Organisation of the Titanic’s stop-over in 1912
Cherbourg: first stop-over on the Titanic’s voyage
10th April 1912, 6.35 p.m. The Titanic entered Cherbourg harbour, the largest artificial harbour in the world, via the passe de l’Ouest and then moored next to the Central fort. 281 passengers were embarked on board during this stop-over which lasted for an hour and a half.
Cherbourg: first stop-over on the Titanic’s voyage
Passengers boarding the Titanic
The tender Traffic first disembarked 15 passengers and some freight from the Titanic. The 102 third class passengers were the first to embark for their journey on the Titanic, the biggest liner in the world.
The other White Star Line tender, Nomadic, also took 179 passengers on board: 151 first class travellers, some of which held the century’s largest fortunes, along with 28 second class passengers, all headed for America. The ship also embarked luxury French products such as champagne, wines and cheeses.
Cherbourg Eclair, April 10th 1912:
“Gargantua’s ship took 75,000 pounds of meat, 15,000 bottles of beer, 10,000 bottles of wine and 12,000 bottles of mineral water on its voyage; a cargo that would keep first class passengers’ stomachs happy, but one that Rabelais would quite happily have left behind.”
Some passengers had arrived that afternoon by train on the New York Express from Saint-Lazare station in Paris.
The grand departure of the Titanic
At 8.10 p.m., the giant of the seas left Cherbourg under a night sky, lit up like a beautiful chandelier. It was the ship’s last continental stop-over before joining Queenstown (now Cobh) in Ireland. The Titanic then finally left on its journey to the Americas.
