On 5/31/11 9:33 AM, bob haller wrote:
On May 31, 8:48 am, wrote:
One hundred years ago today, the Titanic was launched in Belfast at
the Harland and Wolff shipyard.

I've always wondered,

after the collision, if the captian had elected to keep the ship
alongside the iceberg, if the passangers could have climbed onto the
iceberg and used it as a life boat.

Mark

Thats a question I have never heard asked. Excellent!

It would have taken miles to back down. Then I doubt he could have
steered in reverse. It's dangerous to park near an iceberg because they
turn over without warning.

Icebergs are difficult to walk on. Once when we were drifting, an
iceberg came up and bumped into us. None of the deck hands was stupid
enough to try to walk on it, so they sent for me and I went over the
side on a rope. It was great fun because the ice was polished, rounded,
wet, and sloping toward the frigid water. While I was trying to learn
to walk on it, the berg drifted away from the ship.

If you want to hit icebergs, put somebody who doesn't know how to drive
in charge. Our captain loved to do that. He had a great sense of
humor. Then give him radar. Ice doesn't reflect radar, so when he
finds himself among icebergs, the biggest one will look on radar like an
opening. He'll order full speed ahead, straight for the berg. The crew
may keep warning him not to do it, but he'll know he's right because he
sees the opening on radar.

The first time it happened, I was below and the collision knocked me out
of my chair. As long as your ship is a lot smaller than the Titanic and
the hull is 4" thick, it probably won't be torn open.