Those in the lifeboats were totally safe. The sea was very smooth so the boats just sat there doing nothing, no danger from waves swamping the boats. It was cold, but everyone was dressed and almost all were completely dry. The people on the boats kept well away from the passengers who had ended up in the water, because there was a fear that those in the water would try to get on the boats and swamp them. There was an erroneous belief that a sinking ship would pull nearby boats down, but this isn't true, though the boats stayed away from The sinking ship anyway. One lifeboat was upside down but floating (the "Collapsible B"). Some survivors swam over and crawled on top of it but they were drenched with freezing water and were at risk of dying of hypothermia. I don't remember if everyone who got on top of the upside down boat made it. One was Jack Thayer, a 17 year old 1st class passenger. He was suffering badly from hypothermia as he had been fully immersed in the water before being pulled onto the Collapsible B. He was told he might lose his legs due to the hypothermia cutting off circulation, so he walked non-stop for hours after the rescue, to get circulation back. He ended up being fine.