lights did you see?
- The two masthead lights and the red light.
JGB523. Were the two masthead lights the first lights that you could see?
- The first lights.
JGB524. And what other lights?
- And then, as she got closer, she showed her side light, her red light.
JGB525. So you were quite sure she was coming in your direction?
- Quite sure.
JGB956. I understood you to say that you saw a steamer almost ahead of you, or saw a light that night, about the time of the collision?