That's my reaction, too, Veena.K. I've read several books about the Titanic sinking and this ship "Californian" and its captain were mentioned every once in a while. But the author of the book I posted delves into it all in detail.
From what I remember; and I do remember I'm going from memory from the book and I might be wrong here and there but ~
the "Californian" was not directly right beside the Titanic; it was more than several miles away and some crew members of the 'Californian' definitely saw the Titanic's distress flares and reported them to the captain.. And the radio operator received the distress calls and he reported. The captain, for reasons that the author questions, chose to basically ignore them. The captain of the "Californian" was called up in an investigation. I recommend the book highly- - I need to read it again.
What I sometimes wonder is that I assume the Californian ship has been in the records of the Titanic event since Day One. I then wonder why the Californian's role in it all seems to be so unknown. It would make a fascinating documentary or even a big-budget film.
I believe the author says that even if the Californian had got to the Titanic quickly, it would have been unable to save all the passengers and crew but the ship could have helped and lessened the numbers of deaths.
Don't quote me on what I've written - - I'm just going on my general memory of reading the book once. :)
This post was edited by WelbyQuentin at November 11, 2017 3:32 PM MST
More people are killed by mosquitoes than by sharks. More people are killed by roller coasters than by sharks. More people are killed by cows than by sharks. More people are killed by vending machines than by sharks. More people are killed by staplers than by sharks. About five people per year are killed by sharks. In the whole world.