An Anniversary of Titanic Proportion by Gerri Brousseau

One Hundred Years Ago, the largest ship ever built set sail.  Yes, my friends, The RMS Titanic.  She carried some of the wealthiest passengers and over 1000 emigrants from Great Britain, Ireland and Scandinavia on their way to New York City.

The ship boasted an on-board gym, swimming pool, squash court, Turkish baths, libraries, high class restaurants and opulent cabins.  Despite this and having a powerful wireless telegraph system for the convenience of her passengers, she lacked enough life boats to accommodate all her passengers.  On her maiden voyage she carried 2,224 passengers, but only had enough life boats for 1,178.  Many of those boats were launched only partially filled.

The remains of the Titanic rest in her watery grave under 12,415 feet of ocean.  When doing some research for this article, I discovered some really horrific findings.

Passenger category
Number aboard
Number Saved
Number Lost


Children 1st Class
6
5
1


Children 2nd Class
24
24
0


Children 3rd Class
79
27
52


Women 1st Class
144
140
4


Women 2nd Class
93
80
13


Women 3rd Class
165
76
89


Women Crew
23
20
3


Men 1st Class
175
57
118


Men 2nd Class
168
14
154


Men 3rd Class
462
65
387


Men Crew
865
192
693

After seeing the wonderful movie, Titanic, we can all imagine being swept into the romance of the beautiful accommodations and opulent grand staircase and dining room.  The third class accommodations were much better than the same in any other ships.  The third class passengers were accommodated in cabins sleeping between two and ten people.  It also offered 164 open berths provided for single young men.  But if I were traveling aboard that ship, I most probably would not have been in first class.  Chances are, I would have been lucky to make it into second class.  I discovered leisure facilities were provided for all three classes.  Nice.  As I sit here recalling the store of Jack and Rose, I wonder if I would find love if I were a passenger on Titanic.  Would I be swept off my feet by a romantic man?  I wonder what the third class dining room was like.  I wonder if I would have been one of the lucky 76 or 80 to make it into the life boat.  What do you think life would have been like for you if you were a passenger aboard that opulent but ill-fated ship?

Filed under: romance