Walter and Margaret’s house, on the shores of Donaghadee, was known simply as ‘Portavo Point’.
The lovingly built house commanded sweeping views over the coastline, where on a clear day you could see over the distant islands and out to sea.
It was, and still is, a magical place.
But not on that night.
On board the ferry, Walter watched the Scottish coastline fade as the steel, flat-hulled ship slid out into the jaws of the awaiting tempest. The crossing became progressively rougher and rougher as the weather deteriorated even further. Until, only a few miles from her Northern Irish destination, the Princess Victoria found herself in the middle of one of the most ferocious Irish Sea storms ever witnessed.
Initially the ferry rode it, but a weakness in the ferry stern doors would prove disastrous.
Slowly the doors started to ship in water. As the seawater poured in and the waves began to break over the freeboard, the ship began to lose her ability to manoeuvre or make headway.
The bilges, also, were struggling to cope. Leaking stern doors and an inability to clear excess water are a killer combination in any storm.
It was only a matter of time before the sea would overpower her.
Soon, swung broadside to the waves by the power of the wind, the Princess Victoria began to lurch and tilt under the weight of the incoming water. The captain ordered the lifeboats to be lowered.
A survivor told the Ulster High Court that Walter was heard giving out the instructions: ‘Carry on giving out life jackets to the women and children.’
Over the roar of the wind and storm, the captain and his crew ushered the panic-stricken passengers into the lifeboats. No one was to know that they were lowering the women and children to their deaths.
As the lifeboats were launched, the passengers were trapped in that ‘dead man’s zone’ between the hull of the steel ferry and the breaking white water of the oncoming waves. In the driving wind and rain this was a fatal place to be caught.
The lifeboats lurched, then pitched repeatedly under the violence of the breaking waves. They were unable to escape from the side of the ferry. The crew were powerless to make progress against the ferocity of the wind and waves, until eventually, one by one, almost every lifeboat had been capsized.
Survival time would now be reduced to minutes in the freezing Irish January sea.
The storm was winning and the speed with which the waves began to overpower the vessel now accelerated. The ferry was waging a losing battle against the elements; and both the captain and Walter knew it.
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深情屋吩咐全景的海岸线,在一个晴朗的日子里你可以看到在远处的岛屿和出海。
这是,现在仍然是,一个神奇的地方。
但不是那天晚上。
上渡轮,沃尔特看到苏格兰褪色为钢,flat-hulled船滑到颌骨的等待暴风雨。过境变得越来越粗糙的天气更加恶化。直到,只有几英里,从北爱尔兰的目的地,公主维多利亚发现自己在中东的一个最凶猛的风暴曾经见证的爱尔兰海。
最初的渡轮骑它,但疲软的渡轮尾门会是灾难性的。
慢慢地,门开始船在水中。为海水浇和海浪开始打破在干舷,船舶开始失去操纵能力或取得进展。
舱底,也难以应付。泄漏尾门和一个无法清除多余的水是一个杀手的组合在任何风暴。
这只是一个时间问题之前,海会压倒她。
不久,舷侧的波风的力量,公主维多利亚开始倾斜和倾斜的重量下,传入的水。船长命令救生艇降。
一个幸存者告诉北爱尔兰高等法院,沃尔特是听到发出指示:“继续发放救生衣的妇女和儿童。”
在咆哮的风和风暴,船长和他的船员迎来了惊慌的乘客进入救生艇。没有人知道他们是降低妇女和儿童的死亡。
作为救生艇发起,乘客被困在那死人的区之间的船体的渡轮和破白水的迎面而来的海浪。在驾驶的风和雨这是一个致命的地方被抓。
救生艇颠簸,然后投下反复暴力打破波。他们无法逃离渡口侧。船员们无力做出的进展对凶猛的风和浪,直到最后,一个接一个,几乎每一个救生艇被倾覆。
生存时间将减少到分钟在冰冷的一月爱尔兰海。
风暴是胜利和速度的波开始压倒的容器,加速。渡轮是一场失去对抗元素;和船长和沃尔特知道。