Hi,
I like this game very much (i played Naval Action, Blackwake, Pirates of Burnign Sea, etc.) but sailing in the servers, while it is fun, is a cancer (hours and hours in the sea, avoiding ghost ships and whales).
An idea is, set a cruise speed (speed x 3 or x4) but you cannot shoot with weapons AND when you return to normal trip speed you cannot shoot for 1 minute.
PS: can you change the ghost ships 3D object and texture with a green/red/another color brigantine or shooner or Galleon(depends on the level of ship)? With sailors npc! It is funnier.