Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Titanic Bell


© Nicola Zanichelli | Dreamstime.com


He rang the bell three times.

Three times.

Iceberg right ahead.”

Frederick Fleet, one of six lookouts on watch that night of April 14, 1912, was the first to spot the iceberg along with Reginald Robinson Lee in the crow’s nest.

Fleet rang the bell and sounded the alarm at 11:40 p.m.

A bronze Titanic bell was recovered and brought up from the ocean floor and has been part of the Titanic exhibition.

According to experts, the bell from the crow’s nest is most likely gone, but you can see a see a photo of the recovered bell here from the 2005 exhibition in a museum in Manchester, England.

The sound of the ship’s whistle has long been associated with the gala, hand-waving departure from Southampton, then the final port of call at Queenstown.

A welcome sound to my Titanic Rhapsody heroine, Katie O’Reilly:

Emerging cautiously from between two large sacks of mail, Katie popped her head up, looking around in a slow circle for any sign of the constable.

The coast was clear.

Gazing upward, she said a quick prayer. Then she stretched, raising her arms over her head. A fine nap she’d had, covered by an empty sack and lulled to sleep by the sounds of the sea until she heard the blast from the Titanic’s funnel, announcing she was dropping anchor at Roche’s Point two miles away.

Her heart rang with joy. She found a strange contentment in hearing the ship’s whistle, as if the great liner was out there waiting for her, Katie O’Reilly.

But it is the ringing of the bell that changed the course of the Titanic forever.

The bell photo posted here was taken by Nicola Zanichelli (© Zanico) and is a memorial to the Titanic.

Cast in stone to stand long and hard against the winds of time.

One hundred years since the sinking is nearly upon us.

2012 is the Year of Titanic.

The air will be filled with the sound of bells ringing to commemorate the maritime tragedy and the souls lost.

May they rest in peace.

=================

A personal note:

I'm excited to announce that TITANIC RHAPSODY will be released from ELLORA'S CAVE on April 12th!!

6 comments:

Wynter said...

I'm learning so much more about the Titanic with your posts. All of it very interesting!

Jina Bacarr said...

Thanks, Wynter! Everything Titanic is so fascinating and filled with interesting info that helps us better understand the tragedy.

The more we learn, the more we realize it's a miracle anyone survived out there in the cold North Atlantic...

Dalton Diaz said...

It's so sad to know that 100 years later, ego once again sank a ship and lost lives.

Jina Bacarr said...

Dalton, your thoughts are so true. With all our technology and modern advances, human error still remains something no one can plan for.

Callie Croix said...

That is SO COOL that the book is coming out April 12th. Did you plan it that way with your editor?

You'll be proud to know that I just bought four books on the Titanic for my boys at a book fair last week. We're taking them with us to Hawaii.

Jina Bacarr said...

Callie, I've been working nonstop for the past two months reading Titanic Rhapsody over and over and checking everything to make sure it's the best it can be. Not an easy task for 125,000 words!!

I was hoping EC could get my novel out in time for the 100th anni and my fabulous editor, Briana St. James, did it!

I think it is so cool you bought Titanic books for your boys--there are some wonderful YA and kids' books on the ship. Fifty-five children were lost on that fateful night--two little French boys were saved; their father (lost) had kidnapped them, but when their picture appeared in the newspapers, their mother saw them and they were reunited.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!