Celine Dion had a number one song called "Your heart will go on" which came from the film. I thought the song was terrible but my mother thought it was brilliant. It was a love song. Celine Dion is one of the top women singers in the world. She is coming to Dublin next week. I didn't see the film in the cinema. I will wait until it comes out on video. Here is a the story about the ship.
The Ship --: was built in the Harland & Wolff shipyards, Belfast ,
Northern Ireland for the White Star Line. Work started on the Titanic in March 1909 and
the ship was launched on May 31st. 1911. Over 11,000 people worked on building of the
ship. It was, in its day the largest most luxurious liner ever built. It was more then 269
metres long. That's the length of 22 buses lined up end to end. Don't forget there were no
flights in those days to America. It even had a swimming pool and a gym.
Thursday, April 10th., 1912 12.00 p.m. --: the Titanic set sail from Southampton , England under the command of Captain Edward J. Smith. He was due to retire but was asked to sail this special ship and leave the navy in a blaze of glory. Newspapers of the day called it " the Millionaires Special" but in fact its passengers were a mixture of rich and poor people.
Friday, April 11th.--: After the first call to Cherbourg , France she arrived in
Cobh, County Cork, Ireland , where she took on passengers and mail, before setting sail
for New York. A first class ticket for the Titanic cost more than what a member of the
crew would earn in twenty years. In the film 'Titanic' Kate Winslet was a first class
passenger and Leonardo Di Caprio was a third class passenger. Here you see her looking
through his art work on deck. She thought his work was very good.
Sunday, April 14th.--: ice warnings were received in the radio room in Morse code. Captain Smith felt he should take notice of this and change course to avoid the area, but he was bullied by the owners to keep going at full speed to arrive in New York in record time. This was a decision he was to regret. So on that Sunday night most people went to bed content and looking forward to a quiet night on board.
Monday, April 15th. --: 12.05 a.m. Later on that night when most people were asleep the two men on lookout from the crow's nest reported an iceberg ahead. The orders were given to stop the engines and put the ship into reverse. But it was too late,the Titanic struck the iceberg on her starboard side. Distress calls were sent over the radio and the lifeboats launched.The Titanic had 20 lifeboats. The designers wanted more but the owners felt that extra lifeboats made the decks look too crowded.
Monday, April 15th., 2.05 am --:
As the lifeboats begin to be lowered the passengers are alerted to go on deck with their
life jackets on. Most assumed they would be returning to their warm beds shortly but they
were never to return.The Titanic wireless operators keep calling for help.We are told that
there were ships nearby but nobody came to the rescue of the Titanic.Slowly the bow begins
to sink into the water.By now most of the passengers realise that the ship is sinking.
Panic sets in and there is a mad rush for the lifeboats. women and children had first call
on the lifeboats.
Monday, April 15th., 2.30 am --: As there is a mad scramble for the last few lifeboats the band keep playing hoping to keep the remaining passengers calm. There were more than 1,500 passengers still on the ship. The stern rises higher into the air. Everything on board comes crashing down all over the place. This part is brilliant in the film. Slowly all the ship disappears under the water, bringing those on board to their watery grave.Those women and children on board the lifeboats could not believe their eyes as they watched the Titanic disappear forever.
Monday, April 15th. 3.00 a.m. --: The ship had now disappeared and all was left were those lucky
enough to be in a lifeboat and those people floating in the water.But this was the North
Atlantic and most of them froze to death. Some time later some of the sailors came back to
see if anyone was alive. All the saw were hundreds of floating bodies.In the film they
nearly miss Kate Winslet but she just manages to have enough strength to blow a whistle
that was on a dead sailors body. Only three people were pulled from the water and lived to
tell the tale of this awful night. The part where the ship goes down is a brilliant part
of the film.
Monday, April 15th., 3.30 am --: By now it is almost dawn. A ship called the Carpathia picked up the distress call but it is nearly sixty miles away. By the time it arrives in the area nearly all the people in the water were dead.The people in the lifeboats were rescued. everyone is counted : of the 2,206 passengers on the ship only 705 survived. It took the Carpathia three days to reach New York.
Monday, April 18th., 9.25 p.m. --They didn't have TV or e-mail in those days so different reports were flashed around the world about the disaster.There were nearly 30,000 people waiting in New York Harbour when the Carpathia arrived in port. Only 328 bodies were recovered. Many could not be identified. Captain Smith went down with his ship. His body was never recovered.
Search for the wreckage--: Ever since the terrible disaster people wanted to know the exact location of the Titanic. More than seventy years passed , when in 1985 a team led by Robert Ballard found the wreck in 3,798 metres of water. The ship had broken in two and her contents were spilt all over the ocean floor. Two years later a small submarine named the Nautile was able to explore around the wreck. It brought back thousands of everyday objects like : cups, spoons,jewels and toys. It even brought up lumps of coal. You can buy this over the internet for huge money. They hope to put together a museum and go around the world with it . I hope it comes to Ireland. If it does I will definitely go and see it.
I hope the story has'nt been too long. I enjoyed working on this project. I got tired typing. For more information on the Titanic and the film click here and here. I found this information on the internet.
By --:
Michael Costello