she felt just as safe as if she were standing on land So why were the officers calling women and children to the lifeboats How Did an Iceberg Sink the Titanic Only a fraction of an iceberg is visible above the waterline approximately 90 percent is underwater This hidden portion of the iceberg is what damaged the Titanic but not necessarily by ripping a hole in it as many people assume Instead one theory suggests it was pressure that caused the hull to break As the ship turned to avoid a head on collision with the iceberg its side was pushed so hard against the iceberg that a section of its hull crumpled causing the rivets that bound the hull together to pop off Without rivets the steel panels that made up the hull began to split apart Ocean water rushed into the ship through these gaps eventually sinking it On the Open Ocean The voyage from Southampton in England had been uneventful for Collyer and her husband Harvey Their young daughter Marjorie was seasick during the first three days on the ocean They kept to their cabin rather than exploring the palatial ship But this morning Marjorie had felt somewhat better able to eat the fancy Sunday dinner served in the second class dining room and listen to the musicians play after dinner Inside their cozy cabin that evening Collyer and her husband rested as the Titanic sped across the cold ocean Sometime just before midnight they felt the ship make a sudden jerk Collyer sat up in bed Her husband stumbled where he stood They both listened closely
The engines seemed to have stopped and the silence sounded strange After a moment the engines rumbled as if starting up again but then died back The massive ship lay still Out on the deck at around 12 45 a m Collyer and her husband were still unsure what had occurred No one they talked to appeared seriously worried not even the officers calling for the lifeboats to be loaded There's no danger they reassured the women passengers trying to coax them into the boats Collyer held onto Marjorie's hand and stayed close to her husband She didn't want to be separated from him and lowered down into the black ocean in a small boat She felt much safer on the deck As they watched distress flares shot up from the ship and burst in the sky like firecrackers Clearly there was some problem Collyer argued with herself but it couldn't be urgent No one seemed able to explain why the ship was signaling for help Suddenly a man covered in coal dust lurched out of a nearby passageway He was a stoker Collyer realized one of the workers from the boiler rooms at the very bottom of the ship who shoveled coal for the engines Something must have happened down there she thought an accident He stumbled to a stop as Collyer called Is there any danger Danger he cried It's hell down below This boat will sink like a stone in ten minutes Collyer grasped her husband's arm tightly in shock A sickening fear rose in her throat
Charlotte Collyer and ber daughter Marjorie survived the sinking of the Titanic Disaster As the minutes ticked by the ship began to tilt Through the passageways third class passengers finally found the way up from their cabins in steerage They began to pour out onto the deck clutching their possessions Their faces were grim and frightened
Lower the boats The officer's cry pricked goosebumps on Collyer's skin but she held onto her husband's arm unwilling to leave him A sailor grabbed Marjorie away from Collyer tossing the child into the nearest lifeboat You're a woman he yelled at Collyer Take a seat in that boat or it will be too late The solid deck seemed to be slipping away under Collyer's feet Go Lottie for God's sake be brave and go her husband urged I'll get a seat in another boat Before she could answer the sailor yanked her toward the lifeboat and pushed her in and the rushing crowd closed in behind her Collyer got to her feet and glimpsed her husband's back as he turned and strode away down the deck Why Weren't There Enough Lifeboats The Titanic carried only enough lifeboats to evacuate one half of its passengers At the time this was not uncommon for an ocean liner In fact the Titanic carried more lifesaving equipment than regulations required The regulations governing lifeboats were based on gross registered tonnage of the vessel Ships built using newer technology were often much larger The lifeboat laws were outdated as a result Also many people believed the larger ships were safer However this was not necessarily true Additionally most of the lifeboats were launched before they reached full capacity This is why although half of the Titanic's passengers could have been rescued only one third of them survived
