Page 8 - National Geographic - How We Found Titanic

APRIL 14, 1912-11:00 P.M. 11:40 P.M. Sea search for a legend too great. There must be anoth- er vessel between them-the "mystery ship" (dotted YERTHE YEARS a Steaming westward, Titanic outline) that has intrigued number of expeditions approaches a barrier of field historians ever since. Later have sought without ice and bergs several miles Cali.fomian sees white rockets success to locate Ti.tantc-a wide stretching north and on the horizon but doesn't real- problem compounded by the south some 400 miles off the ize they are distress signals. North Atlantic's unpredictable coast of Newfoundland. Coli- . /lpit 75,2:2O a.m.: weather, the enormous depth fonrian, halted by ice to the Ti.tanic goes under, with 705 at which Titonic lies, and con- north, radios a warning and survivors in lifeboats. The Cun- flicting accounts of her final shortly shuts down her set. ard liner Carpathi.a, which had moments. Organizing our . &ril74,77:40p.m.: picked up the first distress call search, Jean-Louis Michel and At a speed her navigator mis- 58 miles to the southeast, con- Jean Jarry, the French project takenly believes to be more tinues steaming on a northwest leader, and I traced the move- than 21 knots, Titanic hits an course toward Titanic's report- ment of four ships before, dur- iceberg and radios a distress ed, but incorrect, position. ing, and after the sinking. call with her estimated posi- . /lpil 75,4:7O o.m.: From the outset we discounted tion (pink cross). But a consis- Carpathia encounters the drift- the reported position of. CoIi- tent change in Califomian's ing lifeboats and begins rescue. forni.on, the ship nearest to reported positions indicates Later Colifomiaa, which has Titonic and the one that could that a southeasterly current finally turned on her radio, have saved all aboard if. CoIi- (arrow) was slowing Titonic arrives at Titanic's reported fomion's radio had not been and putting her off track. Af- position with M ount Te mPle off. That position has always ter midnight Califumian and and other ships. The mystery been controversial. In the Titanic each see the lights of ship, if it ever existed, has long sequence above we reconstruct another ship in the other's di- ago vanished. Having taken all what we believe to be rection. But according to the elements into account, Jean- Titanic's final hours: two ships' reported positions, Louis, Jean, and I conclude that . April74,77:(X)p.m-: the distance between them is Titani.c must lie north of where Carpathi.a met the lifeboats. . Jutle 28,7985: The French ship Ze Suroit ("Sou'wester") begins "mowing ths l3lvn"-5ystematically crossing the 15O-square-mile target zone with her deep- search sonar. Ze Suroit covers 80 percent ofthe zone, leaving