Do I Save the Passengers or Save the Ship?

The captain of the Andrea Doria, Piero Calamai, had a huge decision to make. Should he save the ship by driving it into the Nantucket Shoals or should he save the passengers by staying out in the "Times Square" of shipping and rescue his passengers. If he drove the ship off to the Shoals he would not be able to lower the lifeboats and potential rescue crafts would of been too far away to assist should abandon ship be required. Remember, the list of the boat was at least 20 degrees making the rudder ineffective. If he stayed in the Times Square area, many ships would be in the area and there would be a high percentage of passengers saved; however, the ship would be doomed. Captain Calamai did the heroic thing and saved the passengers over the ship. He was the last Italian Officer to leave the ship and was pretty much resolved to go down with the ship (Second Officer Guido Badano convinced him to leave the ship). Initially Calamai did wait and hold out for a tow but realized by the time he left that any efforts were in vain. His valiant attempts to save the passengers and ship will be formally recognized by the Andrea Doria Survivors Reunion.

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As a man sows, so he shall reap.