The officers loading the boats are hesitant to fill the boats to capacity for fear of causing them to buckle while hanging from the davits. Harland and Wolff had tested the boats with the weight of seventy men, but none of the crew seem to have been aware of the test. About this time Quartermaster Rowe fires the first of eight distress rockets. A ship's light is seen on the horizon to the north. The ship, thought to be the Leyland liner Californian , fails to respond to the flares or any other attempts to contact her.
Officers are now less cautious in loading the boats and they begin to leave more fully loaded.
As it is being lowered First Class passenger William Carter and White Star Managing Director J. Bruce Ismay step on-board. Ismay was later villainized for leaving his ship while over 1500 people were left to die. Ismay contended that there were no more passengers in sight when he boarded the boat. Mrs. Carter sued for divorce. About this time many passengers and crew are knocked or swept into the water as the bow quickly plunges under.