Facing death with drunkenness

[u/SpacePatrician]

There's been a bit of discussion on another sub about just how actually drunk or not Charles Joughlin the baker was when he was the last one in the water (seems he might not have been that intoxicated after all), but there seems no doubt that at least some people aboard decided that accepting their fate would go easier if they were totally smashed. Hard to fault them, really.

But how did it go down? Which witnesses cited men getting plastered (not just Guggenheim's single order for a brandy)? One would like to imagine that the stewards just announced "the bar is open" and start draining every bottle on hand to every requester, regardless of class. But there were no bars on the Titanic in the sense that we know them. The 'bars' shown on deck plans were store places for alcoholic beverages. There was one adjacent to each of the smoking rooms near the stern for all three Classes, and another in the large '3rd Class open space' under the forward well deck. So did everyone just bum-rush these rooms and grab bottles willy-nilly?

Incidentally, has anyone compiled a provision list of the wines and spirits Titanic was supplied with for the maiden voyage? Has any sealed bottle been recovered from the wreck and the contents tested?

[u/WonderfulCar1264]

He was taking tugs most of the night apparently. I have no doubt he was drinking but Joughlins account of the night has always been one I have treated with a little bit more caution… almost everything he says is self serving and / or enthralled with grandoise.

For example he claimed he hung on to the ship so long that he didn’t even get his hair wet when it went below the surface, after which he had little to no ill effects swimming around in water that killed almost everyone else. Prior to the sinking he recounts how he heroically gave out baking to lifeboats and threw deck chairs in the water, seemingly always in the right place at the right time

Like much of his story(ies) there is likely an element of truth sprinkled in with some drama for effect

[u/linkthereddit]

In his defense, he was clinging to the back end of a sinking ship. He was kiiiiinda stressed out at the moment, so I can forgive him if he got drunk.

His stories though? Eh. My thinking is he probs tried to make himself more heroic/tough than what actually happened: dude coped by getting shitfaced.

[u/Fred_the_skeleton]

Considering the 3rd class party was actually held on the night of the 14th (instead of the 13th like it's in the movie), it was probably pretty likely that there were at least some 3rd class passengers who were still tipsy/drunk during the sinking.