remained at the tiller, Fleet and Peuchen managed the oars. Arguments and problems arose on boat 6 as quartermaster Hichens kept insulting and mistreating the rowers, including Margaret Brown and Helen Churchill Candee. Later in the night, there was an argument about whether to return for survivors, with Hichens warning against returning saying they would be swamped by swimmers. The lifeboat finally reached the RMS Carpathia by 6:00 a.m. on Monday, 15 April 1912. After the disaster, Fleet underwent two inquiries: first, the U.S. Inquiry; secondly, the British Wreck Commissioner's inquiry. In the United States, he was questioned by Senator William Alden Smith, to whom he repeatedly said that had they been equipped with binoculars, the disaster would not have happened. Before the British inquiry, he underwent a long examination, often repetitive, for which he refused to answer many of the questions. Lord Mersey, Chairman of the Commission, concluded Fleet's interrogation by telling him that he was grateful for his willingness to answer questions despite his wariness when responding to every question. Fleet replied with a sarcastic "Thanks." World War I, World War II, and later life Fleet served on the Titanics sister ship RMS Olympic before leaving the White Star Line in August 1912 after noticing that the company treated those involved with the Titanic differently. For the next 24 years he sailed for different shipping companies, including the Union-Castle Line. Fleet served on merchant ships throughout World War I. Later, he was the ship's lookout again on the Olympic during the 1920s and early 1930s. When he left the sea in 1936, he was hired by Harland & Wolff to work at the company's shipyards in Southampton. While working there, he lived with his wife's brother. He served again during World War II. Later, when he was about to retire, he became a newspaper salesman, going through difficult economic times. Death Shortly after Christmas, on 28 December 1964, Fleet's wife died, and her brother evicted him from the house. Consequently, Fleet fell into a downward spiral of depression. He returned to his brother-in-law's home and hanged himself in the house's garden on 10 January 1965. Fleet was buried in a pauper's grave at Hollybrook Cemetery, in Southampton. This grave remained unmarked until 1993, when a headstone bearing an engraving of the Titanic was erected through donations raised by the Titanic Historical Society. References External links Frederick Fleet Encyclopedia