TITANIC

Introduction

Our life can be compared to a ship. The journey we make in our life from birth to death can be compared to the journey in a ship from one destination to another. The real life story of Titanic is fascinating. Let's have a glimpse of the truth behind the story of the Titanic.

The Titanic ship was the biggest ship ever built during 1912. The 882 ft long ship roughly equals the size of the Tower Bridge. The construction of Titanic started in 1909 at Belfast. Total cost of Titanic was $7.5 million (1912). White Star Line owned Titanic and Bruce Ismay was the managing director. It had 16 watertight compartments, which were designed to close automatically, if flooded. Shipbuilder magazine quoted on the construction of Titanic in 1911 that because of the watertight compartments the ship was ‘practically unsinkable’. Though it was made from 46,000 tonnes of steel, people were made to believe that Titanic was ‘unsinkable’.

White star line's vice president Franklin said: “We place absolute confidence in the Titanic. We believe the boat is unsinkable”. A Deckhand quoted: “Not even God himself could sink this ship”. Titanic Captain, Edward John Smith with more than 40 years of experience at sea said: “I cannot conceive any vital disaster happening to this vessel. Modern ship building has gone beyond that.”

Titanic was described as a ‘Luxury hotel at sea’. The ship contained a swimming pool, gymnasium, squash court and library. The crown jewel of the decoration was the first class grand staircase topped by a massive glass dome. The titanic built for luxury and comfort contained enormous quantities of variety food and drinks. They stored 75,000 lbs of meat, 25,000 lbs of poultry and 11,000 lbs of fish. About 1,500 gallons of milk and 40,000 eggs were stored. The passengers had the option to choose from stacks of beverages (20,000 Beer bottles and 1,500 Wine bottles and more)

The cascade of events:
10th April 1912 – Titanic leaves from Southampton on its maiden voyage to New York.
11th April 1912 – Reaches Ireland and then restarts journey.
12th April 1912 – Smooth sailing through the sea.
13th April 1912 – Temperature is getting lower.
14th April 1912 – 09:00 – First warning about an iceberg.
18:00 – Passengers had their supper, which was their last one.
19:00 – Several warning reports about icebergs from nearby ships (The Baltic, Californian, and Carpathian).
20:00 – All the warning messages were ignored.
21:00 – Moonless night and darkness prevailed all over.
22:00 – Titanic was travelling at about 45 miles/hour.
22:50 – The Californian that sailed close to the Titanic sent a message that they had stopped sailing, because of icebergs.
23:00 – This warning message was also ignored.
23:10 – Journey continued and speed of the ship not reduced.
23:15 – The wireless operator from The Californian switched off his radio, unaware of the danger for the speeding Titanic.
23:39 – Some one spots an iceberg very close with less than 1 minute to respond.
23:40 – Titanic turns to the left, but collided with the iceberg.
15th April 1912
00:00 – Six watertight compartments were flooded.
00:05 – Distress signal “CQD” was sent to other nearby ships.
00:25 – The nearest ship, Carpathian, received it.
00:45 – First lifeboat launched and distress rockets fired.
01:00 – Lifeboats launched, but not filled up to the maximum.
01:30 – The titanic music band (Wallace Hartley & his team) played the song 'Nearer my God to thee'. The band played the music in an effort to keep passengers calm and they continued playing music till the end.
02:15 – The last wireless distress signal, “We are sinking fast...” was followed by sudden loss of power in the ship.
02:18 – Titanic breaks into two pieces and the bow sinks first.
02:20 – The ‘unsinkable’ Titanic sinks after 2 hours and 40 minutes of ordeal. About 1,500 passengers lost their lives.
04:30 – The Carpathian rescues about 705 passengers from the lifeboats and heads towards New York.

Lifeboats

Titanic carried only 20 lifeboats, which means that it could take maximum of 1178 passengers, if each lifeboat is filled to the maximum capacity but there were about 2,200 passengers on board. Hence the Titanic should have carried at least 34 lifeboats to save the lives of all people on board. Titanic was loaded with all the luxury items, but it failed to have adequate number of lifeboats. One of the reasons for not having the required number of lifeboats was that those lifeboats would take large amount of space in the ship, which could potentially reduce the number of luxury items they had to carry in the ship. They would have to lose some of their luxury items to accommodate the extra number of lifeboats.

Compared with the huge size, magnificent build and the opulence of the ship, the life boat was very small in size, and none of the items in Titanic were present (no food, no comfort), but the only difference was that the lifeboat was floating on the cold sea at midnight of April 15th 1912 while the Titanic was sinking.

What do we learn from the above true story?

Life as a ‘sinking’ Titanic

The life we live in this world can be compared to the story of the Titanic. Our body is a vessel designed as a ship carrying inside a soul and a spirit. Indeed our mortal body can be a representation of the sinking Titanic ship. If we could count our heartbeats, it would be between 60-100 beats per minute. Our heart has to beat about 100,000 times and pump 7,200 litres of blood in order to live one day on planet earth. On an average, our human body is designed to live for about 70-80 years. Death can occur to anyone at anytime. So, are we prepared to meet death at any time of our life? For some people death is sudden and unexpected (e.g., accident / heart attack / stroke) but for others it could be slow and gradual (e.g., old age / cancer / dementia). The truth is everyone born in this world will die at some time. But we can face death confidently as long as we know where we are going. Not the huge Titanic, but only the lifeboat will save our soul. The only lifeboat is Jesus Christ who promises us eternal life after death.

My dear friend, we may be rich, wearing expensive clothes, driving a luxury car and living in comfy homes. We may be successful persons in every walk of life and enjoying endearing relationships for long. But, Undoubtedly, all of them represent the ‘Sinking’ Titanic. What would be beneficial, if a man owns the whole world, yet he loses his life? The ‘unsinkable’ lifeboat may seem to be insignificant, but it is the one that saves our lives. In this world, Jesus Christ is that ‘Unsinkable’ Lifeboat who saves lives eternally.

Are you willing to get into the lifeboat? It’s your free choice.

Thank you for patiently reading this. If you wish to accept Jesus as you saviour, please say this following prayer:

Dear Lord Jesus,
I believe you are the Son of God. You died on the cross for my sins. I believe you rose from the dead on the third day and you are seated at the right hand of our Father in heaven. I confess all my sins. (List them if you can remember them). Please forgive me. Cleanse me with your precious blood. I proclaim that I am a new creation in Christ from now on. I say this prayer in Jesus name. Amen.

Welcome to the Kingdom of God! Right now, there will be thousands of angels rejoicing over your salvation in heaven, as you have been saved just now. Today, buy a Bible and read Mathew chapters 5, 6 & 7 that gives the principles to follow in our lives. Continue to read, pray and attend a church that belongs to Jesus Christ. God bless you! Amen!

"Nearer, my God, to Thee"

Nearer, my God, to thee, nearer to thee!

E'en though it be a cross that raiseth me,

still all my song shall be,

Nearer, my God, to thee,

nearer to thee!

Though like the wanderer, the sun gone down,

darkness be over me, my rest a stone.

Yet in my dreams I'd be nearer, my God to thee.

There let the way appear, steps unto heaven;

all that thou sendest me, in mercy given;

angels to beckon me nearer, my God, to thee.

Then, with my waking thoughts bright with thy praise,

out of my stony griefs Bethel I'll raise;

so by my woes to be nearer, my God, to thee.

Or, if on joyful wing cleaving the sky,

sun, moon, and stars forgot, upward I'll fly,

still all my song shall be, nearer, my God, to thee.

There in my Father's home, safe and at rest,

there in my Saviour's love, perfectly blest;

age after age to be, nearer my God to thee.

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Words: Sarah Adams, 1841