Page 72 - British Inquiry into Loss of RMS Titanic Day 1 - 5

some ships you do, Sir, and on some ships you do not. 802. Is it the usual practice on liners to have boat drill? - Yes. 803. How often is the boat drill held? - Some companies every Saturday. 804. Once a week? - Once a week. Not round the coast as a rule. 805. I am speaking now about liners; is it not the case that on liners you have boat practice or boat drill before the ship leaves for a voyage? - Yes. 806. And then do you have a boat drill or practice in the course of the outward voyage? - Yes, once a week. 807. When you were taking on the passengers on the boat deck, was there any officer of the ship bringing the passengers up to the boat deck? - There was one on the deck giving orders. 808. Do you know if any officer went down to the steerage quarters to let the steerage passengers know the lifeboats were ready? - No, Sir; I do not know. 809. Can you tell me how many of you were rowing? [No Answer.] The Commissioner: Will you ask him what he was rowing for. 810. (Mr. Scanlan.) Yes, my Lord (To the Witness.) I think you said, Beauchamp, that you saw a light? - Yes. 811. And that you were rowing for that light? - Yes. 812. (The Commissioner.) Now, what was that light? - We did not know what it was then. We thought it was a boat. 813. How long did you see that light? - We could not see at all till we got handy to it, and then we could see it was a ship. 814. What sort of a ship was it? - Well, it was the “Carpathia’s” lights. 815. When did you first see the “Carpathia’s” light? - I could not say what time it was. 816. How long before the “Carpathia” picked you up? - A long time. 817. What do you mean by a long time - three hours? - I could not say the time; I have no idea of it. 818. What I want to know is this: What were you doing rowing in the boat before you saw the light? Where were you rowing to? - We rowed and then had a blow, and then rowed on again when we saw the light, Sir. We rested on our oars. 819. Were not you resting on your oars most of the time? - I do not know what you would row for? - Well, we rowed to the light when we saw one. 820. When you saw one, I can understand, but before you saw the light you were resting on your oars, were you not? - Yes. 821. (Mr. Scanlan.) Did you first of all row away from the sinking ship? - Yes. The Commissioner: Yes, he has told us that. 822. (Mr. Scanlan.) And then you commenced rowing to the light you saw. Can you tell me how many men were rowing with you in that boat? - There were two on the oar I was on; there were only six oars. I do not know how many men there were on each oar. 823. Were there six oars being in use at the time? - Yes. 824. Actually in use? - Yes. 825. If you had a light in the boat at the time the boat was lowered from the ship’s side, could you have seen better to disengage the boat from the falls? If you had had a lantern or any light in the boat, could you have seen better how to disengage the boat from the falls? - No. That was all right; everything went all right. The Commissioner: This light is quite a small thing, and it would not, in my opinion, be of any assistance for that purpose. Mr. Scanlan: What I thought was that it might light them through the lifeboat itself. The Commissioner: Oh, no, it would not do anything of the kind. 826. (Mr. Scanlan - To the Witness.) Is it usual on liners for each fireman to get a badge