"Clams Canino" wrote:
I'll use this as a jumping off point for a question that's always disturbed
me....

IMHO if Capt. Smith was guilty of anything, it was a clear ability to *not*
think outside the box.

That's certainly true. By all accounts he was a solid "company man" and
earned his position mostly by his manners with wealthy passengers.


So..... could they have offloaded the extra
passengers to "the" iceberg? Or any other berg?


Not without a fair amount of specialized equipment such as ice axes &
crampons.

BTW there are actually pictures of two icebergs, each purported to be
"the one"
http://www.uscg.mil/lantarea/iip/FAQ/Titanic_1.shtml

Imagine trying to climb onto either of these from the water or from a
small boat.


Short Wave Sportfishing wrote:
It is my understanding that of the six nominal types of icebergs, only
one could have been an extra life boat - the wedge shape which has a
sloping "beach" if you will. Those are only associated with the
Antarctic and in particular, the northern most part of the Ross Ice
Shelf.

Most Arctic icebergs are block or tabular type which is not conducive
for boarding. Captain Smith may not have had that option. I also
believe, based on reading the various books and such about the Titanic
incident, the ship moved beyond the contact point, thus the iceberg
was unavailable anyway.

Right. The ship was several miles from the iceberg(s) by the time people
were ready to get off.


In truth, I'm not an iceberg expert, but the question did come up in a
conversation many years ago with somebody who knew a lot about
icebergs and he pointed that out to me. For some reason, I've never
forgot it. :)

A mind is a terrible thing to waste... or so I'm told

Regards
Doug King