The officers on the bridge paid little attention to this information. Ice was not unknown in this part of the Atlantic during April crossings, and they were confident they would have no trouble spotting an iceberg in time. The sea was calm, the weather cool and sunny and, besides, what danger could a few bits of ice pose to there magnificent new "unsinkable" ship?

Titanic was the biggest ship afloat, she displayed 52,310 long tons, was 882 feet, 9 inches long overall, 94 feet wide (at her widest point), and 175 feet tall from teh keel to the top of her four funnels. No wonder that the more than 1,300 passengers felt there was nothing that would threaten their safety.

At 11:40 AM, the wireless room received a message form the Dutch liner Noordam reporting "much ice" in about the same position as the Caronia earlier that morning. There was no evidence this message ever reached the bridge.

Around 1:30 PM Captain Smith was on his way to lunch when he ran into J. Bruce Ismay, president of the White Star Line , on the Promenade Deck. They stopped for a minute to chat about the performance of the new ship on her maiden voyage. Between noon Saturday and noon Sunday, the Titanic had made 546 miles, her best day so far. The next day they were planning to take her up to full speed for a short test to see what she was capable of, perhaps as much as 23 knots. Before Smith and Ismay parted, the captain handed him a wireless message recently received from the steamer Baltic "Greek steamer Athinai reports passing icebergs and large quantities of field ice today in latitude 41 degrees north, longitude 49 degrees 52' west...Wish you and Titanic all success." That put the ice field about 250 miles ahead of the Titanic . Ismay casually put it in his pocket.

Despite the ice warning already received, Captain Smith and Bruce Ismay, the two most improtant men on the ship, remained unconcerned. Yet another ice warning, this one intercepted from the liner Amerika was received at 1:45 PM but was not sent to the bridge.

At around 7:30 PM Captain Smith joined Mr. and Mrs. George D. Widener at a dinner party in his honor. While the captain sat at dinner, Junior Marconi Operator Harold Bridge delivered yet another ice warning to the bridge. It was from the steamer Californian , well ahead of the Titanic , and on course slightly to the north. The Californian's master, Captain Stanley Lord, reported passing three large icebergs three miles to the south. The message was never given to Captain Smith. p> Around 9:00 PM Captain Smith excused himself from dinner and went to the bridge where Second Officer Charles Herbert Lightoller was on duty, the 6-10 PM watch. he and Lightoller discussed the changing weather conditions, it was possible the drop in temperature indicated they were entering a region of ice and both were aware that some ice was ahead. They were also both aware that bergs could be very difficult to see on a clear, calm, moonless night with no wind or swell to cause surf.

At 9:20 PM Captain Smith retired for the night, leaving Lightoller with the words "If it becomes at all doubtfull let me know at once. I shall be just inside." Ten minutes later, Lightoller had Sixth Officer Moody tell the lookouts in the crow's nest to "keep a sharp lookout for ice, particularly small ice and growlers." It was customary, at the time, for ships to travel at full speed until a bergs was actually sighted, so it probably never entered Smith's mind to reduce speed on such a clear night.

Two more ice message were received by the Titanic that night. None of the surviving officers remebered either of them making it to the bridge. The first one, which arrived in the wireless room at 9:40 PM, might well have galvanized Lightoller into some sort of action. "From Mesaba to Titanic . In latitude 42 degrees north to 41 degrees 25', longitiude 49 degrees west to longitude 50 degrees saw large icebergs, also field ice, weather good, clear." This ice was quite clearly directly ahead of the Titanic's present course.

Jack Phillips was busy trying to wade throught the commercial traffic when the nearest North American shore station at Cape Race on the southeaster tip of Newfoundland had come in range and messages that had piled up all day could now be sent. In fact, Phillips was now so busy he brushed off the finaly ice warning altogether. It was the Californian again, still ahead but now stopped in field ice on coarce a mere 19 miles north of the Titanic's line of travel. her position was now so close to theirs that the message literally blasted in his ears. Irritated by the interuption, he cut off the send with the words "Shut up, shut up, I am busy. I am working Cape Race." Altoghether, the day's seven ice warnings idicated a huge field of ice some 78 miles long directly ahead of the Titanic .

In the crow's nest, lookouts Fred Fleet and Refinald Lee had passed an uneventful watch. It was now 11:40 PM. In another 20 minutes they would be relieved and would head below. The sea was still calm, but the air was now bitterly cold. A few minutes earlier, they'd noted what looked like a slight haze extending a couple of miles to either side and dead ahead. But they were without binoculars, which had been misplaced before the ship left Southampton.

Suddenly Fleet caught sight of something directly in the Titanic's path. In a few seconds it grew larger. Automatically he rang the warning bell three times to alert the bridge, then picked up the phone. Sixth Officer Moody, the junior officer on watch under First Officer Murdoch, who had relieved Lightoller at 10:00 PM picked up the receiver and calmly asked "What did you see?"

"Iceberg right ahead." replied Fleet.

When Moody relayed the news, Murdoch reacted immediately. He moved quickly over to the telegraph and ordered the engines stopped, then reversed, at the same time telling Quartermaster Robert Hitchens to turn the wheel "hard-a-starboard" which would have the effect of turning the ship to port. Murdoch then pulled the lever to close doors in waterticht compartments in the bottom of the ship. hitchens spun the wheel as far as it would go. At the last moment the ship veered slightly to port.

It was too late.

A head on collision had been averted but the ship rushed forward, hitting the iceberg a flancing blow along its starboard bow.