Sinking of the Titanic... the sequel: Watery end for maiden voyage of famous ship’s namesake
Last updated at 11:36 AM on 6th June 2011
Well if you are going to name your boat Titanic, what do you expect?
This is the moment the aptly named Titanic II lived up to expectations by sinking on her maiden voyage.
Just like the doomed liner 99 years ago, the rather more modest, 16ft cabin cruiser went down after taking on water.
Abandon ship! Titanic II lives up to her name as she sinks on her maiden voyage in West Bay harbour, Dorset, while owner Mark Wilkinson hangs on
Hapless owner Mark Wilkinson was left floundering as the vessel disappeared beneath the waves.
Bemused holidaymakers looked on while Mr Wilkinson, from Birmingham, was pulled out of the sea by the local harbour master.
But unlike her namesake, Titanic II was saved from a watery grave when it was later towed out of West Bay harbour in Dorset.
Mark, aged in his 40s, said afterwards: 'If it wasn't for the harbour master I would have gone down with the Titanic.
'It's all a bit embarrassing and I got pretty fed up with people asking me if I had hit an iceberg.'
Salvage: Harbour workers manage to get a rope around the stricken Titanic II as owner Mark Wilkinson looks on from above
Mark had recently taken ownership of the second hand boat and towed it from his home to the south coast for its first outing.
He enjoyed a successful fishing trip in Lyme Bay but as the cabin dory boat entered the harbour a large hole opened up in the fibre-glass hull.
Mark tried to pump the water out but was forced to abandoned ship when the boat sunk stern first.
Margaret O'Callaghan, 63, was one of dozens of tourists on the quayside who witnessed the sinking.
Margaret O'Callaghan, 63, was one of dozens of tourists on the quayside who witnessed the sinking.
Unlike her famous namesake, Titanic II was saved from a watery grave
She said: 'The guy was in a small cruiser on his own. Someone said to me, 'that boat is sinking.' 'There was a big guy desperately holding on to the wheel and the back of the boat was going down.
'I shouted at him to jump as the back of the boat went right down and the bow was sticking out of the water.
'He clung on to the nose and the tide took the boat in. Someone threw a rope and tied it up to the side.
'The harbourmaster came out in a RIB and managed to secure it and get it on to the slipway.
'The funny thing about it was that the name of the boat was Titanic II.
'The guy seemed fine. He got out and was standing on the side dripping wet.' One eye-witness said: 'It wasn't a very big boat - I think an ice-cube could have sunk it!'
Harbour master James Radcliffe said: 'The owner had put his bilge pumps on when he started taking on water but there was just too of it.
'The stern of the boat was fully submerged in the water but there was an air pocket in the cabin which kept the front end afloat.
'The guy hadn't had the boat for very long. It was an old repair job. The hole in the hull was about six inches square.'
It is thought the boat is worth about 1,000 pounds.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1394776/Sinking-Titanic--sequel-Watery-end-maiden-voyage-famous-ship-s-namesake.html#ixzz1OV5xAvfr
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