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Saturday, April 16, 2011

Exploring the Wreck

Efforts to locate and the desire to raise the wreck of the Titanic have been an ongoing concept since right after the ship crashed into the sea floor. Dr. Robert Ballard was among the team to rediscover the ship in 1985. It took this long to locate the ship because prior searchers were looking in the wrong place. The shipwreck is approximately 13 miles from where most were looking – their search locations were based off of the last reported positioning call of Titanic before she sank. Later, a small submarine named "Alvin" went down and took some of the first images of the Titanic wreck. By locating the wreck, investigators were able to piece together information about the disaster as well as correct some misconceptions – the most glaring being that the ship actually broke into two separate pieces before sinking.
Bow of Titanic
The bow section of the ship is in MUCH better condition than the stern – this is the portion that you always see in videos and pictures, and which you will see in the video clip below. This is believed to be because the bow had already mostly filled with water before it sank to the bottom, whereas the stern did not and the air pockets exploded as it sank into the deep water pressure. The bow is still in really good shape for being underwater for almost 100 years – most of the wood has deteriorated, the crow’s nest and grand staircase have collapsed. There is a lot of concern though because tourists hire subs to go down and tour the wreck and they are damaging the fragile and stressed structure – they are also taking souvenirs.

Stern of Titanic
In this video below you will see that there are all kinds of debris still visible on board and in the area surrounding the ship. You can see shoes and jewelry, dishes still in their cases, furniture, lamps etc. It is amazing that things like dishes didn't break when it crashed to the bottom or even move out of their cases.


There is a wonderful website you can check out to find more information and pictures of the Titanic called Titanic Universe.





Copyright © 2011 by The Maiden’s Court
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7 comments:

  1. Irena @ This Miss Loves to ReadApril 16, 2011 at 9:12 AM

    Another great Titanic-related post! I, personally, think that they should just leave the ship at the bottom of the ocean. After all, it is a graveyard for all those people who died so many decades ago and as such, the Titanic should just be left undisturbed.

    Thanks for the video and the link!

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  2. UnknownApril 16, 2011 at 5:08 PM

    Irena - I agree with you, they should just leave it be.

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  3. Michelle Stockard MillerApril 16, 2011 at 11:31 PM

    Thanks for sharing that video. I loved the way they had the ghostly images of people included in it. It is so amazing how well preserved many of the items are.

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  4. Teddy RoseApril 17, 2011 at 12:10 AM

    Thanks so much for this post. I loved the video. There are so many things that appear to still be intact, like the dishes, wow!

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  5. UnknownApril 17, 2011 at 8:14 AM

    Michelle - I too loved how they put the ghostly images in (I'm wondering if they were pulled from the 1997 movie.)

    Teddy Rose - I am so surprised at how well things can stay preserved underwater for almost a century, with all the pressure, and creatures and everything!

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  6. AnonymousApril 18, 2011 at 12:27 AM

    It is really a shame that Dr. Ballard didn't claim the wreck and wasn't able to keep its location secret. As with so many other things, curiosity, greed, and carelessness, will destroy what is left. Thank you for the video and the link. I really haven't seen much of the footage taken at the wreck site.

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  7. UnknownApril 18, 2011 at 7:20 PM

    Librarypat - I too wish that they could have done something to protect the site.

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Thanks for leaving your comments! I love reading them and try to reply to all!