A Californian Voyage Part 3 of 3 THE "CURRENT" FACTOR and Some Other Issues CONTINUED FROM PART 2 by Samuel Halpern

TimeConditionsBeaufort Scale* App. Distance From Stopping Point Four a.m.Fresh wind, rough and westerly; sky overcast and heavy short showers. Force 5 (17-21kts) about 208 nautical miles (Titanic about 228 miles behind) Eight a.m.Moderate wind (from west- northwest), and sea overcast; clear weather. Force 4 (11-16 kts) about 164 nautical miles (Titanic about 184 miles behind) Noon.Fresh wind (from north- northwest); moderate sea; clear weather. Force 5 (17-21kts) about 120 nautical miles (Titanic about 140 miles behind) Four p.m.Moderate wind (from north); smooth sea. Force 4 (11-16 kts) about 74 nautical miles (Titanic about 96 miles behind) Eight p.m.Light wind (from north); small swell; clear weather. Force 2 (4-6 kts) about 28 nautical miles (Titanic about 52 miles behind) Midnight.Calm, and smooth sea; clear weather; ship surrounded by ice. Force 0 (0 knots) Zero nautical miles (Californian stopped at 10:20 p.m.) Weather Condition Encountered by SS Californian April 14, 1912 * Ref.:

Searching the Vicinity For Survivors Searching the Vicinity For Survivors "And then Captain Lord suggested that we should search down to leeward." "The Californian now made one complete turn to starboard followed by one to port and then resumed her passage to Boston passing the Canadian Pacific steamship Mount Temple, and another steamship of unknown nationality." - 3/O Groves, The Middle Watch.

How Did All Those Ships Get There? How Did All Those Ships Get There? Example of Track Over Ground Vs. Course Made Good

A Modern Day Look At Currents in the Atlantic

Caught in a Cold Water Eddy? Caught in a Cold Water Eddy? One Possible Explanation

Carpathia to the Rescue

Could Californian Have Been at 42° 05' N at 7:30 PM?

How an Eddy Could Have Affected the Track of the Titanic

Senator FLETCHER. Did you move in the direction in which the Titanic was moving when she went down? Mr. CRAWFORD. No; we were the other way; that way [indicating]. Senator FLETCHER. Which way? Mr. CRAWFORD. The Titanic was moving this way; we were that way [indicating]. Senator FLETCHER. Suppose the Titanic was going west; then you went northwest? Mr. CRAWFORD. If the Titanic was coming along this way we went across that way, straight for the light. Senator FLETCHER. If the Titanic was moving west you moved southwest? Mr. CRAWFORD. Probably so. Senator FLETCHER. Toward the light? Mr. CRAWFORD. Yes, sir. Senator FLETCHER. And then the Carpathia appeared in what direction? Mr. CRAWFORD. She came right up around and started to pick up the boats. Senator FLETCHER. She came from the northeast from you, then? Mr. CRAWFORD. Probably so. Senator FLETCHER. Assuming you had been going southwest? Mr. CRAWFORD. Yes, sir.... Senator FLETCHER. I mean, how far away was the Carpathia when you first saw her? Mr. CRAWFORD. We did not know it was the Carpathia. We saw a steamer coming up, and we could see she was picking up the boats. Then we turned around and made for her. Senator FLETCHER. How far away was she? Mr. CRAWFORD. Three or four miles away. Which Way Toward the Light? Which Way Toward the Light? The Journey of Lifeboat No. 8

Which Way Toward the Light? Which Way Toward the Light? What Did it All Mean The final result is consistent with Peuchen's, Candee's, and Beesley's deductions. Titanic was heading Northward when she foundered.

Bow Section Faces Northward on the Sea Bottom Bow section is directly north of boiler field. If the ship was pointing westward at time of breakup, the bow section would have to have moved about as far west as it had moved north of the boiler field. That did not happen!

Height of Eye in Titanic's Lifeboats Height of eye above seat is about 30 inches (2.5 ft). Using Titanic's 30 ft lifeboats, height of eye of someone seated amidships is abot 4' 3'' above the water. Height of eye for someone standing on a thwart is about 7 ft above the water.

How Could Bedroom Steward Alfred Crawford See Californian's Sidelights from Lifeboat No. 8? By extreme range table we get 1.17 × [  H L +  H E ] = 9.8 nautical miles. If Titanic was 12 miles from Californian and Lifeboat No. 8 rowed 3 to 4 miles toward the "light," then the distance from Californian would be 8 to 9 miles. Californian's sidelights would be above the visible horizon from someone seated in a lifeboat on a very clear, dark night. For someone standing on a thwart the distance that Californian's sidelights can be seen is 10.5 miles. height of sidelight (H L ) on Californian is about 40 ft height of eye (H E ) for someone seated in lifeboat is about 4 ft 3 in

Californian on the Swing

SUMMARY and CONCLUSIONS  Not only were Titanic's rockets seen from the Californian, but also the rocket's fired from the rescue vessel Carpathia coming up from the SE beyond where Titanic had been.  The Titanic most likely came to stop about 41° 46.5' N, 49° 55.5' W; and foundered at 41° 43.5' N, 49° 56.8' W.  The Californian was under the influence of the cold Labrador current since about 4 PM based on water temperatures taken every 4 hours.  The stopped Californian was located to NW true from the stopped Titanic based on a line-of-bearing to where rockets were seen by two of Californian's deck officers.  The most likely distance between the two stopped ships was about 12 miles. They both drifted with the local current at about 1.2 knots toward 197° true.  The Titanic would have been seen from the Californian as a hull down vessel beyond the Californian's visible horizon. It easily could have been mistaken as a tramp steamer that was much closer on that clear, calm and moonless night.  Conversely, the ship most likely seen from the Titanic was the Californian.  All of Capt. De Coverly's objections to Titanic being seen can easily be explained when subjected to detailed technical analysis.  Super-refraction theories nor mystery ship interventions are needed to explain what was seen on the night of April 1912.