People who've been in a shipwreck often remain afraid of water for the rest of their lives. But the woman whose story you’ll hear survived not one, and not even two, but three ship disasters, and continued to work on cruise liners as a stewardess. Her name's Violet Jessop – Miss Unsinkable! Her mother worked as a stewardess at sea and when she fell sick, young Violet followed in her footsteps. The first two years passed quietly. But then, a series of incredible fortunes began — or misfortunes, depending on how you looked at it.

Violet got a job on the most luxurious liner of the time – the Royal Mail Ship Olympic. On September 20, 1911, Violet worked on the deck as usual. The sea was calm and nothing boded ill. The ship sailed through the Solent Strait, which separates the Isle of Wight from the British mainland. At this moment, the British military cruiser Hawke appeared ahead. It should’ve passed by the Olympic but something went wrong. The ships went straight at each other. The Olympic’s captain tried to maneuver to avoid a collision but failed. Luckily, both ships stayed afloat, and nobody got hurt. But in April 1912, Violet Jessop took a job on the best, unsinkable ship of the time - the Titanic.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices