# The Mexican Navy rams the Brooklyn Bridge {Tall Ship that lost power} **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 18, 2025, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mexican-navy-rams-the-brooklyn-bridge-tall-ship-that-lost-power/1018494 "2025-05-18T05:16:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2025, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mexican-navy-rams-the-brooklyn-bridge-tall-ship-that-lost-power/1018494/1 "2025-05-18T05:16:18Z")
I had no idea that the Mexican Navy was training to use sailboats in Brooklyn, but there you go. > **[Two dead as Mexican Navy ship crashes into Brooklyn Bridge](https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c991n8p4pdyo.amp)** > > At least 19 people are injured after the towering masts of training sailboat clip New York City's famous bridge. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2025, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mexican-navy-rams-the-brooklyn-bridge-tall-ship-that-lost-power/1018494/2 "2025-05-18T05:18:48Z")
The clear Act of War someone was looking for. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2025, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mexican-navy-rams-the-brooklyn-bridge-tall-ship-that-lost-power/1018494/3 "2025-05-18T05:24:32Z")
Their training apparently didn’t include finding out if their masts weren’t multiple feet too tall to fit under the brige before sailing under it. You’d think they would have done more due diligence than a U-Haul rental driver. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2025, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mexican-navy-rams-the-brooklyn-bridge-tall-ship-that-lost-power/1018494/4 "2025-05-18T05:35:50Z")
I don’t think they planned to be under the bridge. It looked like it was out of control in the videos I saw. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2025, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mexican-navy-rams-the-brooklyn-bridge-tall-ship-that-lost-power/1018494/5 "2025-05-18T05:39:11Z")
How does this happen? I mean, I assume the East River flows southwest there so, for the river to push the boat into the bridge would mean it would have to be [between the Manhattan Bridge and the Brooklyn Bridge](https://www.google.com/maps/place/Brooklyn+Bridge/@40.705721,-73.9910532,6229m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m6!3m5!1s0x89c25a2343ce7b2b:0x2526ddba7abd465c!8m2!3d40.7060855!4d-73.9968643!16zL20vMGN2NGM?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI1MDUxMy4xIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D) (not a lot of room in there). What am I missing? Maybe the tide was coming in and pushing northeast? ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2025, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mexican-navy-rams-the-brooklyn-bridge-tall-ship-that-lost-power/1018494/6 "2025-05-18T05:39:36Z")
I haven’t seen anything definitive in any article I’ve read so this is my guess. It’s a sailboat but also has engines. I did hear it may have lost power to its engine. In the video there is a tug boat that seems to be trying to catch up. No tall ship has any business going north up the East River. The Brooklyn Bridge is one of a series of relatively low bridges over the river. It’s impossible to go up the East River by mistake. I’m assuming the ship was supposed to dock at the South Street Seaport which is south of the bridge. It lost power and the tug was trying to bring it under control but couldn’t reach it in time. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2025, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mexican-navy-rams-the-brooklyn-bridge-tall-ship-that-lost-power/1018494/7 "2025-05-18T05:43:51Z")
> [@Lord\_Feldon](#): > > I don’t think they planned to be under the bridge. It looked like it was out of control in the videos I saw. From the linked article > Crew members were standing on the masts at the time of collision, authorities said, which all snapped and fell to the deck. Sounds more like “take in the scenery”, not “in an emergency”. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2025, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mexican-navy-rams-the-brooklyn-bridge-tall-ship-that-lost-power/1018494/8 "2025-05-18T05:52:54Z")
Did they not take on a NY harbor pilot? What were the tugboat operators thinking? The hardest thing about watching sailors die is because they’re obeying people who had no idea what they themselves are doing. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2025, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mexican-navy-rams-the-brooklyn-bridge-tall-ship-that-lost-power/1018494/9 "2025-05-18T05:57:17Z")
The local NBC station stated it was leaving Pier 17 and heading to sea when it had a mechanical failure. Pier 17 is the main pier at the South Street Seaport which is just south of the Brooklyn Bridge. The current pushed it into the bridge. The East River isn’t a true river, it’s a tidal estuary. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2025, 7:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mexican-navy-rams-the-brooklyn-bridge-tall-ship-that-lost-power/1018494/10 "2025-05-18T07:53:27Z")
Been there on 2 different old wooden sailboats. The tides are very strong at times as I recall. There was no tug requirement of course. South Street Sea Port is very close to the Brooklyn Bridge. Minor reminder in general, the East River is not a River but a straight. Tides get very weird at times. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2025, 10:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mexican-navy-rams-the-brooklyn-bridge-tall-ship-that-lost-power/1018494/11 "2025-05-18T10:01:18Z")
> [@](#): > > Crew members were standing on the masts at the time of collision, authorities said, which all snapped and fell to the deck. Sounds like they were trying to get the sails up, to regain control. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2025, 10:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mexican-navy-rams-the-brooklyn-bridge-tall-ship-that-lost-power/1018494/12 "2025-05-18T10:11:52Z")
Apparently standing on the masts is a thing they do. Here’s a photo of the same ship > **[PORT WARNEMÜNDE, GERMANY : Sail training vessel "Cuauhtemoc" of the Mexican...](https://www.alamy.com/port-warnemnde-germany-sail-training-vessel-cuauhtemoc-of-the-mexican-navy-is-passing-the-light-beacon-on-august-11-2019-image265279461.html?imageid=8D2DB561-071A-4F2C-B83F-CEA5AFC469F6&p=811389&pn=1&searchId=3dcea5a8f10daa1f4b79f61ede79b3ab&searchtype=0)** > > Download this stock image: PORT WARNEMÜNDE, GERMANY : Sail training vessel Cuauhtemoc of the Mexican Navy is passing the light beacon on August 11, 2019 - WBGEJD from Alamy's library of millions of high resolution stock photos, illustrations and... (There are lots more similar ones.) Is this a regular thing? Everything I know about sailing is from TV/movies, but I don’t remember scenes before with people lined up all over the masts to operate the sails. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2025, 10:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mexican-navy-rams-the-brooklyn-bridge-tall-ship-that-lost-power/1018494/13 "2025-05-18T10:27:02Z")
Yes, it’s a tradition for sail training ship crews to put on that sort of show. It’s called manning the yards > **[Yard (sailing)](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yard_(sailing))** > > A yard is a spar on a mast from which sails are set. It may be constructed of timber or steel or from more modern materials such as aluminium or carbon fibre. Although some types of fore and aft rigs have yards, the term is usually used to describe the horizontal spars used on square rigged sails. In addition, for some decades after square sails were generally dispensed with, some yards were retained for deploying wireless (radio) aerials and signal flags. > Note that these terms refer to stretche... [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/pCd2eTmnwyo/maxresdefault.jpg "ARC Gloria, manning the yards, departing from Inner harbor Baltimore on 3/18/24.") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pCd2eTmnwyo) ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2025, 10:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mexican-navy-rams-the-brooklyn-bridge-tall-ship-that-lost-power/1018494/14 "2025-05-18T10:41:49Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > Apparently standing on the masts is a thing they do. Yards, not masts. Masts are the tall vertical ones. Yards are the horizontal ones. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2025, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mexican-navy-rams-the-brooklyn-bridge-tall-ship-that-lost-power/1018494/15 "2025-05-18T12:39:37Z")
I never sailed on a square-rigger. (few these days have). But to the best of my knowledge, to unfurl the sails, you have to send sailors aloft on the yards to do so. So once you lose motor power, you try for wind power and thus the sailors would have to go aloft. I sailed on the [Clearwater](https://www.clearwater.org/the-sloop/history-and-specifications/) in the East River, the Hudson and Sandy Hook Bay. Also a much smaller sloop, The Rainbow Race. Both Clearwater boats. On the Rainbow Race, we lost power over by Battery Park and we immediately raised sails to inch along as the winds were low at sunset. Our battery then failed and we resorted to shining a flashlight on the sail so the ferries would see us in the dark. Thankfully we weren’t near the Staten Island Ferry’s route, but the Statue of Liberty Ferry came uncomfortably close and we blew our manual airhorn as it was coming near us. We finally made it to Battery Park in the dark. Lower Manhattan can be surprisingly empty on a Saturday in late October back then at least. Maybe this will help visualize the area: [![](https://i.postimg.cc/vZGbT2vy/Brooklyn-Bridge-Battery-Park-area.png) ](https://i.postimg.cc/vZGbT2vy/Brooklyn-Bridge-Battery-Park-area.png) The East River is known for having strong tides, this probably contributed to the accident as it reduced the time they had to get the ship under sail power. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2025, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mexican-navy-rams-the-brooklyn-bridge-tall-ship-that-lost-power/1018494/16 "2025-05-18T12:48:13Z")
The first few times I watched videos of the incident I was looking at different things. I didn’t even notice that the ship was going backwards. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2025, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mexican-navy-rams-the-brooklyn-bridge-tall-ship-that-lost-power/1018494/17 "2025-05-18T13:02:05Z")
Watching a few videos, it looks like the wind was working against the ship also. I’m reasonably sure they couldn’t have done an emergency anchor drill as the water is deep there as far as I know and they were moving fairly fast for it to catch. Though I wonder if they at least tried. The bridge was closed briefly and reopened. A more thorough inspection will take place, but damage from 3 mast tops should be minimal. The [NTSB](https://www.ntsb.gov/Pages/home.aspx) will be investigating everything about this accident. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2025, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mexican-navy-rams-the-brooklyn-bridge-tall-ship-that-lost-power/1018494/18 "2025-05-18T13:03:08Z")
They got lost after they couldn’t find the Gulf of Mexico on the map. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2025, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mexican-navy-rams-the-brooklyn-bridge-tall-ship-that-lost-power/1018494/19 "2025-05-18T13:05:02Z")
East River is not a river, it flows both ways between 2 tidal areas that have tides almost 180 degrees out of phase. This leads to some very strong currents. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2025, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mexican-navy-rams-the-brooklyn-bridge-tall-ship-that-lost-power/1018494/20 "2025-05-18T13:05:55Z")
Next stop was supposed to be Iceland, I imagine now it will be repairs and back home instead. Possibly towed home for repairs, but that is a long tow. ETA: I added a note to @Whack-a-Mole’s post as **kanicbird** ’s was the third reply about the East River not being a river. By the way, if you look at old maps, you might see on the west side of Manhattan, the North River listed, a no longer used name for the Hudson River. The Harlem river is the third piece that makes Manhattan an Island. It is also a strait. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mexican-navy-rams-the-brooklyn-bridge-tall-ship-that-lost-power/1018494.md?page=2)