Is it still women and children first?

Frank Sidney · 17-01-2012, 14:33

With the sinking of the ship in Italy recently would men still give their lives up for women and children, or did they ever anyway?

I don't mean risking your life to save someone but giving the last seat in a life raft to a woman or child?

Do men still feel that it is the right thing to do?

Myself, I wouldn't. I have to be honest. Perhaps if I was older and didn't have a family it might be different. But if it happened tomorrow, I'd be in the raft.

I suppose the same can be asked of women in relation to saving a strangers child, would you?

curriechick · 17-01-2012, 14:41

As a woman, I would get in the lifeboat and sit the child on my lap....

PeteMorris · 17-01-2012, 14:54

Women want equality when it suits! I'd get off any way I could. Surely self preservation takes over? Being a 'gent' is all very well, but sod dying for it!

Kthebean · 17-01-2012, 14:59

As a woman I'd give up a seat for another woman or man who had a child with them.

Other than that its every person for themselves

Jeffrey Shaw · 17-01-2012, 15:02

Is it still women and children first? No, it never was at law (civil or maritime). Post #3 is accurate.

Alien52 · 17-01-2012, 15:20

Quote:

Originally Posted by curriechick

As a woman, I would get in the lifeboat and sit the child on my lap....

No you would not,because I would already be sitting there.

vwkittie · 17-01-2012, 15:22

I don't see why I (as a female) should go in front of a man at all, but would give up my seat for a child.

Thought there was supposed to be enough life raft space for all on board nowadays anyway?

curriechick · 17-01-2012, 15:36

There are, it is just the ensuing panic where everyone wants to be in the first one. It is just human nature I suppose, survival of the fittest.

Frank Sidney · 17-01-2012, 16:11

What if there was a very big person. Should they be allowed on if they'd need 2 seats? Just asking like....I'd say not.

hard2miss · 17-01-2012, 16:14

I think in Italy its Captain and first mate first...

Mr_Squirrel · 17-01-2012, 16:20

It makes no difference.

I have a condition that makes me compulsively drill holes in the lifeboats on any ship i sail on.

If im going down, you are all coming with me.

MrSmith · 17-01-2012, 17:00

Quote:

Originally Posted by Frank Sidney

With the sinking of the ship in Italy recently would men still give their lives up for women and children, or did they ever anyway?

I don't mean risking your life to save someone but giving the last seat in a life raft to a woman or child?

Do men still feel that it is the right thing to do?

Myself, I wouldn't. I have to be honest. Perhaps if I was older and didn't have a family it might be different. But if it happened tomorrow, I'd be in the raft.

I suppose the same can be asked of women in relation to saving a strangers child, would you?

Clearly the best approach is to keep families together, so the men should fight it out and the winners put their women and children on the boat and climb in afterwards.

cressida · 17-01-2012, 17:04

I would swim if I could, how far was it from that island? Other than that I would make sure I could get in the lifeboat - ahead of Frank!

Balpin · 17-01-2012, 17:19

The best example of bravery was the troop ship Birkenhead.
It was full of families sailing out to India.
They ran ito trouble off the coast of South Africa.
There was no chance of everyone getting of.

The Colonel stood all his men to attention, on deck, while their wives and children got safe ashore.

It still stands as a mark of discipline and bravery on the behalf of Englishmen.

I hope some of you are joking about being cowards BTW.
We can leave that kind of behaviour to the continentals, I think.

HeadingNorth · 17-01-2012, 17:19

Quote:

Originally Posted by vwkittie

I don't see why I (as a female) should go in front of a man at all, but would give up my seat for a child.

One man can father an entire tribe in a year, but one woman can only be pregnant once at any given time.

That is why, traditionally, it was men who went to war and why it was more important to preserve the lives of women than of men. In today's modern world it's not really a relevant factor - almost nothing remains that can inflict serious danger to the survival of a nation as a whole - but the chivalry that grew out of that necessity, still remains.

So far as modern ships go, it is a legal requirement to be able to have every person aboard into a lifeboat within a maximum of thirty minutes. On the assumption that this is possible, and with the likelihood of a modern ship sinking within thirty minutes being effectively zero, it really doesn't matter who gets in first, because nobody is getting left behind.

If that principle seems to have failed in the case of the recent Italian cruise shipwreck, it appears to be because the order to abandon ship wasn't given until it had already started to heel over; whereas people should have been sent to the lifeboats as soon as they knew the hull had breached. As with the case of the Herald of Free Enterprise, you can't design human error out of existence; no matter how sturdy a ship is, it can be rendered helpless if people don't do their jobs properly.

Balpin · 17-01-2012, 17:22

Quote:

Originally Posted by vwkittie

I don't see why I (as a female) should go in front of a man at all, but would give up my seat for a child.

Thought there was supposed to be enough life raft space for all on board nowadays anyway?

There is, they are looking for people who were trapped.
Probably engineers and engine room crew.

PeteMorris · 17-01-2012, 17:38

Quote:

Originally Posted by vwkittie

I don't see why I (as a female) should go in front of a man at all, but would give up my seat for a child.

Thought there was supposed to be enough life raft space for all on board nowadays anyway?

There is enough lifboats, but that assumes that the ship is upright. When it's listing (like this was), at best you would only be able to launch half of them. Didn't think of that little connundrum when they designed it did they? That's 2000 people who can't get in a lifeboat, cos you can't launch it, and thinking about it, it must be a nightmare to launch those on the listing side too!

HeadingNorth · 17-01-2012, 17:40

Quote:

Originally Posted by PeteMorris

There is enough lifboats, but that assumes that the ship is upright. When it's listing (like this was), at best you would only be able to launch half of them. Didn't think of that little connundrum when they designed it did they?

You can't blame the designers for that; the ship didn't start listing until long after there had already been enough time to evacuate everybody on it.

BananaSplit · 17-01-2012, 17:58

I'm female and I don't agree with the women bit of 'women & children' before others.

I would give up my place to a child or an elderly person. Or at least I'd like to think I would. A cruise is my idea of torture so you wouldn't catch me on one in the first place!

shane39 · 17-01-2012, 19:19

I'd don my budgie smugglers,and swallow dive off the highest point on the ship.