After the Titanic struck the Ice, her possition was worked out and sent with her distress calls thus informing others of her location.

Locating the wreck proved difficult because the wreck was not in this reported position.

If that is the case, it raises the question to the accuracy of wireless messages received from other ships too regarding their relative possitions and their encounters with ice.

So, were wireless messages accurate enough?

Eventually Bob Ballard released the coordinates of the Titanic's location. He recorded her coordinates as, stern section sits on ocean floor at 41o43'35" N, 49o56'54" W, boilers at 41o43'32" N, 49o56'49" W, bow at 41o43'57" N, 49o56'49" W. Find these coordinates and trace the outline of the sunken pieces of the Titanic on a chart of the North Atlantic.

How far is it from its plotted course? At the time of the accident, the ship was reported to be at 41o46' N, 50o 14' W. (She was found 13½ miles southeast of the position given in her lastdistress call.)

Today's satellite technology through GPS can pinpoint any position on Earth to within 30 feet. In 1912, navigation techniques of dead reckoning and celestial navigation could only give one an approximate location within several miles of one's true position. So by these perimeters I think you can say for that period of time during 1912 the distance of 13½ miles off isn't so far of.

Is 13½ miles the figure you were refering to? The ocean is a wide, flat, reference free place to locate from. Good day Mate!

u 2 write so much on ur posts

Thanks CaptainJack.

What is rather interesting to me is how each of the ships in the area could have made possible navigation errors (give or take 13 miles) given the technology at the time. These ships might have given the wrong coordinates for ice that had been encountered by them and thus perhaps influenced the Captain Smith's judgement incorrectly.

true. it's just too bad that the guy on the Californian barged in. if he hadn't, then the titanic may hav been saved. then again... i hav met a lot of great ppl on this site...

I don't think any of the ships in the area were given the correct coordinates by the Titanic. I also don't think that the ice coordinates were that acurate especially when you consider that the iceflow would be influenced by the labridor current from the north. And without GPS these ships were navigating on dead reconning rather than pinpoint accuracy.