Too perfect a night

I write in reply to Professor Pointon’s letter concerning the sinking of the Titanic and the letter from David Hutchings was I believe spot on and was not too detailed.

I'm not aware exactly where you obtain your information from Professor, but to say the lookout was on the bridge is a gross misunderstanding and is totally incorrect. The lookout for most if

not all ships at that time would have been positioned in the crow’s nest, which for the Titanic was positioned on the forward mast.

The suggestion that binoculars would have highlighted to the lookout the phosphorescent glow from waves breaking around the iceberg is also incorrect.

The night of April 15,1912, was too perfect a night which in itself is believed to have led to the disaster. There was very little if any wind thus leading to no waves which would have admittedly shown some breaking waves upon the iceberg. There was not even a gentle swell.

These were extremely rare conditions for the north Atlantic especially during April, so the sighting of the iceberg was not until it was too late that tragedy struck. There is also speculation that the iceberg was a black iceberg that is an iceberg that some time in its history had capsized so that dark ice was above the water line instead of white ice.

I do hope that this information does give a final answer to your interest Professor Pointon and Mr Hutchings was at least correct to say that the Titanic tragedy is not celebrated it is simply remembered and so it should be as some 1,500 lives were lost on that awful night.

Martin Clark Lashly Meadow Hambledon