- 1 day ago
From vanished crews to the long-lost Titanic, the ocean holds secrets that defy explanation. Could strong winds really take down a massive cruise ship? Let’s uncover the truth!
Category
😹
FunTranscript
00:00Welcome to the Spirit of Discovery cruise ship, which will take you on an unforgettable sea voyage around the Canary
00:06Islands,
00:07the azure endless ocean, delicious food, the highest service, premium cabins, and a terrible nightmare that you will probably remember
00:16for the rest of your life.
00:18This is exactly how one luxury trip of the Saga Cruises Company ended last year.
00:23Instead of relaxing during the cruise, passengers felt fear and horror, and even had health problems. And that's why.
00:32On October 24th, the Spirit of Discovery liner started a two-week cruise around the Canary Islands.
00:38There were about 1,500 people on board, about 1,000 were passengers, and the rest were crew members.
00:45The first week went great, but then the liner encountered a serious problem called nature.
00:51There were strong winds and big waves.
00:54The captain decided to return to the UK ahead of time, but the decision was made too late.
01:00The ship was caught in a severe storm in the Bay of Biscay.
01:04A powerful wind with a force of 11 points hit the vessel.
01:09To make it easier for you to understand, the 11-point wind is able to tear out trees together with
01:15roots,
01:16destroy residential buildings, and pledge entire cities into chaos.
01:21Such a storm is rare, but Spirit of Discovery was unlucky enough to get into its epicenter.
01:2711 points is the penultimate place on the Beaufort scale, which determines the wind rating.
01:33The most powerful storm has 12 points, and this is a hurricane.
01:38The wind reached a speed of 65 miles per hour, which is about the same as the average speed of
01:44a car on a highway.
01:45Not only did it push the Spirit of Discovery, but it also raised huge waves 25 feet high.
01:52Just imagine a wall of water the height of a three-story building collapsing on a lone ocean liner.
01:58At that moment, the captain sent a message to all the passengers through the cabin speakers so that no one
02:04left their place.
02:12According to the witness's words, the ship remained caught in the storm for about 15 hours.
02:19They held on with all their might so as not to crash into the walls and floor.
02:23All this time, tables were flying around the ship, dishes were breaking, furniture was moving all over the cabins.
02:31The waves smashed windows, partitions, and doors.
02:34Some people were knocked down because they couldn't hold on for so long.
02:38The storm hurled the passengers from ceiling to floor, from wall to wall.
02:44The ship's crew turned the dining room into a medical area to provide assistance to those who had been hurt.
02:51Despite the difficult and terrible conditions, the ship's team did a great job.
02:56They regularly informed passengers about the current situation and tried to calm everyone down.
03:02There was no panic and chaos on board.
03:04When the storm finally ended, the ship continued its journey and finally reached land,
03:10where medics urgently evacuated eight passengers to the hospital.
03:14One of them was never able to survive this storm.
03:18It's good the ship didn't meet a rogue wave during the storm.
03:21This is a natural phenomenon that can appear during a storm and even in still water.
03:27It's a giant wave with a height of 60 feet.
03:31Like a six-story house, it collapses onto a ship with incredible speed and capsizes it.
03:37And then the wave suddenly disappears.
03:40This is no joke.
03:41A similar wave has been recorded in the Gulf Stream off of Charleston, South Carolina.
03:46It's scary to get in its way.
03:49Now, let's go back to the past to remember one of the most terrible maritime tragedies.
03:55No, we're not talking about the Titanic.
03:57We'll talk about the Greek liner Laconia,
04:00which set sail from the English port of Southampton on December 19, 1963,
04:06with more than 600 people on board.
04:09However, just three days later, a terrible tragedy happened to the ship in the boundless waters of the Atlantic.
04:16At 11 p.m., in the barbershop hall, an electrical malfunction occurred.
04:22The problem led to a fire, which quickly spread to other rooms.
04:26The crew couldn't cope with it, since the fire was spreading too fast.
04:30The ship's team turned on the fire alarm, but there was no command to leave the vessel.
04:36Only two hours later, the captain ordered the passengers to evacuate.
04:40All this time, people were either relaxing in their cabins or enjoying a party in the ballroom.
04:45The crew was probably trying to put out the fire without causing panic.
04:51However, when the situation became critical, the evacuation began.
04:55People panicked and ran to the lifeboats, but many didn't manage to get inside.
05:01One of them was John Morris.
05:02He survived this catastrophe and shared his memories of how he put his family in a lifeboat
05:08while he stayed on board the ship.
05:10He didn't even have a life jacket.
05:13Since there was nowhere to go, the ship's crew opened a bar so that people could relax a little.
05:20However, at that moment, boilers began to explode inside the ship,
05:24and it became clear the vessel wouldn't stay afloat for too long.
05:29John Morris decided to jump into the water right in his tuxedo.
05:33As soon as he was overboard, he grabbed onto a piece of wooden deck cargo
05:38and swam as far away from the ship as he could.
05:41The giant liner could sink at any moment,
05:43and when such a huge object goes down to the seabed,
05:47it forms a water funnel that pulls along everything around.
05:52Rescuers arrived at the scene sometime later.
05:55Fortunately, John Morris' pregnant wife and young son were alive,
05:59but his mother-in-law unfortunately didn't survive the disaster,
06:03like many other people that day.
06:05Of course, after this incident, the Greek Ministry of Merchant Marine
06:10initiated a thorough investigation.
06:13For two years, they collected information from passengers and the captain,
06:17studied the technical characteristics of the ship,
06:20and eventually came to certain conclusions.
06:23According to them, the ship's crew gave the evacuation order too late.
06:28Not all passengers were able to get into lifeboats,
06:31but half of those boats remained on board because of the chaos that prevailed during the evacuation.
06:38Several officers of the liner were accused of negligence,
06:41but the captain and his first mate received the most criticism.
06:45As for John Morris, he stated that he felt himself under protection that day.
06:51Another unusual story happened on a cruise ship relatively recently.
06:56Spoiler alert!
06:57The ship didn't sink, there was no evacuation, and the weather was good.
07:01However, for many passengers, this journey became a real challenge.
07:06Imagine that you've been working for a long time
07:09and saving up money to go on your dream trip
07:12on the Celebrity Mercury cruise ship in the Caribbean.
07:15You arrive in South Carolina, from where the ship begins its journey.
07:20You get on board, looking forward to a week's rest.
07:23At first, everything is fine.
07:25People are having fun, chefs are cooking delicious dishes,
07:29and beautiful daytime landscapes turn into night parties.
07:33But then suddenly, many passengers start throwing up.
07:37Someone is in a hurry to go to the toilet,
07:40and someone stays and vomits right in the halls.
07:43The cruise turns into chaos.
07:45More and more people feel terrible because of unknown poisoning.
07:50You also visited the restaurant and eaten seafood.
07:53But fortunately, the disease has avoided you,
07:57which can't be said for more than 400 other passengers.
08:01Almost every one in four people on board face gastrointestinal problems.
08:07There were almost 2,000 people, and a quarter of them are in bad condition.
08:11Crew members do endless cleaning.
08:14They wash the deck, give people nausea pills,
08:17and ask them not to leave the cabin till the illness passes.
08:20The captain sends several samples ashore to determine what caused the poisoning.
08:26Unfortunately, the cruise is already ruined,
08:28and all the passengers have unpleasant memories.
08:32So, the company organizing the trip issues certificates that can be used on future cruises.
08:37It's not the most pleasant experience, but it's still better than nothing.
08:42Now, imagine if, instead of just feeling sick,
08:45people got infected with some kind of bacterium that would turn them into zombies.
08:51It would be much more exciting and scary.
08:53Now, do you think you could survive on such a ship full of zombies?
08:57The year was 1865.
09:00It was a boom of migration worldwide,
09:03with novel places discovered and new settlements created.
09:07Without planes, like we have now,
09:09a ship was the only way to escape from the old life
09:12and journey towards a new, hopefully brighter future.
09:15So, a voyage like that was quite a regular thing to do.
09:19More than 500 immigrants safely reached Queensland,
09:22and the ship was supposed to head back to London sometime later.
09:25It was indeed a long journey,
09:28but not many people were willing to return to England.
09:31After all, they had chosen to come to Australia to create a brand new life.
09:36So, it was only natural that the ship would come back nearly empty.
09:40However, the return trip was still quite lucrative,
09:43thanks to the cargo the ship would carry.
09:46The amount of produce ready to be shipped was substantial,
09:49primarily consisting of wool soaked in arsenic, tallow, and hides.
09:54It was two birds with one stone.
09:57Not only could the crew wait out the winter, warm in Australia,
10:00while England endured bitter cold,
10:02but they also wouldn't waste their time.
10:05With the sheer volume of produce to be loaded,
10:08it would take them around three months to accomplish this task.
10:12Reports were circulating that the fiery star was almost done loading up,
10:17but it turned out that the assessment was a bit too optimistic.
10:20To pass the time, Captain Ewell thought it would be a good idea
10:24to reach out to the Acclimatization Society
10:27and offer to help transport any animals they wanted to send to England on the fiery star.
10:32He already had some emus and kangaroos on board,
10:35but there was still room.
10:37The Society held a vote,
10:39and they were totally on board, pun intended,
10:42with Captain Ewell's idea.
10:44They figured sending some talagalas would be a great plan.
10:47Even though a few of these birds were already in England,
10:51the French Society needed a couple,
10:53and they could get them shipped there through England.
10:55Little did the crew know that all this cargo,
10:58all the produce they were willing to sell in England,
11:01would ultimately lead to the ship's destruction.
11:04Not only was the fiery star lost,
11:06but most of the people on board did not survive to complete the voyage.
11:12March 23rd.
11:14That was the day when the ship manifest was finally published.
11:17A manifest is a list that details the cargo,
11:20passengers, and crew of a ship, plane, or vehicle,
11:23primarily for customs officials.
11:25This document helps those involved in the transport
11:28verify that everyone and everything that was loaded
11:32is still on board when the vehicle reaches its destination.
11:36Once it's published,
11:37it means the ship is almost ready to depart.
11:40There were three possible ways of passenger accommodation.
11:44First, there was the saloon,
11:46the antiquated name for first class.
11:49Next, there was the second cabin,
11:51which is, logically, second class.
11:54Finally, there was the steerage,
11:56the cheapest form of passenger accommodation on a ship.
11:59Back in the 19th and early 20th centuries,
12:02many people traveled from their homelands,
12:04often to North America and Australia,
12:07looking for a fresh start.
12:08Most of them were poor and had limited funds for travel.
12:12In total, there were eight people in the saloon,
12:15another eight in the second cabin,
12:17and only 21 steerage passengers.
12:20Out of the 37 passengers,
12:22only one, John Omond, would make it out alive.
12:26He bought a ticket for the steerage.
12:28So, unlike the Titanic situation,
12:30in this case, the class didn't really matter.
12:34The crew members list wasn't as detailed as the passengers.
12:37It was known that, in total,
12:39there were around 55 people in the crew,
12:42from able-bodied seamen
12:44to crew members simply called boys.
12:46But there's something telling me
12:48that the crew wasn't really that important for the captain.
12:51In reality, all that mattered to him
12:53was to make as much money as possible,
12:56shipping tons of dangerous, flammable cargo.
12:59Out of over 50 crew members,
13:02only 17 survived that voyage.
13:04But there was actually one more crew member
13:07who actually survived it all,
13:09just because they weren't let in.
13:11Sarah Johnson disguised herself as a man
13:14and planned to sneak onto the ship.
13:16However, something about her looks
13:18made the captain get suspicious.
13:20So, he called the police
13:22and made Sarah leave the ship,
13:24as he didn't want any immoral behavior to take place.
13:27Well, he saved her life.
13:29For him, it was the last voyage.
13:32The captain, W. Hunter Ewell,
13:35was quite a celebrity, apparently.
13:37He already had a record of the safe landing
13:39of immigrants in the previous year,
13:41so there seemingly was no reason to worry.
13:44The trip promised to be safe.
13:47Clipper, Fiery Star,
13:48left Morton Bay, bound for London.
13:51The passengers took their places.
13:53The cargo had already been loaded.
13:55The full list is astonishing.
13:57In addition to all the wool, tallow,
14:00cotton, hides, and horns,
14:02there were also six cases of arrowroot
14:04and various other packages.
14:06And we can't forget the animals
14:07the captain took aboard, too.
14:10The Fiery Star was far away,
14:13yet still observable to the east
14:15as it headed toward the Pacific Ocean.
14:17This was the last information available
14:19until May 26,
14:21when news of its destruction
14:22emerged from Brisbane.
14:24Chief Officer William Sargent's log
14:27reveals that the Fiery Star
14:29took 12 days to reach
14:30the southern tip of New Zealand,
14:32passing on April 11, 1865.
14:35The trip was going well
14:37until heavy seas ruined two longboats
14:39on April 17.
14:42On this day,
14:44a strong odor of smoke
14:45alerted the captain.
14:46When he checked,
14:48he found the lower hold
14:49completely filled with smoke
14:50from a fire fueled
14:52by the ship's flammable cargo.
14:54The hatches were quickly closed
14:56to try to contain the flames.
14:57But by the next day,
14:59the heat and toxic smoke
15:00had forced passengers
15:02out of their cabins.
15:04George Maber
15:05was one of the lucky survivors.
15:07He was the ship's engineer,
15:08and he recalled the chaotic events
15:10on April 20,
15:11as Captain Ewell
15:12and most of the crew
15:13and passengers
15:14tried to evacuate
15:15in rough weather.
15:17At around 6 p.m.,
15:18the ship took on water,
15:19and without much warning,
15:21Captain Ewell,
15:22four crew members,
15:23and a few female passengers
15:25hopped into a lifeboat
15:26and headed out.
15:27The next boat,
15:28managed by the second mate,
15:30Mr. Adio,
15:31was a gig,
15:32followed by a crowded jolly boat.
15:34Lastly,
15:35there was a waste boat,
15:36which was barely seaworthy,
15:38with two men
15:39constantly bailing water
15:40to keep it afloat.
15:41The plan was
15:42for the boats
15:43to stay close
15:44to the Fiery Star overnight
15:45and head for the Chatham Islands
15:47the next morning.
15:48But by dawn
15:50on April 21,
15:51all four boats
15:52had vanished
15:53without a trace.
15:54On the burning ship,
15:56there were 17 crew members
15:57and passenger John Oman,
15:59who banded together
16:00under Chief Officer
16:01William Sargent's leadership.
16:04For five days and nights,
16:07George Maber
16:07pumped water
16:08on the fire
16:09without rest.
16:10He volunteered
16:11to go down the forehatch
16:12with a rope around him
16:13and a handkerchief
16:14over his mouth.
16:15He discovered
16:16that the foremast
16:17had been burned through
16:18for about seven inches,
16:20and the port side
16:21was severely damaged,
16:22resembling an empty shell.
16:24Exhausted,
16:25he returned for fresh air,
16:27but later descended again
16:28with Quartermaster Marshall
16:30to access a water tank.
16:32They couldn't open the lid,
16:33and as George
16:34crawled over the hides,
16:36he felt himself sinking.
16:37When they reached the deck,
16:39they collapsed from exhaustion.
16:41The cargo had been destroyed
16:43by smoke and fire,
16:45and the heat on the deck
16:46was intolerable.
16:47The crew survived
16:48on limited rations
16:49and caged chickens,
16:50using every spare piece of wood,
16:53including pig stives
16:54for the pumps.
16:55Distressed pigs
16:56ran wild in the heat.
16:58A raft was constructed,
16:59but was too weak
17:01for the open sea.
17:02Sleep was elusive,
17:03and the crew
17:04had lost everything,
17:05with only hopes
17:06of reaching land
17:07or meeting another ship.
17:10Finally,
17:11the Dauntless appeared
17:12and sent a lifeboat
17:13to the Fiery Star.
17:15Captain Moore
17:16boarded the Fiery Star
17:17on May 12,
17:18and after assessing
17:19the situation,
17:20he agreed that the crew
17:22could do no more.
17:23They boarded the Dauntless
17:24at 4 p.m.,
17:26witnessing the Fiery Star
17:27succumbed to flames
17:28by 11.30 p.m.
17:30It was a narrow escape.
17:34If I asked you to name
17:35the most famous shipwreck
17:37of all time,
17:38you'd go with the Titanic, right?
17:40The Atlantic Ocean,
17:41the hope for new life,
17:43heartbreaking love stories.
17:45It had it all
17:46to become a blockbuster.
17:48But I guess you've never heard
17:50of SS Princess Alice
17:51that submerged in the sewage
17:53of the River Thames,
17:54taking between 600
17:56and 700 lives with it.
17:58Life in 19th century
17:59Victorian London
18:00wasn't easy,
18:01especially for
18:02working-class folks.
18:04Affordable public transport
18:05and bank holidays
18:06made it a bit easier.
18:08The people could escape
18:09to the coast
18:09on a train
18:10or pleasure boat,
18:11even if it was
18:12just for a day.
18:16Sheerness on the Isle
18:17of Sheppey in Kent
18:18started as a fort
18:19under Henry VIII
18:20and then grew
18:21into a bustling town
18:23with a dockyard.
18:24When they added
18:24a railway station
18:25in 1863,
18:27it became a prime destination
18:29for day-trippers
18:30and holiday-makers.
18:32Seaside promenades,
18:33charming piers,
18:35and a whole bunch
18:35of fun stuff
18:36to do by the sea.
18:37It had it all.
18:39A bit inland
18:40along the River Thames,
18:41you had the
18:42Rocheville Gardens.
18:43These gardens
18:44had archery lawns,
18:46bowls,
18:47mazes,
18:48lakes,
18:48cliff walks,
18:49and even
18:50a floral bazaar.
18:52Plus,
18:52there was an aviary,
18:54a bear pit,
18:55and a skeleton
18:55of a lost whale
18:56that had taken
18:57a wrong turn
18:58in the Thames.
19:00Londoners of the
19:00late 19th century
19:02could hop on a train
19:03or cruise along
19:04the Thames by boat,
19:05and both options
19:06were pretty popular.
19:08But on the 3rd of September,
19:101878,
19:12way more people
19:13than usual
19:13opted for the boat.
19:15They chose it
19:16over the railroad
19:16after a passenger train
19:18had collided
19:18with goods
19:19wagons in Kent,
19:20taking the lives
19:21of five people.
19:22The river felt
19:23like a safer way
19:24to go.
19:28One of the ships
19:29available for the trip
19:30was the SS Princess Alice.
19:32The paddle steamer
19:34was first launched
19:35in 1865
19:36on the west coast
19:37of Scotland.
19:38Its original name
19:39was the Butte,
19:40and it was used
19:41as a ferry
19:42for the passengers
19:43of the Weems Bay
19:44Railway Company.
19:45A couple of years later,
19:47it was sold
19:48and renamed
19:49after Queen Victoria's
19:50third child.
19:51Then,
19:52it was sold again
19:53and got the nickname
19:54the Shah's boat
19:55as it transported
19:56the Shah of Persia
19:57up the Thames
19:58to Greenwich
19:59in 1873.
20:01The ship had gone
20:02through several alterations
20:03in its lifetime.
20:04It got new boilers
20:06and watertight bulkheads.
20:07The Board of Trade
20:09had inspected it
20:09and marked it safe.
20:11In the year
20:12of its final voyage,
20:13it was officially allowed
20:14to carry up to 936 passengers
20:17between London
20:18and Gravesend
20:19in calm water.
20:23On the day of the tragedy,
20:25Princess Alice
20:26was on what was called
20:27a Moonlight Trip
20:28downstream from Swan Pier
20:30near London Bridge
20:31to Sheerness, Kent
20:32and back.
20:33The trip wasn't expensive,
20:35so most of the passengers
20:37were from the working class.
20:38There was also
20:39a musical band aboard
20:40to keep the spirits up.
20:41The 3rd of September
20:43was a bright day
20:44and many families
20:45were happy
20:46they could catch
20:46some final summer sun rays
20:48and enjoy fresh sea air.
20:50The then-owner
20:51of the ship,
20:52the London Steamboat Company,
20:53had several vessels
20:54working on the route.
20:56The passengers
20:57were free to hop on
20:58and off different ships.
20:59At around 6.30 p.m.,
21:02after a beautiful day
21:03in the open,
21:04the SS Princess Alice
21:05headed back to Swan Pier.
21:07No one kept official
21:08lists of passengers,
21:09so we'll never know
21:10exactly how many
21:11people were on board
21:13that evening.
21:13But they say the steamer
21:15was close to its full capacity.
21:17As it got darker and cooler,
21:19many families decided
21:20to stay inside the saloon
21:22or in their cabins below.
21:26Some stories from the steamer
21:28sound like fate.
21:30The captain of Princess Alice
21:32let his steerer stay
21:33at Grave's End
21:34and replaced him
21:35with one of the passengers.
21:37John Ayres was a sailor
21:38but had little experience
21:40at the Thames
21:41or with a vessel
21:42like Princess Alice.
21:44Alfred Thomas Merriman,
21:45a chef from East London,
21:47had been offered
21:48to work on the steamer
21:49at the last moment.
21:50He was 30 years old
21:52and a father of four,
21:53so he couldn't say no
21:54to extra money.
21:56At around 7.40 p.m.,
21:58he was standing on the deck
21:59by the saloon door.
22:01By that time,
22:02Princess Alice
22:02had passed Tripcock Point
22:04and entered Galleon's Reach.
22:06The passengers could see
22:07the North Woolwich Pier
22:08in the distance.
22:09Many of them planned
22:10to disembark at that stop.
22:13And that's when Merriman
22:14noticed a huge ship
22:15carrying coal.
22:17It was Bywell Castle.
22:19This vessel normally
22:20carried coal to Africa,
22:22but it had just been repainted
22:23at a dry dock.
22:25Bywell Castle was going
22:26to Newcastle
22:27to pick up some coal
22:28and transport it
22:29to Alexandria, Egypt.
22:31The ship's captain, Harrison,
22:33wasn't too familiar
22:34with these waters,
22:35so he called in
22:36Christopher Dix,
22:37a seasoned Thames River pilot,
22:39to lend a hand,
22:40even though he didn't have to.
22:42The ship had a fancy
22:43raised forward part
22:45below the deck,
22:46and Dix couldn't quite see
22:47what was in front of him.
22:49So, they had a sailor
22:50on lookout duty,
22:52as they set sail
22:53from Millwall
22:53at the speed of 5 knots,
22:555.7 miles per hour.
22:58They tried to stick
22:59to the middle of the river,
23:00but other boats
23:01had other plans.
23:06When they were approaching
23:07Galleon's Reach,
23:08Dix spotted
23:09Princess Alice's
23:10red port light,
23:12headed their way,
23:13but planning to pass
23:14on the right side.
23:15At the same time,
23:17Grinstead,
23:18the captain of Princess Alice,
23:20was going against
23:21the river's flow,
23:22trying to find
23:23the smooth waters
23:24on the south side.
23:25He adjusted his course,
23:27steering into
23:28Bywell Castle's path.
23:30Both crews realized
23:31they were headed
23:32for a collision.
23:33Dix tried to steer clear
23:34and even ordered
23:35reverse full speed
23:36on the engines,
23:37but it was too late.
23:42The Bywell Castle
23:43collided head-on
23:44with the Princess Alice,
23:46which was much smaller,
23:47weighing less than a third
23:48of the 890-ton coal-carrying
23:51collier.
23:51It sliced the passenger
23:53steamer in two.
23:55As Merriman remembered later,
23:57laughter on board
23:58immediately changed
23:59into screaming
24:00and panic.
24:01Some people rushed
24:02to the bridge
24:03for safety.
24:04Merriman hurried
24:05to the captain,
24:06asking what to do next.
24:08The captain's response
24:09was grim.
24:10We are sinking fast.
24:12Do your best.
24:16The ends of the steamer
24:18went high into the air,
24:19and the middle just sank,
24:21taking passengers with it.
24:23Those unfortunate ones
24:24who were below deck
24:25were tragically trapped.
24:27The impact caused
24:28tons of untreated sewage
24:30to gush from outlets
24:31near the collision site.
24:33The water became a frothy mess
24:35of unprocessed waste
24:37with a horrible odor.
24:38It was potent enough
24:40to make even the most
24:41resilient sailors wretch.
24:43Amid the chaos,
24:44passengers struggled for life
24:46in the contaminated water.
24:47They inhaled lungfuls
24:49of hazardous waste
24:50without knowing.
24:51The crew aboard
24:52the Bywell Castle
24:53sprang into action.
24:55They dropped ropes
24:56from their deck,
24:57urging Princess Alice's
24:58passengers to climb aboard.
25:00Anything that could float,
25:01from planks to barrels,
25:03was tossed into the water
25:04to serve as flotation
25:05devices for those in need.
25:07Other members of their team
25:08launched a lifeboat,
25:10saving 14 people.
25:12Nearby boats,
25:13moored along the riverbanks,
25:14joined the mission,
25:16plucking survivors
25:16from the water.
25:20Many of Princess Alice's
25:22passengers didn't know
25:23how to swim,
25:24and it was even trickier
25:25for ladies wearing
25:26long, heavy dresses.
25:28Merriman was among
25:29the lucky ones
25:30who could swim.
25:31He first held on
25:33to a piece of wreckage,
25:34and then,
25:35when others got to it,
25:36swam away and caught
25:38onto a rope hanging
25:39over the side
25:39of the Bywell Castle.
25:41They managed to save
25:42around 130 people
25:44this way.
25:45Another survivor
25:46was Robert Haynes,
25:47who played in
25:48the Princess Alice band.
25:49He was fond of ships
25:51and had noticed
25:51the Bywell Castle
25:52a couple of minutes
25:53before the collision.
25:54He chose not to follow
25:56the rest of the band,
25:57who went downstairs
25:58for a break,
25:59and that saved his life.
26:01Princess Alice's
26:02sister ship,
26:03Duke of Tech,
26:03arrived 10 minutes
26:05too late to assist
26:06with the rescue efforts.
26:07Only two people
26:08who had been below deck
26:09or in the saloon
26:10managed to survive
26:11the collision.
26:12We still don't know
26:13the total count of lives
26:15taken on that day,
26:16but it's somewhere
26:17between 650 and 700.
26:20And what makes this story
26:21even more tragic
26:22is that it has been
26:23mostly forgotten.
26:24Mm-hm.
Comments