Commanding the Cromartyshire was Captain Oscar Henderson. In the early morning of 3 July 1898, he was summoned from the pilot house by his wife, Clara Maud Henderson. She was an early riser and at 5:00 a.m. she thought she had heard a ship’s whistle in the distance.
Nothing could be discerned through the dense fog, so she and her husband walked forward and listened. Seconds past. Nothing. A whole minute passed without a sound.
Captain Oscar Hilmore Henderson and his wife
Clara Maud Henderson, aboard the Cromartyshire, 4 July 1898
And then they heard something approaching from the port side of the bow.