It is cheering to see that the rats are still around - the ship is not sinking

Rats desert a sinking ship.

And you know what happens when a ship gets too many rats on board? It sinks. That's what.

I wondered if a ship had ever really sunk that way.

It sounds mercenary and it smacks of rats leaving the sinking ship, ... But get real, when everyone is bailing out, you don't want to be the last man standing.

I have not yet begun to fight (as his ship was sinking, 23 September 1779)

Far more crucial than what we know or do not know is what we do not want to know.