Why didn't the Titanic passengers row over to the iceberg and stay dry and afloat until help arrived?

Question

There was pleanty of time to ridge a line to secure them and why when in the middle of the ocean wouldn't you head to the only thing that floats?

Answer 1

A ship the size of the Titanic cannot just 'stop' in the water, even after a collision. By the time the bulkheads had collected enough seawater to stop it's progress the ship would have trevelled several miles. A modern day tanker travelling at 20 knots can shut off it's forward propulsion and put the propellers in reverse and still take 20 miles to stop.

The Titanic's lifeboats were dangerously inadequate due to the belief that the ship was 'unsinkable'. They were filled mainly with women, children and the elderly with most having no ship's crew aboard. They would have had no idea how to row the boats or navigate them especially in the middle of a pitch black night. There were no icebergs in the vicinity of the ship's sinking by the time it went down. The one that was hit had drifted South and was not part of a shoal. Compared with the Titanic it was relatively small and would have held only about 50 people anyway.

Answer 2

Hind site is 20/20. They know for a fact that the Titanic would have sunk even if it didn't hit the iceberg. They didn't have enough boats for all the passengers because they refused to believe there would be problems. Also, they didn't tell the guests until the ship was already starting to tip, no chance for help.

Answer 3

Because by the time they actually got anyone in the water, hours had passed, and the ship and the iceburg weren't near each other. They didn't collide and just stop.

Also, rescue ship would not have been looking for survivors on random floating iceburgs, and there was no way to be certain the top of the iceburg could support that many people, or be climbable, even if they could find it.

Answer 4

Also, there weren't enough boats and rowing to an iceberg and getting people out and going back for more even if there was one nearby, would take forever and by that time people would have touched the water and once you get wet, you pretty much are dead within minutes in that cold...unless you are Rose

Answer 5

this is the true answer, with relation to thermodynamics.

when the passengers were submerged in the freezing water, they are slowly dying because of the cold. when you leave the water, it will be even colder.

it is true. try it yourself when you get out of the bathtub or the shower. once you leave the bathroom without any towel or anything, you'll shiver.

as a matter of fact, most of the WET people who got into the lifeboats earlier, died earlier of hypothermia. HYPOTHERMIA killed more than 70% of the passengers. the only ones who survived were the captain and his crew (who escaped their responsibilities to the passengers), the lucky hitchhikers (who stole the remaining lifeboats, lifevests, floatsams and rowed into shore) the physically able (those who have very high will power and might, survived the cold longer than anbody)

Answer 6

Because the insurance will pay more for that boat being under the water than floating, besides when it hitted the iceberg it was nighttime, and a little cold you know, like 30 below .

Answer 7

It was dark for one thing cause hours had passed before they got everyone in boats and the iceberg couldn't be seen in the dark even if they had been near it and it never would have supported all the weight from all those people.

Answer 8

How could more than 1500 people stay "afloat" on a jagged, slippery iceberg? I don't think the idea is even feasible....

Answer 9

Not sure but they would have frozen their buns off. Did you ever try sitting on a solid block of ice for an extended poeriod of time? Brrrrrrrr