In the last post, I mentioned the interview given in 1977, shortly before his death, by survivor Albert Caldwell. I just listened to it. If you have 14 minutes, it is well worth your time.
I especially found his comments on the crew, the evening church service, his new suit and gold of interest as how his family (wife and baby and himself) got on the lifeboat and their almost sinking when another lifeboat was lowered onto them when they couldn't loose the lines.
I was struck by how candid the crew was about the situation which stands in stark contrast to my experience aboard the Royal Princess in the Mediterranean Sea several years back. The crew sure did all they could to keep passengers in the dark.
We had just left Port Said, Egypt, and I was out on the balcony videoing ships lined up to get into the Suez Canal, when suddenly, I caught sight of black smoke coming from somewhere higher, the funnel I imagined. A few minutes later, is tarted hearing orders for different parts of the crew to report to different places.
I opened the door to find several members of the crew standing in the hall wearing life vests. "What's going on?" "Nothing, get back into your cabin!!"
"Yeah Right!! Nothing going on! NOT LIKELY!!" None of these things had happened yet on the voyage. I wasn't too worried, though, since I could always jump over the side. A few minutes later, everyone was ordered to muster stations and the crew came a-knocking on the doors making sure everyone had complied.
We later found out that there had been a serious fire in the engine room. The ship had to be towed back to Port Said where the cruise was canceled.
Anyway, here is the site to listen to the interview with Caldwell: www.parade.com/caldwell.
My "Titanic" Experience. --Cooter
No comments:
Post a Comment