Titanic diver details exploration of doomed ship

Retired Navy Capt. Alfred McLaren spoke Thursday night on his deep sea explorations of the Titanic, In his presentation, "Return to RMS Titanic 1999 and 2003" McLaren discussed the past, present and possible future of the ship.

"Most of the dives are 12 to 14 hours, three men and women crammed in the submersible and there are no facilities to do anything, so if you're a coffee person you want to have it at about four in morning, and you don't want to be eating lentils the day before, and don't you dare get sea sick in this thing," McLaren said. "The humidity in the submersible is close to 90 degrees when you're at the surface, but near 32 near the Titanic."

McLaren continued to explain the reasons for the sinking of Titanic.

"She sank on her maiden voyage because they were trying to set a speed record across the Atlantic Ocean," McLaren said. "When other liners of the time would have been more cautious and stopped at sunset, the Titanic continued speeding across the Atlantic Ocean. She had received at least six to eight messages warning her to slow down. There was no moon out that night, and the sea actually became flat calm."

Other possible reasons for her failure, McLaren said, were more superstitious.

Before the Titanic's maiden voyage there was said to be between one to three bodies from workers that had been sealed inside, as well the constant assumption that the ship was made to be unsinkable, McLaren
said.

During the presentation, McLaren said a new theory may give more answers about why the Titanic sank.

"We still don't know for sure, but there is evidence that the bottom of the Titanic was sheared right off," McLaren said.

McLaren said the theory is still speculative.

"That theory makes more sense to me than any other theory I've heard since the Titanic's self-contained, segregated compartments were supposed to seal off as it was filling up with water." said Debra Dandridge, information technology policy and security programs administrator for A&M.

One student said the theory was one of the most interesting parts of the lecture for him.

"I've always been interested in the Titanic ever since I was young and I like the fact that more recently why it is sunk is coming up," said Ryan Lee, graduate student in nautical archeology.