Titanic and the SS Californian

On the night of Sunday, April 14,1912, the SS Californian was sailing through the Atlantic Ocean on her way to Boston. Californian was about 1/12^th of the weight of the massive RMS Titanic, and was primarily designed for the transport of cotton, but capable of comfortably housing 47 passengers and 55 crew on board.

 At 7 p.m., the SS Californian’s wireless operator, Cyril Evans, called RMS Titanic to warn them of three potentially dangerous icebergs to Titanic’s slight north. Being nervous about the icy conditions, Captain Stanley Lord ordered the SS Californian to stop for the night. His Ship was small, more than ten years old, and, in Lord’s mind, no match for the ice field around her.

 Later that night, Captain Lord retired to the deck below, but noticed Titanic out of the porthole window. He had members of his crew wire Titanic to warn them again of the icy conditions. He kept an eye on her bright decks glowing in the dark.

When Titanic received Cyril Evans’ warning, her wireless operator was overwhelmed with other work. While Californian was transmitting, Titanic wireless operator Jack Phillips was furiously trying to hear another signal for routine work on the Ship. Frustrated by the bleeding, unintelligible signals, Phillips demanded that Evans “shut up.”

Evans went to bed, and ten minutes later, RMS Titanic crashed into an iceberg.

Thirty-five minutes after that, Titanic sent out her first wireless distress call, but no one was awake to hear.

Down below, Captain Lord was still considering Titanic, and his crew tried to signal her via Morse lamp to no avail. The crew of Californian watched Titanic fire off distress rockets, but only responded with Morse lamp and never checked the wireless. They discussed the peculiar angle of the Ship, the strange distress signals, and the lack of response they were getting. They never checked the wireless. At 2 o’clock in the morning, the crew of Californian thought they saw Titanic sail away. 

The next morning, panic ensued. Evans checked the wireless and realized Titanic had gone under in the night. Fearing the repercussions, they passed the rescue ship Carpathia, and took a longer course to the wreck site. They didn’t want their position during the disaster known.

As RMS Titanic sent wireless transmissions, distress rockets, and begged for help, The SS Californian sat ten miles away, wondering.

Read more about Titanic on our Stories From The Titanic blog...