A bad omen - Titanic and New York

Titanic never reached New York, but she nearly collided with the S.S. New York while departing Southampton at the start of her ill-fated maiden voyage. The great ship had only just left Ocean Dock when she came alongside the S.S. New York.

Suction from the gigantic new White Star Liner drew the New York toward Titanic until, which a great snapping of dock lashings, the smaller ship was drawn from her moorings toward the departing Titanic.

New York was just feet from slicing into Titanic's side when Captain Smith pushed the engines forward full, creating a surge of water that pushed the stray ship away long enough for tugs to get ahold of her and pull her back to dockside.

The incident, which delayed Titanic's journey by an hour, was witnessed by many passengers on board the Titanic and by family and friends still gathered at Ocean Dock for farewells. The near-collision didn't seem to rattle Titanic's captain or crew, but some passengers were worried about it. As one passenger told his daughter, "That's a bad omen."

Efforts to preserve Britannic take big step forward

Ever since Governcheck Limited was awarded legal title to the Britannic wreck in August 1996, the company has been working with the Athenian government to reach an agreement to protect and conserve the wreck. In Nov. 2006, they finally succeeded when the Greek Minister of Culture signed the articles that acknowledge the Britannic Foundation as a legal entity.

Now that it has full authority over the wreck and surrounding debris, the Foundation is preparing to mount a comprehensive analysis of the ship's structure. The Foundation also has plans to raise artifacts and preserve them for the Britannic Foundation Museum to be build in Kea sometime in the future. The Foundation also plans to have offices in Kea and Athens.

The Foundation's official mission statement is as follows:

"The Britannic Foundation is intended to help promote the administration, existence and history of the wreck of the HMHS Britannic; to implement archaeological activities and conservation of the wreck, to administer and co-ordinate controlled diving to the site and to promote any media realisation of the wreck."

People interested in joining the Brittanic Foundation, or in possibly diving the wreck or visiting the future museum, should visit the official Brittanic Foundation web site at http://www.thebritannicfoundation.org.uk.

Our Commemorative Video:In memory of Titanic - 95 years later

95 years ago: The world remembers Titanic

Tonight marks the 95th anniversary of the Titanic's collision with an iceberg in mid-ocean. We at Daily Dose of Titanic ask that you remember the 2,208 souls that were a part of this disaster, from the 705 survivors to the hundreds left trapped on her decks. They are gone but never forgotten.

Flashback:New gigantess prepares for maiden voyage

It was 95 years ago today that work began readying Titanic, newly constructed and successfully tested in a single day of sea trials, for her maiden voyage. She had arrived the day before at her berth alongside the Ocean Dock in Southampton, England. No ceremony, no band, no fireworks marked her arrival. She arrived unheralded with only shipyard workers and ship's crew in attendance.

Custom held that new ships of the line were put on public display for a week in the home port of Liverpool, but Titanic's owners were in a hurry. Her maiden voyage had already been rescheduled once, and they were determined to see her depart on Wednesday, April 10.

Not only was the Liverpool stop cancelled, but the White Star Line announced that no public tours would be permitted. Time was of the essence as an army of workers put the finishing touches on the new queen of the ocean. As food was loaded, walls were being painted and bedding added to the new staterooms and cabins. It was all a rush job and some items didn't make the deadline. A large bookshelf for the second class library, didn't arrive in time and was left behind.

During this time of frenzied preparation, White Star Chairman J. Bruce Ismay guided a select few journalists through his company's latest crowning achievement as members of the crew arrived to familiarize themselves with the new marvel ship.

Wireless operators Jack Phillips and Harold Bride were hard at work tuning and perfecting their set. Slowly, Titanic and her crew were readying themselves for the first trip across the Atlantic.

95 years later, two survivors are still with us

Daily Dose of Titanic salutes the two ladies who are now the only remaining survivors of the Titanic disaster. One of them, Millvina Dean, was bound for our own state of Kansas when the sinking disrupted her travels. The other, Barbara Joyce West, is believed to have been aboard the same lifeboat as Millvina - number 10.

Elizabeth Gladys "Millvina" Dean was born on Feb. 2, 1912. She was only nine weeks old when she boarded the Titanic in third class along with her parents, Bertram and Georgette and her older brother, Bertram. The family was emigrating to Kansas so that Bertram Sr. could open a tobacco shop.

When the Titanic struck the iceberg, Bertram Sr. led his wife and young children to the safety of a lifeboat but was refused a seat himself. He was lost along with 1,500 people when the ship sank at 2:20 a.m. on Monday, April 15, 1912.

Destitute and grief-stricken, Georgette decided to return to England to raise her children. Millvina and Bertram were beneficiaries of various charity pensions that paid for their educations. Millvina never married. She shunned the spotlight and never wanted to talk about the Titanic until she was in her seventies.

Since that time she has appeared at Titanic conventions and exhibitions and has been interviewed by numerous newspapers, magazines, TV and radio shows worldwide. In 1997 she traveled about the QE2 to America, visiting the Kansas house she and her family were to have arrived in 1912. Today Millvina lives in a nursing home in New Forest, England.

Barbara Joyce West was born in Bournemouth, Dorset on May 24, 1911. Barbara boarded the Titanic as a second class passenger in Southampton along with her parents, Edwy and Ada West and her sister, Constance Miriam West.

When disaster struck, the "women and children first" rule prevented Edwy from entering a lifeboat. His family, however, was safely lowered away in lifeboat 10. When what remained of the family arrived in New York, Ada was overwhelmed by the thought of staying in a new country without her husband. She returned to England along with her two daughters.

In 1952, Barbara married William Dainton. Today, she lives in Truro, England. Like many survivors, she refuses to discuss the Titanic disaster.

Dumbfounded: The last survivor to realize Titanic was gone

Most of the people who left Titanic's sloping decks on April 15 did not realize the peril that they and their fellow passengers faced until they rowed away and watched the great ship sink lower and lower. Indeed, for some, the seriousness of the situation wasn't clear until the ship disappeared completely. Still, they help out hope that other ships had reached the site and rescued loved ones. As one survivor recalled in her diary, it wasn't until the Carpathia reached New York that most of the survivors realized there were no other survivors. It was a great shock and the grief began anew at that moment.

There was one passenger, however, who truly missed the entire immensity of the tragedy until after she reached land. One immigrant woman, about 18 years of age, boarded a lifeboat and promptly fell asleep. When she woke up, she was on board the Carpathia. Not able to speak English and having slept through the Titanic's end, she simply assumed that ocean travel was like train travel. She assumed you only sailed part way on a ship before being transferred to another. Imagine her suprise when she learned that she'd survived what, at the time, was the worst maritime disaster in the history of the North Atlantic.

Titanic: Watch a re-creation of her launch and trials