For
more on the sinking of the Titanic, read “How Long Would You Last? Part One©”, HERE.
On
April 15th, 1912, at 2:20 am, the RMS Titanic sank, just two hours and forty
minutes after side swiping an iceberg.
The weather was calm, the air temperature that night was between 35 to
40° F (2 to 4° C), while the sea temperature was just above 28° F (-2° C). The
RMS Carpathia rescued the first survivor at 4:10 am1, about an hour
and fifty minutes after the Titanic’s final plunge. And of the approximately 2,200 people aboard
the ship that night, about 1,500 died, even though they all had life
preservers!
Most
people who are plunged into cold water, water below the temperature of 59° F,
or 15° C, will die of “cold shock” and if they survive that, of “incapacitation”,
an early symptom of hypothermia, in which victim’s mental and physical
abilities to rescue themselves lessens, within the first few minutes
after immersion. Those who survive the
first three minutes will die within the next hour from the effects of severe
hypothermia, as their core body temperature plunges. This is what happened to the 1,500 people who
were plunged into the 28° F (-2° C) sea water when the
RMS Titanic sank.
All
except for Charles John Joughin, the Chief Baker of the Titanic, who survived
floating in his lifebelt for more than three hours, while everyone around him
died of the cold.
“Just
the facts, ma'am”...
So, what are the facts as to why Charles Joughin survived when so many others died.
Charles Joughin’s
timeline for the night of April 14 to 15th was as follows:
ü The RMS Titanic struck the iceberg at 11:40 pm
on the night of April 14th.
ü At 12:15 am, the order to provision the
lifeboats was received, and Charles Joughin instructed the bakers under his command to take all the extra
bread, about 50 pounds (23 kg) up to the “Boat Deck”.
ü Between 12:15 and 12:30 am. after instructing
the bakers to take the bread up, he went down to his room for a drink.
ü At 12:30 he went up to the “Boat Deck”, to
take charge of Lifeboat No. 10.
ü Between 1:20 and 1:45 am Lifeboat No. 10 was lowered
away with passengers in it2, after which Mr. Joughin, noted that “I
went down to my room and had a drop of liqueur that I had down there...then I
came upstairs again”.3
Charles Joughin’s stateroom was on the “E” deck.
ü After he had a drop of liqueur, he went to “B”
deck, where he started throwing approximately 50 wooden deck chairs overboard,
to be used as flotation devices. After
throwing the chairs overboard he went to the “A” deck pantry for a drink of
water.
ü At 2:17 am the final distress signal from the RMS Titanic is sent.
ü At 2:18 am, the lights on the Titanic went out.
ü At about 2:18 am, while in the deck pantry, he
heard “...a kind of crash as if something had buckled, as if part of the
ship had buckled, and then I heard a rush overhead ... a rush of people
overhead [rushing across the “Boat” deck, from the forward area of the
Titanic towards the aft section, to get on to the “A” deck]”. As Mr. Joughin followed behind, he noted that
“I kept out of the crush as much as I possibly could, and I followed down –
followed down getting towards the well of the deck, and just as I got down
towards the well she gave a great list over to port and threw everybody in a
bunch except myself...I was not exactly in the well, I was on the side...I
clambered on the side when she chucked them...”.4
ü At 2:20 am after climbing over the railing
onto the outside of Titanic, Charles Joughin recalled “I was just wondering
what next to do when she went...I do not believe my head went under the water
at all. It may have been wetted, but no
more”.5
ü First light, or civil twilight, would have
been at 5:11 am and the Sun would have risen at 5:40 am. Charles Joughin when answering the
Solicitor-General questions, said “I was just paddling and treading water...
Just as it was breaking daylight I saw what I thought was some wreckage, and I
started to swim towards it slowly. When
I got near enough, I found it was a collapsible not properly upturned but on
its side...I did not attempt to get anything to hold on to until I reached
[Collapsible B], but that was daylight...There was no room for anymore...I
tried to get on it, but I was pushed off...a cook that was on the collapsible
recognized me, and held out his hand and held me – a chap named Maynard...I
held on the side of the boat...we were hanging on to the collapsible, and
eventually a lifeboat came into sight...I should say we were on the collapsible
about half-an-hour...They got to within 50 yards and they sung out that they
could only take 10. So, I said to this
Maynard, ‘Let go my hand’ and I swam to meet it so that I would be one of the
10”.6
“You were nearly two or three hours in the water...”7
In fact, Charles Joughin was in the frigid waters of the North Atlantic from 2:20 am to about 5:40
am, or for about three hours and twenty minutes.
“How much assistance did you get from your lifebelt? Did it support you without your treading water yourself? Did it in fact support you throughout without your treading water? But you would not have sunk if you had not done anything?”
Charles Joughin, answering these questions about the cork lifebelts,
which he wore, and which were available to everyone on the Titanic, that “...it
is only a case of keeping your head with one of these lifebelts. Just paddling and you keep afloat
indefinitely, I should say” 8.
“When you found your boat had gone you said you went down below. What did you do when you went down below? What kind of glass was it? Yes, my Lord, this is very important, because I am going to prove, or rather my suggestion is, that he then saved his life. I think his getting a drink had a lot to do with saving his life...”.9
Mr. Joughin answered Mr. Cotter’s questions about his “drop of
liqueur” by saying, “I went to my room for a drink ... [of] ... spirits
... It was a tumbler half full”.10
These are just the facts of the case, come back next week when we
present the solution to the case of the drunk baker, Part Two!
I
hope that you continue to enjoy The Woodsman’s Journal Online and look for me
on YouTube at BandanaMan Productions for other related videos, HERE. Don’t forget to follow me on both The
Woodsman’s Journal Online, HERE,
and subscribe to BandanaMan Productions on YouTube. If you have questions, as always, feel free
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announce new articles on Facebook at Eric Reynolds, on Instagram at
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That
is all for now, and as always, until next time, Happy Trails!
Notes
1
“Carpathia's Role in Titanic's Rescue”, by The Maritime Executive, LLC
2 “
Lifeboats, Launch Times, List and Trim: Part 1”, from Encyclopedia Titanica;
3 “From
the British Wreck Commissioner’s Inquiry, Day 6: Testimony of Charles Joughin”,
questions asked by The Commissioner and The Solicitor-General, item 6020.
4
Ibid., item 6026 to 6053
5
Ibid., item 6072 to 6076
6
Ibid., item 6085 to 6106
7
“From the British Wreck Commissioner’s Inquiry, Day 6: Testimony of Charles
Joughin”, questions asked by Mr. Roche, item 6141
8
Ibid., item 6141
9
“From the British Wreck Commissioner’s Inquiry, Day 6: Testimony of Charles
Joughin”, questions asked by Mr. Cotter, items 6247 to 6250
10
Ibid.
11
“How
long does it take for alcohol to leave your system”, University of Arizona;
Sources
The
Maritime Executive, LLC; “Carpathia's Role in Titanic's Rescue”, [© 2024 The
Maritime Executive, LLC], https://maritime-executive.com/article/carpathias-role-in-titanic-rescue#:~:text=Carpathia%20was%2058%20miles%20from,used%20to%20drive%20the%20engines,
accessed May 24, 2024
Encyclopedia Titanica; “
Lifeboats, Launch Times, List and Trim: Part 1” ( #716), published March 19, 2023,
[© 1996-2024 Encyclopedia Titanica], https://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/lifeboats-launch-times-list-and-trim-1.html,
accessed May 24, 2024
Titanic Inquiry Project; “British
Wreck Commissioner's Inquiry
Day 6: Testimony of
Charles Joughin”, [© 1998-2017: Titanic Inquiry Project], https://www.titanicinquiry.org/BOTInq/BOTInq06Joughin01.php,
accessed April 25, 2024
University
of Arizona; “How long does it take for alcohol to leave your system”,
https://health.arizona.edu/sites/default/files/How%20long%20does%20it%20take%20for%20alcohol%20to%20leave%20your%20system.pdf,
accessed May 25 2024
U.S. Navy, Astronomical
Applications Department; “Table of Sunrise/Sunset, Moonrise/Moonset, or Twilight
Times for an Entire Year”, https://aa.usno.navy.mil/data/RS_OneYear,
accessed May 23, 2024
Wikimedia; “Plan of the
Boat Deck of the RMS Titanic showing location of lifeboats”, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Titanic_Boat_Deck_plan_with_lifeboats.png,
accessed May 25, 2024
Wikimedia; “RMS Titanic”,
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Titanic_plans.jpg,
accessed May 25, 2024
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