THE SEA WILL TRY VERY HARD TO KILL YOU.

Mexico's training ship, hermaphrodite brig Cuauhtémoc, was showing her stuff in New York and dressed ship Saturday evening before setting a course for Iceland.

Unattributed photograph retrieved from New York Post.

Then the engines failed at the worst possible time.

The majestic Cuauhtémoc — which has a crew of 277, mostly cadets — apparently lost power as it was sailing out of New York on its way to Iceland and the current carried it into the road deck of the bridge around 8:30 p.m., according to Mayor Eric Adams and footage of the crash.

The collision sheared off the ship’s 147-foot masts – with alarming footage capturing numerous crew members dangling for their lives from the sails and booms after the boat hit the bridge, which has a max clearance of 135 feet.

Town Hall's Matt Vespa filed a report with several examples of that "alarming footage."

There will be plenty for the boards of inquiry to contemplate.

First, Cuauhtémoc cast off on an incoming tide.  Yes, you would hope that the ship's engines would be all ship-shape and Veracruz fashion, and yet, losing power near a major bridge happens.  That sunset departure with the cross-trees dressed and a large national flag flying was spectacular, and yet, it has long been prudent seamanship to cast off on the ebbing tide, particularly if there's a headwind.

Second, did any of the officers of the watch order the crew off the cross-trees?

"Staying in place, secured by harnesses, may have been safer than attempting to climb down without clear instructions.... Naval operations prioritize collective action over individual initiative in emergencies.... The sailors likely held their positions to avoid creating additional hazards, trusting their officers to issue appropriate commands."

That, too, will be for the board of inquiry.  Were the fatalities among the crew a consequence of those men not trusting their harnesses, or panicking and releasing them and hoping for the best?  Could the relevant bos'ns have ordered the men on the highest cross-trees to follow the drill for an orderly evacuation?