Algodoo

he Titanic had a pleasant voyage. The days passed without incident, but on April 13 the first reports of sightings of blocks of ice on the route began to arrive; at least a dozen messages could be received before the Marconi telegraph failed for a period of 10 hours. Once communication was reestablished in the radio cabin, the radiotelegraphers began to receive warnings of danger from icebergs, which were ignored or not taken into account by the replacement officers.

The temperature dropped as the ship approached Newfoundland, so the captain ordered a more southerly course before turning west in order to avoid the iceberg sectors. Nevertheless, she maintained the ship's cruising speed, about 22 knots, which was common practice at the time.187 Although Titanic was not trying to break any speed records, note 25188 schedules were a priority. for the company, and according to the prevailing regulations of the time, the ships sailed close to their maximum speed in such conditions. Ice and iceberg warnings were regarded as mere warnings, relying on lookouts and the watch kept on the bridge.187 It was generally believed that ice was not a major hazard for large ships. It was not uncommon for ships to pass very close to the ice, and even some head-on collisions had not been disastrous. In 1907, for example, the German ship Kronprinz Wilhelm had collided with an iceberg but had still managed to stay afloat and complete its voyage; Captain Smith himself had stated on another occasion that "no condition could be imagined that would cause a ship to wreck. Modern shipbuilding has gone beyond that."189

The last sunset on Sunday, April 14, surprised the Titanic sailing in very calm waters, although the temperature continued to drop as darkness fell. The absence of waves made it difficult to locate the icebergs, note 26 whose presence normally revealed the white line of the waves as they broke against their base. Surely because he was aware of the danger, Smith ordered to reinforce the guard.