There's always a first time for everything

In May 1907 Captain Edward John Smith having steered the fastest of the White Star Line fleet, RMS Adriatic, across the Atlantic on her maiden voyage, was moved to say;

"When anyone asks me how I can best describe my experience in nearly forty years at sea, I merely say, uneventful. Of course there have been Winter gales, and storms and fog and the like. But in all my experience, I have never been in an accident . . . or any sort worth speaking about. I have seen but one vessel in distress in all my years at sea. I never saw a wreck and have never been wrecked nor was I ever in any predicament that threatened to end in disaster of any sort."

Five years later Captain Smith took command of the Titanic.