Page 246 - British Inquiry into Loss of RMS Titanic Day 10 -13

were busy working elsewhere. 15919. In your opinion would it have been better organisation if on this occasion there had been more officers on board to look after the boats? - No. 15920. Do you think that more officers on the “Titanic” would have been necessary? - No. 15921. Why not? - For the simple reason that men, as long as there is somebody to look after a bunch of them, are all right. 15922. Do you think it was a proper system of organisation that would allow five boats to be lowered without any officer in control? - Certainly. 15923. You do? - Yes. 15924. Who was in control of each of those five boats? - I do not know who was in control of them. 15925. Do you know if anybody was in control? - Certainly; there were men in charge of them. 15926. But did not you tell the Court that it was because you saw five boats go away without an officer that you and Mr. Moody got into two of them? - Mr. Moody got into a boat? Mr. Laing: Moody was drowned. 15927. (Mr. Harbinson.) You got into one and somebody else got into the other? - I got into No. 14. 15928. Did not you say that it was because these five boats went without an officer that you got in? - Yes. 15929. Therefore you thought it desirable that an officer should be in them? - Not an officer in each boat. 15930. But that an officer should be there in control. So far as you saw did it take a fairly considerable time to launch these boats? - No. Mr. Harbinson: How long did it take? The Commissioner: That question is of no use as far as I am concerned, because I do not know what you mean. Mr. Harbinson: The position I wish to lead up to is if he considers there were sufficient seamen there to secure the efficient launching and manning of the boats. The Commissioner: He has told us he can say nothing about the time, and then you put a question to him which contains the expression “a considerable time.” I do not understand that. I do not know whether it is an hour or five minutes or twenty minutes or five minutes. I do not know what you mean by “a considerable time.” Mr. Harbinson: Yes, my Lord, I understand. The Commissioner: You can put it right by stating a time, and then I shall understand it. 15931. (Mr. Harbinson.) Did it take half an hour to launch these boats? - I do not know. It was not the launching of the boats that took the time. We got the whole boat out and in the water in less than ten minutes. It was getting the people together that took the time. 15932. Did you hear any orders given to the people brought up to the boat deck? - Yes. I forget now who I heard, but I heard the order given anyhow; “Everybody on the boat deck.” 15933. Do you think there were sufficient seamen on board the “Titanic” adequately to carry out the operation of launching the boats? - Certainly, they did so. 15934. Did they do it? - Yes. 15935. Did they take what you consider a normal time or an abnormal time to do it? - It depends upon what you mean by “an abnormal time,” less time or more time? 15936. Do you think it would have been done quicker if there had been more men? - No. The thing was done as I do not suppose any other ship could do it. 15937. In the same time? - No ship could have done it in better time, and better in all respects - in every respect. 15938. How do you account for it that when you went back you were only able to pick up four