Sea Trials

Adverse weather conditions on April 1, 1912 - the official date for Titanic's sea trials - frustrated the best laid plans of H&W. This latest delay, coupled with those caused by her sister ship's misfortunes at sea, meant mounting costs and reduced time available, for she was due at Southampton the following evening.

At daybreak on April 2, a small army of Belfast tugboats coaxed the Titanic out into the waters of Belfast Lough. Released, under her own steam, the great ship sped, manouvered, circled, braked and raced again through the choppy Irish Sea at the mouth of Belfast Lough.

By evening, Titanic had passed her tests with flying colours and, with final papers signed, her time for departure had arrived. By midnight she must be at Southampton. Her maiden voyage had been extensively advertised for April 12 and there was the official naming and launch to be got through first. So they turned Titanic's back on Belfast and the great liner bade farewell to the land of her birth.

Titanic leaving Belfast was the completion of a remarkable chapter in shipbuilding and in the history of H&W shipbuilders. Her gross tonnage was 46,328; her length- 268.99 metres; breadth- 28.04 metres; her speed- 22.5 knots!

Behind her, she left a proud workforce who had risen to an amazing challenge and succeeded in creating the world's largest and finest ocean liner- RMS TITANIC.

From the spot where Titanic first slid down her slipway to enter sea water, we snapped this shot-

Titanic departs on her maiden voyage